Cats are a source of inspirations for many artists around the world. Their ubiquity as house pets makes them one of the world's most popular animals. Cats can be a bit tricky to draw because of their often hilarious poses they employ whether they are sitting, sleeping with their belly up, or curled up next to you purring. They also have elaborate stripes and marks on their furs, which is a challenge to translate into a canvas properly.
However, once you break the process down to simple steps, you can learn how to draw cats easier. We are going to achieve this by using basic shapes. Basic shapes in drawing refers to many different shapes used to form the outlines of the subject you are drawing and they are most commonly squares, oblongs, ovals, circles, and triangles. Start observing pictures of different cats with varying poses. Start pegging basic shapes to the body parts of the cat. Keep repeating this and you will start seeing a pattern emerge from cats you are looking at.
First step you are going to do when drawing is cat is to give basic shapes to it. Basic shapes you will use can differ depending on what kind of cat it is and in what position so try different shapes as you go along. Predominantly though, you will most likely use oval for the body, oblongs and triangles for the legs, circle for the face and triangles for the ears. Make sure all your basic shapes are of correct sizes and shape and more importantly, proportionate.
After you've set the foundations using basic shapes, you are going to want to draw outlines of the cat using basic shapes as your guideline. Start with the light lines giving realistic curves and try to give your cat a natural outlines.
Finally, after you are happy with the outlines of your cat, start giving it detailed features such as eyes, nose, whiskers, and markings on the fur. Eyes can often be done using combinations of two Cs, nose using a T as an anchor and mouth as an upside-down Y. One thing to keep in mind with the eyes is that cat's pupils become larger in dark while in the presence of a light they become vertical lines.
To learn how to draw cats require understandings of using basic shapes to form the outlines and foundations of the body parts of the cat. Keep practicing and you will start drawing realistic and lifelike sketches of your favorite cats!
Quick Tip #1: Breaking It Down
Break the subject you are drawing into simple basic shapes such as square, oval, oblong, triangle, and circle. It doesn't matter whether you are drawing an apple or a dragon. If you break your model down into basic shapes and use them as an outline, you are greatly simplifying the process of drawing. |
Quick Tip #2: Outside In
Draw from outside in. What I mean by this is you should always draw the outlines of your models first then cramp all the details within those outlines. Drawing facial features such as eyes, nose and mouth before setting facial line is a huge no-no. |
Quick Tip #3: Upside-Down
One exercise that will improve your drawing skills is drawing an upside-down image. This may seem a bit weird at first but try it! It'll develop and improve your visual mode. |
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