Cartoon clownfish hovering over an anemone beside spotted coral tubes

Wide-Eyed Clownfish Above Sea Anemone

A wide-eyed clownfish pauses above waving anemone arms, with striped fins fanned out and bumpy coral tubes nearby.

🎨 How to color it

Color the clownfish bright orange with crisp white bands, make the anemone a rosy pink, and give the spotted coral tubes a sandy tan. Use sharp colored pencils for the fin stripes, coral spots, and wavy anemone arms so the thin black outlines stay clear. Try a pale aqua wash or light side-strokes around the fish to make the orange body pop like it is darting through clear reef water.

The story behind this coloring page

Zuri’s Current-Tag Dare — Between the soft arms of the reef garden, Zuri flicked her tail and shouted, “Current-tag!” The rules had just popped into her head: tap three anemone tips, loop past the tan tube corals, then freeze before the water tugged you sideways. Read the full story →

Between the soft arms of the reef garden, Zuri flicked her tail and shouted, “Current-tag!” The rules had just popped into her head: tap three anemone tips, loop past the tan tube corals, then freeze before the water tugged you sideways. The sea smelled salty and green, and every fin-swish made the anemone arms whisper swish-swish as if counting her turns.

She touched one, two, three pink tips and zoomed toward the bumpy tubes. Her heart beat fast—not because anything chased her, but because she had never made up a game and played it first. The tubes gurgled blurp, blurp, blurp. Zuri froze, then grinned. They were not markers after all; tiny bubbles rose from inside them like the reef was clapping for her new game.

So she changed the rule. After the loop, every player had to wait for three bubble-blurps before racing home. Zuri floated above the anemone, brave in a small, sparkly way, while the reef kept score underneath. Next time you see her wide eyes and fanned fins, can you tell which bubble-blurp she is waiting for?