We went through a massive Little Mermaid phase in our house that I thought would never end. Honestly I still find myself humming “Under the Sea” at the grocery store.
If your kids are obsessed with Ariel right now you are definitely in the right place. These free Ariel coloring pages are going to save your sanity on a rainy afternoon.
I put together a mix of her as a mermaid and her walking around on land. Because let’s face it they always want the specific version of the princess they just watched.
Just click on any picture below to grab the PDF and print it out.
Your kids will also love: Princess, Moana, Jasmine, Elsa, Cinderella.
Highlighted Ariel Printable Coloring Pages
Swimming with Dolphins
This one has Ariel swimming underwater with two really happy looking dolphins. There are some fun bubbles and coral at the bottom too.
My youngest usually scribbles all over the dolphins first. It is a great page for practicing different shades of ocean blue.
Walking on Human Legs
Here is Ariel finally on land wearing a simple dress and walking on the beach. You can see Eric’s castle sitting way back there in the background.
Kids love coloring the sand and the little shells scattered around her feet. It is a nice break from coloring a million green mermaid tails.
Watching Scuttle Fly
Ariel is just chilling on a rock in the water while Scuttle the seagull flies over her. There’s a tiny island with palm trees behind them.
It reminds me of that scene where she is trying to figure out human stuff. Grab some gray and white for Scuttle and maybe a bright yellow for his beak.
Waving Goodbye to King Triton
This scene always gets me a little teary eyed if I am being honest. Ariel is up on the ship waving down at her dad King Triton in the ocean.
Triton has his big trident and a very serious beard. It is fun to figure out how to color the wood grain on the side of the ship.
Wearing Her Wedding Dress
Every kid wants to color the giant princess wedding dress at some point. She is standing under this pretty archway holding a massive bouquet of flowers.
The castle is peeking out from behind her veil. You can really go crazy with glitter pens on a dress like this.
Crown and Book
I love the details in this Ariel coloring sheet where she is sitting underwater reading a big open book. She even has a fancy little crown sitting on her head.
There are lots of squiggly underwater plants around the rock she is sitting on. I wonder what kind of book a mermaid actually reads down there.
Flowers in Her Hair
This is a really nice close up portrait of Ariel surrounded by bubbles and tiny shells. She has these big pretty flowers tucked right into her hair.
This one is actually perfect for older kids who want to focus on blending skin tones. Or just figuring out how to get that iconic bright red hair right.
Flowing Hair Underwater
Ariel looks so graceful here with her hair just floating up toward the surface. She is completely surrounded by coral and tiny fish and even a seahorse.
This Ariel coloring page is super busy so it might take them a while to finish. Which is exactly what we want when we need to drink our coffee in peace.
Tips for Coloring Ariel Coloring Pages
The Iconic Red Hair
Getting that specific Ariel red is weirdly hard. I always tell my kids to put down a layer of bright orange first and then lightly color over it with a true cherry red. It gives the hair that weird glowing look it has in the movie.
Underwater vs Land Lighting
Have you noticed how things look different underwater? If she is under the sea we use cool colors like purples and greens for shading. On land we switch to warmer yellows and soft pinks.
The Sparkle Factor
Mermaids need glitter… it is just a fact of life. I keep a stash of around 14 or 15 glitter gel pens hidden in my desk just for mermaid tails and crowns. Regular crayons just leave the scales looking flat and sad.
Layering the Ocean
The water shouldn’t just be one solid block of blue crayon. We start with a really light turquoise near the top of the page. Then we press harder with a dark navy down by the sand and coral.
Skin Tones under the Sea
Flesh colored crayons look kind of sickly when you surround them with bright blue water. We actually mix a tiny bit of pink or even pale purple into her skin when she is underwater. Sounds crazy but it actually works.
Don’t Rush the Backgrounds
My son always wants to color Ariel and then leave the rest of the paper blank. I try to get him to at least color the bubbles or a couple of fish. The page just feels so empty if you ignore all the cool little background details.