At first you will only see beige, brown and even a hint of white. When you look at the fur up close, you will see that it is actually made up of many different colours.
The cat's fur is wild and uneven, so don't worry about neatness. The strokes don't have to be parallel either - we will work them in the general direction of the fur, but using a random, haphazard approach. Study the fur directions in the photograph carefully as it changes according to the bone structure of the cat's head.ĭon't worry about trying to make your fur lines straight you are simply trying to capture the look of fur. Using light pressure add black radiating lines to the iris, then burnish them with Pale Sage (P) using very firm pressure.īuild up the eye surround using Black (P), taking it over the light section to help blend that in.Īdd a light layer of Light Cobalt Blue (L) over the outer edge of the iris to move the colour from green to blue-green. There is a grey area below the eye, within the darker surrounding area, where Titanium Buff (L) should be placed to protect it from too much colour. Now build up the eye surround with first Dahlia Purple (P) and then Black (P). You can use heavy pressure (but do not burnish) to meld the colours we have used so far together. Now blend the whole iris area by going over it with the Ginger Root (P) pencil. Still using Dark Green (P) and a scribble stroke, add pigment to the centre of the iris to darken it slightly. Also take this colour into the dark eye surround area, building up to a darker tone. Apply Dark Green (P) using medium pressure. The iris is shaded by the upper lid and needs a darker tone applied. When tackling a realistic drawing of a cat, you can create the eyes separately, as I did, or work on them simultaneously.
This is to add depth - don't be too heavy-handed or you risk turning the eye red! Taking the eye darkerįrom this point onwards, I will show the work on the left eye. Then layer Yellowed Orange (P) over the outside edges to continue building up the depth there.Īdd more radiating strokes from the pupil with very light pressure, this time using Permanent Red (P). This will look too dark at present as we have nothing to contrast with it, but don't panic!Īdd a light layer of Apple Green (P) over the iris, avoiding the reflection. Now add a very light layer of the blue over the reflections that cross the pupil and iris. Place Pale Sage (P) around the edge of the pupil with medium pressure, and then add Light Cobalt Blue (L) over the top of the green. Use a light to medium pressure to form a smooth, even coating. Next add a base layer of Titanium Buff (L) over the iris, again leaving the reflection empty. Then add a layer of Prismacolor Dahlia Purple followed by Dark Green (P).
Take a Sepia Luminance (L) pencil and fill in the pupil area with medium pressure using the scumbling stroke. The pupilsīegin the eyes with the pupils, avoiding the light area of reflection. When you add the coloured pencil pigment it will skip over them, leaving them white. This will avoid staining your whiskers with graphite. Don't go over the graphite lines, but indent just to one side of them. Starting your realistic drawing of a cat The whiskersįor the cat's whiskers, indent the lines with a pencil or stylus to ensure a clean line. If you used the lightpad or window the stage above is unnecessary. Of course, only the graphite on the back of the tracing will be transferred to your drawing paper, not the colour.ĭo not press your hand down on the paper as you work, as this will cause smudges. I like to use a coloured pencil for this as it is then easier to see if you have missed any lines. Turn the tracing over, place it on your drawing paper, then trace over the outline once more. If you use the tracing paper, you will need to scribble with a soft graphite pencil (2B) over the back where the lines show through. Tape the printout to a window with bright daylight behind it, then place your drawing paper over the top and trace.Place the outline on a lightpad, lay the tracing paper over the top and then trace (as the lightpad is lit from behind this can make the process easier).Lay tracing paper over the printout and trace over the outlines.To get the drawing onto your paper you can first print it onto thin printer paper and then either. As this is an exercise on drawing the fur and features of a cat in coloured pencil you can use the original traced outline that I created, rather than drawing it yourself, if you wish.