A cartoon starfish is one of the easiest sea creatures to draw because it is made from a single five-pointed star shape with a smiley face in the middle. You can finish a bright orange starfish with bubbly details in about eight minutes.

🎨 What You Need

  • White paper
  • Pencil and rubber
  • Black fine marker
  • Orange, yellow, pink and blue colouring pencils

How to Draw a Cartoon Starfish

  1. Draw a five-pointed star in the middle of your page, but make the points slightly rounded instead of sharp.
  2. Smooth out the angles so the star looks soft and chubby, like a real starfish.
  3. On the centre body, draw two big oval eyes with sparkly highlights.
  4. Add a wide curved smile with a tiny tongue peeking out.
  5. Draw small circles along each arm to make the bumpy dots on a real starfish.
  6. Add a few bubbles floating around your starfish to show it lives underwater.
  7. Outline everything with a black marker so the cartoon edges pop.
  8. Colour the body bright orange with yellow dots and a pink blush on the cheeks.
💡 Parikshet's Tip: To make your starfish look squishy and cartoony, never use straight lines. Every line should have a gentle curve, even the points of the star.

🌟 Did You Know?

Real starfish are not actually fish at all — they are called sea stars and they can grow back an arm if they lose one.

Sea Drawing Tips

  • Add seaweed and bubbles to show the ocean setting
  • Pair your starfish with a friendly crab or fish
  • Use sea greens and blues for the background
  • Add a sandy yellow ocean floor

🎯 Underwater Scene Challenge

  1. Draw your cartoon starfish in the middle
  2. Add three fish, a crab and some seaweed
  3. Colour the background in blue water washes
  4. Add tiny bubbles rising to the top