When you think of any naval journey, the end result is to get to the intended destination in one piece, safe from harm or tragedy. In some cases, however, nature has other plans, and we end up with the ends of a ship before it sinks deep beneath the waves…
Tutorial Video
Step-By-Step Images and Instructions
1.

Use a blue pen to create three wavy lines towards the bottom of your page – these are the waves your boat needs to sink into!
2.

Use a black liner to add a line emerging from the top wavy line, heading towards the top right-hand corner of the page. At the end of this, add a curved line, heading down to join the top wave.
3.

Add another line beneath the first, running parallel to the top of the boat. Then add a “ring” beneath this – the “porthole” of the ship.
4.

Use a black liner and a ruler to add two parallel lines emerging from the top, pointing up at a 45-degree angle towards the top left-hand corner of the page. Connect these two lines at the top with a straight line, and turn this into a long, thin rectangle.
5.

Repeat this shape on top of the first, making this one slightly smaller.
6.

Now, add a rectangle with the ruler in the middle of the first shape, and divide this into several smaller rectangle shapes. Add a rectangle to the top shape, right at the edge, and then add a small square to the left of this.
7.

Add two vertical lines with the ruler emerging from the top of the first shape, and top this with a “bump”.
8.

Draw a straight line with the ruler connecting the bottom of the “bump” to the right-hand corner of the boat, and repeat this on the left-hand side, joining the line to the top of the wave.
9.

Use a red pen to add a triangle to the top of the “bump”, creating a flag heading off to the right.
10.

Grab a gray pen and fill in the body of the flagpole.
11.

Return to the red pen and add color to the strips on the top of each rectangular section, the stripe at the top of the boat, and the ring of the porthole.
12.

Use a gray pencil to add a wavy stripe to the bottom of the boat, just above the top wave.
13.

Use a cyan pen to add color to the windows, and the porthole on the ship itself.
14.

Now use the same pen to add a series of small circles to the waves.
15.

Bring a wavy line down from the left-hand corner of the top wave, across the bottom of the waves, and up to the right-hand side.
16.

Then, fill in the rest of the waves, leaving the circles white for the moment.
17.

Finally use a yellow pen to add a range of fish to the ocean!
And there we have it; the ship is sinking deep beneath the waves, seemingly out of reach of any help. The next part of the story is up to you; is a plucky rescue attempted, or did the crew simply disappear forever, trapped in a watery grave…
The call of the ocean is one which has been answered by many characters across history, with plenty of spine – chilling tales of lost boats and sunken ships, haunted crews, and buried treasure – boats and ships have long formed the core of many horror and ghost stories, and there remains something of a mystery about the unknown of the ocean.
Even amongst modern sailors, there are a number of “dos and don’ts” present on board any ship, and this includes a variety of superstitions which are believed to bring both good and bad luck depending on the omen.
Even now, whistling on deck is seriously frowned upon – it is believed that this can bring about strong winds and is considered really bad luck. The only exception applies to the ship’s cook, and only then because it acts as proof that he is not eating the food meant for the sailors!
Bananas are another element which is frowned upon. Fishing boats hold the strongest fear of these innocent fruits – legend believes that if bananas are discovered onboard a fishing boat, then the fish will not bite, the engines will fail, and the crew will be besieged with bad luck and mechanical issues.
Cats, on the other hand, were considered to bring good luck, to the extent that many sailors from Britain and Ireland would adopt a black cat prior to setting sail – a tradition which can be dated back to Vikings living in northern Germany as far back as the 8th century. As an added bonus, cats were amazing for hunting down and getting rid of rodents, leaving plenty of fresh food for the sailors to enjoy!