Reef Shark Patrolling a Coral Reef Coloring Page

Coral fills the bottom half of this sheet and it is drawn with real variety. Branching staghorn shapes rise on the left, rounded brain corals sit heavy in the middle, and broad leafy fans lean in from the right. Each growth is a closed outline, so the band can take twenty different colors without any of them bleeding into another.

The shark above is deliberately plain by comparison. One smooth outline, a wide grin with a row of small teeth, a big round eye, two swept fins and a pointed tail. Three short strokes mark the gills and that is the entire interior.

Hidden in the growth near the center is a single small fish with striped flanks. It is easy to miss and worth pointing out to a child before they start.

For the animal itself, a blue back with a white belly is the conventional choice and it holds up well. The coral is where the page wants to be loud.

The water between the two is untouched paper. Leaving it white keeps the coral vivid; washing it pale blue pushes the shark forward instead. Either one reads well.