How To Draw Cat Head

Step 1

You can treat this exercise as a continuation of my cat tutorial. Sketch the pose first on a cheap paper, using any pencil you want. Don't worry if it turns out messy, it's just a base!

Step 2

Use a fine liner/marker/pen to stress the body contours. We need to make it darker than the sketch underneath so you can see these lines through better quality paper.

Step 3

Now place your sketch under the sheet you're going to use for the actual picture. You should still be able to see the contours. If not (because your sheet is too thick), you can always use good old window for the next steps.

Step 4

Draw the elements that aren't fur-dependable, like eyes or nose. This is also the moment you're setting the contrast of whole picture - the nostrils will be the darkest place.

Step 5

Take a mechanical or classic, but strongly sharpened HB pencil. Sketch very lightly the contours of fur according to the breed you're drawing. I'm going to draw something similar to a Maine Coon.

Step 6

Let's take care of the ears first. Add some loose strands on their base and smooth hair on the tip.

Step 7

My cat is going to have very long hair, so I add cute tufts inside the ears.

Step 8

Draw the edges of the ears that are visible under the hair and darken it.

Step 9

Take a B pencil (or anything slightly softer than HB) and stress the darker edges. Use it very sparingly - the more you use it, the less impact it makes. One more important thing: keep your pencils perfectly sharpened all the time. It's crucial for consistency. If it's tiring for you to keep this up, buy a mechanical pencil, they let you stay focused on drawing.

Step 10

Draw strands on the edge of every coat. Keep them loose and wavy. Don't dive into details. Remember, you draw an impression of fur, not each hair.

Step 11

Add another coat between them.

Step 12

Add a shadow between the coats.

Step 13

Add a bit of hair under the eyes too. Remember: the more lines, the darker the area. So, if you want to keep some area light, draw as little lines as possible. Sometimes it's even better not to draw anything!

Step 14

Add short hair on the nose and cover the mouth with hair.

Step 15

There are "breaking" between the ears and the rest of the head, and also in the middle of the forehead.

Step 16

Cover the forehead with very light, thin hair, just to pretend it's a furry area too.

Step 17

Add the whiskers! Keep them long, wavy and random.