How to Draw a Spotted Turtle

In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Spotted Turtle in 8 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.

The images above represent how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.

Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.

At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the Spotted Turtle.

Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.

How to Draw a Spotted Turtle - Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Let's start with the head. Draw a square shape and a slit for the mouth.

Step 2: Now draw the two circles for the eye and then draw the neck.

Step 3: Draw a big circle for the shell. Our spotted turtle will need his shell for protection!

Step 4: Okay, now you can draw the right front leg. Then draw the turtle's body.

Step 5: Draw the back right leg extending outwards. Draw the second part of the lower body.

Step 6: Draw the right front leg and draw a line to add detail to the body.

Step 7: Let's add a patern to the shell. Make thin rectangular shapes to contour the shell and make bigger ones for the top part.

Step 8: Finally, add the spots to our spotted turtle!

Interesting Facts about Spotted Turtles

Spotted Turtles are small reptiles that live on the east coast of the United States. They are brown to black colored and have bright yellow or orange spots on their shells and underside. A Spotted Turtle will reach 13 centimeters long. They eat algae, worms, bugs, slugs, and spiders. Spotted Turtles like to live in swampy wet places. They are found in ponds, marshlands, and muddy streams.

Did you know?

  • The gender of a baby turtle depends on the temperature of the area where the nest is. A male turtle hatches at 22-27 Celsius and females hatch at 30 Celsius.
  • Even though a Spotted Turtle can have 100s of spots on its shell, there are some who don’t have any spots.
  • Considered an Endangered species because they are losing their habitat and pet stores collect them to sell.
  • Raccoons are the Spotted Turtle’s top predator.
  • Spotted Turtles hibernate during really cold temperatures and really hot temperatures.

Activity: Make a large outline of a Spotted Turtle and color it, except for the spots. Make 100 to 150 spots out of construction paper. Place some tape on the back of the spots and display the turtle drawing to the class. Have each student take a turn on putting the spots on the turtle. Time it with a stopwatch and see who is fastest.

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