Flying Fish Coloring Pages
By:
Jennifer Thoa – Content Editor & Designer
Updated:
Free Flying Fish Coloring Pages: 19 printable PDF designs of flying fish gliding above the water and swimming beneath the waves. A flying fish is known for its large, wing-like pectoral fins, which it spreads out to glide through the air after building up speed underwater. Each page can be downloaded as a PDF to print or colored online in the browser.
To take flight, a flying fish swims very fast near the surface, then beats its tail rapidly against the water before launching into the air and spreading its fins to glide. This gliding motion, sometimes covering hundreds of feet, is mainly a way to escape from predators chasing it underwater.
This collection spans 19 pages, split between flying fish shown mid-glide above the water and fish shown swimming beneath the sea. The coloring angle ranges from a simple line-art fish to fuller ocean scenes.
What’s Inside This Collection
The 19 designs group into three categories, from mid-air gliding scenes to underwater designs.
Flying Fish Gliding Above the Water
About 8 pages show a flying fish mid-glide, wings spread wide over the waves, capturing the moment it leaves the water behind.
Flying Fish Under the Sea
A few pages show a flying fish swimming beneath the surface, giving colorists a fuller underwater scene to fill in.
Simple and Doodle-Style Designs
About 8 pages offer a simpler, hand-drawn or doodle-style flying fish, good for a quick, uncomplicated coloring session.
What Flying Fish Coloring Pages Do
Careful strokes for wide, wing-like fins. Keeping color inside a flying fish’s large, spread pectoral fins without crossing the lines calls for controlled, contained pencil movement, and the American Academy of Pediatrics identifies fine motor skill development as a core benefit of structured coloring for children ages 2 through 7.
A fact that surprises most colorists. Since a flying fish does not truly fly but glides using fin-like wings, coloring a page alongside a short conversation about this gliding motion gives families and classrooms a memorable ocean fact.
A steady, repeatable rhythm. A 2005 study in the Art Therapy Journal documented measurable reductions in anxiety following structured coloring sessions, and the simpler doodle-style designs in this collection offer that same steady, low-pressure rhythm.
A window into ocean survival. Because gliding is mainly a way for a flying fish to escape predators, coloring these pages gives colorists a natural opening to learn about how ocean animals avoid being eaten.
How to Color Flying Fish Coloring Pages Well
- Body: A cool Blue-Gray along the back, fading to Silver-White on the belly, matches the fish’s natural countershading.
- Wing-like fins: A lighter Blue or translucent Gray works well for the large pectoral fins, keeping them visually distinct from the body.
- Water: Deep Blue or Teal suits the ocean below, with lighter streaks or splashes where the fish breaks the surface.
- Sky in gliding scenes: A soft Blue or sunset Orange works well for the open sky above a mid-glide flying fish.
- Doodle-style pages: Simple, flat color blocks work well on the more hand-drawn designs, keeping the loose, sketch-like feel of the artwork.
- Fins and tail: Keep the tail and smaller fins a slightly darker shade than the body for definition.
5 Creative Craft Ideas With Flying Fish Coloring Pages
1. Hanging Flying Fish Mobile
Color a few flying fish pages, cut them out, and hang them at different lengths from a hanger or dowel for a simple ocean-themed mobile.
2. Ocean Scene Diorama
Color a flying fish page, mount it inside a shoebox, and add blue paper, water, and a paper sky for a simple gliding-fish diorama.
3. Flying Fish Bookmark
Color a small flying fish design, mount it on cardstock, and attach a ribbon or tassel at the top for a bookmark that clips over the corner of a page.
4. Classroom Ocean Animals Display
Color several flying fish pages as a group, cut out the finished designs, and arrange them on a classroom bulletin board alongside other ocean animal pages.
5. Flying Fish Greeting Card
Fold cardstock in half, mount a colored flying fish design on the front, and write a message inside for a family member or friend.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are flying fish coloring pages?
Flying fish coloring pages are printable line-art designs of flying fish gliding above the waves and swimming under the sea. This collection includes 19 free designs available as PDFs or online coloring.
What is a flying fish?
A flying fish is an ocean fish known for its large, wing-like pectoral fins, which it uses to glide above the water after building up speed underwater.
Can flying fish really fly?
Not exactly. A flying fish does not flap its fins like wings but instead glides through the air after launching out of the water at speed.
Why do flying fish glide out of the water?
Gliding above the surface is mainly a way for a flying fish to escape predators that are chasing it underwater.
How far can a flying fish glide?
A flying fish can glide for a long distance above the water, sometimes covering several hundred feet in a single glide.
Are flying fish coloring pages suitable for young children?
Yes. The simple doodle-style designs in this collection suit preschool and early elementary colorists, while the fuller gliding and underwater scenes work well for older children and adults.
What colors work well for a flying fish?
Cool Blue-Gray along the back, Silver-White on the belly, and a lighter Blue for the wing-like fins give a flying fish design a clean, natural look.
Where do flying fish live?
Flying fish live in warm ocean waters around the world, usually near the surface, where they can build up speed to glide.
Start Coloring
Download any page by clicking the design. No account, email, or payment is required. Pages print directly from the browser at full resolution or open in the online coloring tool for screen use. Share finished pages on Facebook or Pinterest with the share buttons at the top of each design page.
