This post has been originally commissioned for SketchBook Blog in 2022. Later on the site's migration, the original is no longer available, but you can still access the content here. Enjoy!

Cats are amazing animals—they're fluffy and beautiful, yet they're not really so dissimilar from their wild cousins. Having one is like having a miniature panther in your house! They're very graceful, with a body that's designed for hunting, and this elegance makes them a wonderful subject to describe. They also make a great "model beast" — once y'all learn how to draw them, you'll be equipped with basic skills necessary for drawing dogs — and even horses! They have a surprising amount in common. I'll show yous.

how to draw cats step by step

Simplified cat anatomy

Every brute's body shape is defined by two anatomical levels: skeletal and musculus structure. They can be hidden under fur and skin, but without them the cat would be shapeless. Fortunately, we don't have to learn the shape of every bone and the name of every muscle — we only demand to depict what is seen.

A cat'southward skeleton can be simplified to a gear up of lines. You need to memorize the proportions and location of the joints along with their limits. Merely once you have expert this a few times, information technology's all you need to start a cartoon of a cat.

cat anatomy how to draw the skeleton

The easiest fashion to acquire this method is to look at a photo of a cat and to draw the "skeleton" you lot tin encounter in its body. After dozens of such sketches this volition become automatic for your mitt. Tip: if yous want to draw cats from imagination, try not to wait at the photo after you start sketching — this way you'll practice using your memory as well.

cat GIF how to draw

When drawing, pay special attending to the spine. In cats it's very flexible, and it'due south limited only by the ribcage and the hips.

cat sketches outlines

Although muscles are more complicated than a skeleton, in case of cats they can exist highly simplified. This is considering cats have a very loose skin that covers the outlines of the muscles even in hairless breeds. This makes them very easy to draw!

Afterwards you draw the skeleton, you can start "dressing" it with parts of the body. Anxiety…

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… thigh and shoulder…

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… arm and calf…

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… and the loose pare between the parts.

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Now you lot tin draw the outline for the residual of the trunk. Information technology'south rather blocky and tin be similar in shape to a long loaf of bread.

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Finally, you can cover all the parts with loose pare, keeping only the outlines you need. I similar to imagine I put the cat within of ane-piece pajamas — tight around the specific parts of the trunk, only loose in between.

drawing a cat

There's no one-and-merely right society for drawing the torso. Sketch information technology the mode you lot want! Once more, do with a lot of different photo references to understand it better and to brand the movement more than automated for your paw. You need to work out your ain method that will work all-time for you.

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Cats fatigued from skeleton to skin with simple shapes and a picayune scrap of do.

How to draw a cat's head

Cats come in many shapes, but there's a sure arrangement of proportions that creates a typical "cat face." Yous don't need to memorize them 100% — general rules are more important hither. Commencement with a T-shape stuck to the imaginary head. These are the lines of the eyes and nose, and they should define the direction of the head even when you lot can't run across information technology yet as a whole.

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Add a muzzle. It has the shape of a sack pinned to the signal between the optics.

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Cutting the muzzle into half, then cutting the upper half as well. This will create the length of the nose bridge. In some breeds information technology may be longer (in others, shorter), but a half of the muzzle is a "safe" option for a generic cat.

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Turn your true cat into a panda for awhile!

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Identify the eyes in the middle of each "center patch." They shouldn't touch the muzzle, and they should be slightly crossed with that original centre line.

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Add the brow. It tin get direct from the nose line, but you can also create a "step" at this point, depending on the brood.

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Add the jaws…

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… and the remainder of the skull.

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You now have enough guide lines to add the details:

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Cat ears are very complicated, not only difficult to draw, but also hard to imagine in 3D. They can't be simplified to any basic grade, but they can be roughly converted to a gear up of parts: a base of operations (a), a "roll" or a "horse ear" (b), two pairs of flaps (c), a pouch (d), and the "front grand" (east). Even when covered in fur these parts define the shape of the ear.

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We can describe them step past footstep: start past drawing a spherical base and the opening of the ear. This will constitute their position and length.

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Add together depth to the ear by drawing a kind of half-rolled leaf. If this is hard for you, you may need to practice perspective and drawing forms in 3D first.

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Create the "front end yard" expanse between the ear and the eyes.

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Add the flaps. Once again, perspective is of import here!

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Finally, add the residuum of the base and the little pouch covering the outer flaps.

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This process gives you a generic cat head, and now you tin alter information technology to create the brood you want.

how to draw a cat head step by step

Let's add heads to our sketches:

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Monika's quick sketches with heads added — note the importance of the ears.

How to draw cat paws

Cats paws are unique — their deadly claws are subconscious within cute balls of fluff. All this fluff, again, makes them quite easy to draw. Let me evidence you! A typical true cat has five fingers just uses only 4 for walking. The 5th one (a) is chosen a dew claw, and it's positioned like your thumb. It doesn't normally touch the ground. Each finger has a pad beneath, the same you have nether your fingertips. At that place's likewise one additional pad chosen pisiform (b). Yous tin can feel the bone it covers on the outer side of your wrist—in humans it's not covered by any pad.

The hind paws have only 4 toes, and no pisiform either.

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You lot can sketch the paws while drawing the skeleton. Imagine they're pieces of wire, and that they must back up the cat's body.

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Draw the basic shape of each paw. Notice that the 3D view (c) is a combined version of two 2D views (a, b).

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Add the outlines of fingers and toes. Don't forget near the dew claws in the forepaws, placed like your thumbs.

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If your cat is short-haired, you tin can add ovals in the front end of fingers and toes to accentuate the shape of the basic beneath. Also, don't forget well-nigh the pads, if they're visible, and the pisiform in the back of the forepaws!

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Finally, the outline of the paws. In short-haired breeds the tips of the claws in the hind paws can often exist seen, and so you can add together them as a prissy emphasis.

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Add the fur

Afterwards you sketch the pose and the anatomy, you lot can brand your cat complete by calculation fur. The longer the hair, the "fatter" every part of the body must be. Also call back that hair grows in a certain direction all over the body. Don't forget well-nigh that "one-piece pajama" expect!

how cat hair grows how to draw it

Before you describe a certain breed, spend a few minutes analyzing pictures of it. How do y'all need to modify the face'south proportions to achieve that look? How long is the fur, legs, tail? You don't need to draw every petty detail, but some elements are necessary if yous want people to recognize the brood.

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