Humpback Whale Colouring

A humpback whale is a mighty traveller with some of the longest flippers of any whale. Humpbacks live in all the world's major oceans. Many spend summer feeding in cold, productive waters, then migrate thousands of kilometres to warm tropical or subtropical seas for mating and calving. An adult can grow to about 18 metres long and weigh up to roughly 36 tonnes, while calves are already around 4 to 5 metres long when born. Humpbacks may live about 80 to 90 years. Their scientific name means big-winged New Englander, a wonderful clue to those extraordinary pectoral flippers. Humpbacks have baleen instead of teeth and feed on krill and schooling fish. Some work together to blow circles of bubbles around fish, creating a bubble net before swimming upward with open mouths. They are also celebrated singers. Males produce long, changing sequences of moans and calls that travel through the water. Breaching, the spectacular leap shown here, may help a whale communicate, remove skin parasites or simply move its powerful body. For colouring, begin with the whale's huge body. Humpbacks are commonly dark grey or blackish on top with lighter areas underneath, but a colouring page is also a place for imagination. Try charcoal grey, blue-grey or deep navy across the back, then use cream, pale grey or white on the belly and long flippers. Leave the throat grooves lighter so they remain easy to see. The small bumps on the head can be grey circles, and the eye should be dark with a tiny white highlight. Make the splashes pale blue and leave a few white foam tips. Layer turquoise near the surface and richer blue farther away. The clouds may stay white with soft blue edges, and the sky can be very pale blue. Follow the curve of the whale with long pencil strokes and use short, energetic strokes around the water to show movement. You can add a warm sunrise behind the horizon or a few distant birds, but do not crowd the scene. Let the wide flippers, rising body and joyful splash remain the clearest features of your finished humpback whale picture.

◫ A4 size✎ Bold outlines♡ Ages 3–8

Download JPEGHigh-resolution A4 image Download PDFPrint-ready A4 file

Make it an activity

Choose a favourite colour palette
Add a simple background
Display the finished artwork

Grown-up note: Please supervise printing and choose age-appropriate art materials.