Manta Ray Gliding Gracefully Through The Ocean Coloring Page

A manta ray crosses this page seen from directly above, both wings stretched until their tips nearly touch the side edges. Two cephalic lobes point forward at the head like small horns, and a long thin tail trails down and away toward the bottom left. The marking on the wings is matched left to right: clusters of outlined spots in graded sizes, loose curling tendrils, and a run of flame shaped lines down the spine. Below the animal two thick stands of weed rise out of the bottom corners over a bed of rounded coral lumps. Round bubbles float in the upper corners, and a few long ripple lines mark the surface overhead.

Every shape on this sheet is an open outline, which makes it a page about restraint rather than coverage. The spots look best left pale against a stronger wing, so settle the wing color first and work the spots back into it afterward.

The weed along the bottom is the one place to be bold. It frames the ray without competing with it.

A manta ray carries the largest brain of any fish, and the heaviest relative to its body. Individuals have been filmed turning over and over in front of a mirror, apparently checking what moves when they do.