Sea Turtles and Tortoises: Shell Shapes and Color Play
A sea turtle tilts through bubbles, another appears from above among shells and starfish, a tortoise stands by a burrow, and a long-necked tortoise reaches toward leaves. Their broad shell shapes and smaller surrounding details give you different places to try a shared set of colors.
4 coloring pages · Mixed difficulty
What you need
- Two printed pictures to start; choose more from the four if you like
- Crayons or colored pencils
- Spare paper for color tests and your own shapes
Coloring pages in this activity
Try the activity
Choose a pair to print
Try the sea turtle with bubbles and the tortoise by the burrow, or choose another pair. Add the pictures to your print list, keep the ones you want and set their order before printing or downloading the list as a PDF. All four pictures make four coloring pages; the optional cover adds one page.
Follow the shell outline with your eyes
Look around the outside edge of each shell, then find a broad shape inside it. Compare the tilted turtle with the view from above, or the rounded tortoise shell with the side view and long neck. The smaller shapes on the heads and limbs offer a contrast to the large shell spaces; leave them white if you prefer.
Test a small set of colors
Try two or three colors on spare paper. Choose a few broad shell spaces in each picture and use the same colors in a different arrangement. You can alternate colors, repeat one color or leave a space white.
Place the pictures side by side
Point to a color you used on both pages and show where the shell outline looks different. If you add another picture, notice the drawn bubbles, shells, starfish, burrow or leafy branch around its turtle. Show one detail by pointing or talking; you do not need to finish every small shape or all four pages.
Another idea
Draw a large rounded shape on spare paper, divide it into a few spaces and try another arrangement of your colors. Keep the coloring sheets whole; no cutting is needed.