How To Draw the Beloved Cat
Cats are one of the most owned pets in the world. They’re cute, sometimes feisty, and make a great companion. Overall, they’re a widely loved creature, but whether you love them or hate them, they’re certainly fun to draw.
By: Joy Ye
Cats are one of the more intriguing things to draw. You’ve certainly seen them drawn in different ways, different styles and in different shapes. This is because of how flexible these felines are. The fluidity of their body allows for more creative freedom which makes drawing a simplified version of them that much easier.
- Start by drawing three circular shapes, one for the head, one for the chest, and one for the rest of the body. Depending on how sleek or round you want to draw the cat, these shapes can be drawn wider or thinner. Here I chose to draw a rounder cat, so I went with a more oval-like shape.
- Draw two triangles pointing up for the ears. Again, these can differ depending on the cat, but the triangular shape is quite iconic to these felines.
- For the front legs, draw two lines connecting from the second circle down to the bottom of the third circle. Then add the paws by drawing two ovals connected to those lines and then another two for the hind paws.
- Now adding in the facial features, draw a triangle point down in the center for the nose. Then draw two lines connected to the point, one tilted left, the other tilted right. Cats’ eyes can be a multitude of shapes, but typically they’re shaped like an egg or an almond with the pointed end towards the nose. Draw three lines (or more) on each side of the face for whiskers.
- Cats’ tails are just two lines connected with a rounded end, but they can bend in many different ways, so here I bent that line towards the cat.
- Add color and highlights to the eyes, and then you have a cat!
Cats are more organically shaped, so loosen up a bit when drawing them, especially in other poses. For example, when facing the side, their back can be drawn as one curve because of the flexibility of their spine. The shapes here are not absolute when drawing these creatures, but make sure they connect. Like mentioned in the previous art tutorials, references are your best friend, especially for something as fluid as cats.