Where is the sea turtle in Quiet Ocean?

It is plate 12 of 45 in Quiet Ocean. Like every Nibfern drawing it is printed on one side of the page, with a light gray shading guide under the lines and a dotted cut line at the spine.

Can I frame the sea turtle page?

Yes. Cut along the dotted line and trim to the corner marks for a 7 x 9 inch print that fits a standard 8 x 10 frame.

Sea turtle as printed in the book: a line drawing with a light gray shading guide — Sea turtle, plate 12 of Quiet Ocean. Drag across the page to compare the color reference with the drawing as printed.

Sea turtle colored in: the finished color reference — Sea turtle, plate 12 of Quiet Ocean. Drag across the page to compare the color reference with the drawing as printed.

Quiet Ocean · Plate 12 of 45

Sea turtle color reference

There are seven species of sea turtle, and they live in oceans around the world. Females come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches, often near where they hatched. The green sea turtle is named for the green color of its body fat, not its shell.

Colors to reach for

The colored plate uses copper, ochre, tan, sage, moss green, blue green, teal, pale blue, navy and white, shown here in color-wheel order. Match each swatch, light to dark, and let the gray guide show where the deeper shades go.

In nature: Give the shell plates warm olive, amber and brown tones with darker edges, and use pale yellow and tan for the skin between the scales.

copper
ochre
tan
sage
moss green
blue green
teal
pale blue
navy
white

How to color the sea turtle, step by step

Read the gray shading guide first. It already marks where the sea turtle is darkest, so the shadows are mapped before you pick up a pencil.
Lay a light first layer of copper and ochre over the largest areas, with soft pressure and small circles, letting the gray show through.
Build depth with tan, sage, moss green, blue green, teal, pale blue and navy, going over the gray areas a second and third time until they read as shadow and form.
Finish with white for the smallest details and highlights, then step back and compare with the color reference above.

Questions about this page

What colors do I need to color the sea turtle?: Start with copper, ochre, tan, sage, moss green, blue green, teal, pale blue, navy and white. Give the shell plates warm olive, amber and brown tones with darker edges, and use pale yellow and tan for the skin between the scales.
Where is the sea turtle in Quiet Ocean?: It is plate 12 of 45 in Quiet Ocean. Like every Nibfern drawing it is printed on one side of the page, with a light gray shading guide under the lines and a dotted cut line at the spine.
Can I frame the sea turtle page?: Yes. Cut along the dotted line and trim to the corner marks for a 7 x 9 inch print that fits a standard 8 x 10 frame.

Buy on Amazon Printables on Etsy Get a free page

This drawing is in the Sea Life and Reef printable set on Etsy (20 drawings), and in the Quiet Ocean Complete Set of all 45.

Free printable page

Try a Nibfern page before you buy the book.

Choose the Christmas tree or the polar bear from Quiet Winter, the sea turtle from Quiet Ocean or Night 1 of Nobody Leaves the Ice. You get the pages exactly as they are printed in the book, as a PDF to print at home.

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