Ocean World Coloring Pages

Life Near the Surface

Dolphins are mammals and need to breathe air. They regularly return to the ocean surface and can sometimes leap completely above the water.

Whales are mammals too. A humpback whale may lift much of its enormous body out of the sea in a movement called breaching, creating a powerful splash when it returns to the water.

A Whale Calf Stays Close

A young humpback whale is called a calf. Calves stay close to their mothers while they are young and depend on their mothers for milk.

In the mother whale and calf coloring page, the smaller calf swims very close beside its much larger mother. Their different sizes make the family pair easy to recognize.

Busy Life Around a Reef

Coral reefs create complex underwater habitats with ledges, openings and many different shapes. Fish can swim above, around and between reef structures.

Corals can have very different forms. Some branch outward, some form rounded shapes and others spread into broad, fan-like structures.

Clownfish and Sea Anemones

Clownfish are well known for living closely with certain sea anemones. The fish can move among the anemone's tentacles in a relationship that helps both animals.

Look at the clownfish coloring page and notice how the fish swim above, beside and among the broad anemone tentacles.

Eight Arms of an Octopus

An octopus has eight flexible arms. The arms can bend and curl in many directions, creating interesting shapes and spaces for coloring.

Octopuses can move around rocky ocean habitats and use spaces in reefs and rocks for shelter. In our reef friends scene, a smaller octopus peeks from beneath a reef ledge.

Sharks Come in Different Shapes

Many sharks have streamlined bodies that help them move through water. Their fins and strong tails are easy features to notice in a coloring sketch.

Hammerhead sharks are especially distinctive because of their wide, hammer-shaped heads. Their eyes are positioned near the outer ends of the head.

Drifting Jellyfish

Jellyfish do not swim through the ocean like sharks or dolphins. Their bell contracts to help move water, and ocean currents can also carry them along.

Their umbrella-shaped bells, broad oral arms and trailing tentacles create flowing lines that can be fun to fill with imaginative colors.

Gliding Like Underwater Wings

Manta rays have enormous pectoral fins that spread outward like broad underwater wings. They move these fins to glide through the ocean.

Their wide, flattened bodies look very different from the narrow shape of a shark or the rounded bell of a jellyfish.

A Tiny World in a Tide Pool

When ocean water remains among coastal rocks as the tide moves out, it can form a tide pool. These shallow pools can become small habitats for sea life.

Starfish, also called sea stars, can live in rocky coastal habitats. Sea anemones and other animals may also be found in tide-pool environments.

Look at a Seahorse

Seahorses have a very unusual body shape. Their long snouts and curled tails make them easy to recognize.

Unlike most fish, seahorses swim in an upright position. Their distinctive ridged body shape creates many small details to notice while coloring.

Color Your Own Ocean

You can use colors inspired by real ocean animals or create a completely imaginary underwater world. Try a rainbow manta ray, a purple shark or a glowing green jellyfish.

Look at the waves, currents, reef shapes and ocean animals in each picture, then turn the scene into your own colorful ocean adventure.