A cat is an excellent object for drawing, although it is rather complicated. A graceful adult animal or a funny, awkward kitten makes you want to endlessly watch and admire. The feline silhouette is distinguished by the smoothness of lines. The emotionality of facial expressions just rolls over. A characteristic feature is the grace of poses and manner of movement. What else do you need to grab a pencil and draw a cat? How to express an artistic vision will determine the chosen style and way of creating a picture.
Outline from nature
If you need to develop observation, there is no better practice than using a living model. How to draw a cat sleeping opposite?
The number one secret of artists: the visual image consists only of color spots. They need to be transferred to paper to get a reliable image. Lines are just borders between spots or spots of a special shape.
To make sure this judgment is correct, it is worth closing one eye and screwing up the second. With one eye, a person sees the world around him in a two-dimensional dimension, and squinting will save the nature from unnecessary details.
The procedure for applying color areas and further elaboration depends on what technique and materials the artist will use.
So, the model on paper turned into a bunch of spots. To turn them into a cat again, you need to outline the general contour, make small details and deepen the chiaroscuro. At this stage, the quality and realism of the drawing will depend on the experience and skill of the author.
How to draw a cat without a cat?
To find a good technique, it is worth practicing in creating a drawing from memory. When drawing a silhouette and details, the artist must apply knowledge of anatomy and perspective. Here you will have to use reference figures: circles, ovals, rectangles and more. The auxiliary contour is better to draw with a thin pencil. How to arrange a cat on a sheet will tell fantasy. The main thing is to observe the proportions of the body. The head is small. Neck, back and tail make up one smooth line. The trunk expands from the chest to the pelvis. It is important to determine the center of gravity of the cat in order to give it the correct posture.
Draft lines are neatly cleaned with an eraser. Details are added inside the silhouette: eyes, nose, mouth and more.
Small inaccuracies, asymmetry in small details will help to give the drawn cat character, emotionality and avoid template averaging. Shadows and highlights make the image voluminous and realistic.
How to draw in haste?
If you need a cartoon or stylized drawing, reference figures will help even more. It is easy to draw a cat in stages, like interconnected circles and ovals. Even a child can cope with such a task.
Stages:
- Here is a cat that curled up in a ball by the fire. This means that the overall contour will be almost round.
- For cartoon characters, the head is always disproportionately large. Therefore, the oval of the head will take almost half of the large contour.
- The smallest mug circle. It will accommodate the eyes, nose and mouth. It is these details that determine the nature of the beast. Perfect symmetry is not needed.
- Two triangles are ears stuck out. Only in a rage a cat can press them to the head. And this one is sleeping calmly.
- A sausage tail will complete the look.
Beginners are very inspired by the opinion of Bert Dodson that anyone who can hold a pencil can draw. However, success cannot be achieved without constant practice and self-improvement. It is worth trying all the styles and techniques to find your own path. In this regard, animals, and in particular cats, offer broad horizons for experimentation.