Ariel is the famous little mermaid with long red hair, a green tail and a purple shell top. In this tutorial Parikshet breaks her down into simple oval and curve shapes so you can draw her step by step, even if you have never drawn a mermaid before.

🎨 What You Need

  • White A4 paper
  • HB pencil and rubber
  • Black fineliner
  • Red, green, purple and peach colour pencils
  • Optional: white gel pen for sparkles

How to Draw Ariel Step by Step

  1. Step 1 — Draw a soft oval near the top of the page for the head and a curved line for the neck.
  2. Step 2 — Add the body: shoulders curving down to a small waist, like a narrow vase shape.
  3. Step 3 — Below the waist, draw a long curved tail that swirls to one side and ends in a wide fan-shaped fin.
  4. Step 4 — On the chest draw two scallop shell shapes joined in the middle for her purple seashell top.
  5. Step 5 — Add big round eyes with long lashes, a small nose, and a friendly smile.
  6. Step 6 — Draw her long flowing hair: start at the top of the head and let it wave down past her shoulders, with strands floating like she is underwater.
  7. Step 7 — Add her arms — one bent gracefully and one floating out to the side — with simple curved lines.
  8. Step 8 — Outline everything in black marker, then colour her hair bright red, tail green with scale lines, top purple, and skin peach. Add white dots for water sparkles.
💡 Parikshet's Tip: Draw the hair flowing in the same direction at the ends — it instantly tells the viewer Ariel is underwater and the current is moving.

🌟 Did You Know?

The story of Ariel comes from a Danish fairy tale called The Little Mermaid, written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837 — nearly 200 years ago.

Easy Variations to Try

  • Draw Ariel sitting on a rock
  • Add her friend Flounder the fish beside her
  • Draw Sebastian the crab in the corner
  • Make Ariel with a different coloured tail like blue or pink

🎯 Try This: Underwater Scene

  1. Draw Ariel in the middle of the page
  2. Add bubbles around her using small circles
  3. Draw seaweed waving from the bottom
  4. Add a treasure chest and small fish swimming past

Try This With ChatGPT

With a grown-up, open a new ChatGPT chat and paste this prompt, changing [my age] to your age:

I am [my age] years old and I want to make this craft: “How To Draw Ariel The Little Mermaid with KidsFunLearnClub”. List the materials using only things I can find at home. Then give me 7 numbered steps. Mark any step where a grown-up must help, like using scissors or hot glue.

Exact steps, follow-up prompts and safety rules are in our parent-guided ChatGPT guide. More ideas: creative AI activities for kids.