How to Draw a Cat

Gawo ndi Gawo

1. Gawo 1

   Draw mzere winawake waukulu kuposa izo ndi zochuluka.

   Almost every animal head starts as one simple shape, and getting it slightly wide rather than perfectly round is what stops a cat reading as a human. Draw it in one motion rather than in short careful passes - a lopsided circle drawn confidently is more use to you than a perfect one built out of twelve nervous strokes, because everything after this gets measured against it.

   Onani Making it small so there is room for the body. The head is the whole drawing here; use the space.

   Chezani It should be noticeably wider than it is tall - about one and a tenth.

2. Gawo 2

   Draw mdima liwiro mozungulira katikati ya mzere.

   This is the eye line, and it is the single most useful mark in the drawing. Eyes sit almost exactly halfway down a head - on cats and on people - but almost everybody places them much too high, because we think of eyes as being near the top of a face. Putting the line down before the eyes stops you guessing.

   Onani Drawing it a third of the way down instead of halfway. Measure it: top edge to line should equal line to chin.

   Chezani Fold the distance in half by eye. The line should sit on the fold.

3. Gawo 3

   Draw m'munsimu lina latsopano m'munsimu.

   The vertical centre line keeps the two halves of the face agreeing with each other. Without it, one eye drifts wider than the other and the nose ends up off to one side - and because the error creeps in gradually you will not notice until the face is finished and looks subtly wrong.

   Onani Skipping this because the face looks symmetrical already. It will not be by step 8.

   Chezani The two lines should cross at the centre of the circle.

4. Gawo 4

   Draw m'makutu chakum'mawa monga triangle kulowa pa mzere wa m'makutu.

   The base of the ear belongs on the circle's edge, not floating above it. A cat's ears grow out of the skull, so the triangle should look like it is part of the head rather than balanced on top of it. Start the base inside the outline and let the sides rise from there.

   Onani Perching the ears above the head with a gap underneath. That reads as a hat.

   Chezani The bottom corners of the triangle should both touch or cross the circle.

5. Gawo 5

   Draw m'makutu kumanja kuti agwirizane, kukanikiza mofanana ndi kumbuyo.

   Compare it to the one you just drew rather than to your idea of an ear: same height, same lean, same distance from the centre line. This is the comparison habit that fixes proportion generally, and a pair of ears is the easiest place to practise it because the error is obvious once you look for it.

   Onani Making the second ear smaller. It usually happens because your hand is more cramped on that side.

   Chezani Both ear tips should be about the same distance above the circle.

6. Gawo 6

   Draw the two eyes on the middle line, one eye-width apart.

   The gap between a cat's eyes is about one eye wide. That single measurement does more for the likeness than the shape of the eyes themselves, so place them before you worry about how they look. Sit them ON the line rather than above it.

   Onani Putting the eyes too close together, which makes the face read as a kitten or a person rather than a cat.

   Chezani You should be able to fit one more eye exactly in the gap.

7. Gawo 7

   Draw a vertical chophimba pupil mu aliyense nkhope.

   The slit pupil is the thing that makes it unmistakably a cat rather than a dog or a bear. Keep both slits vertical and the same width - in bright light they are thin, in low light they widen to almost fill the eye, so either is correct as long as the two match.

   Onani Drawing round pupils, or two slits at different angles.

   Chezani Cover one eye with a finger. The other should look the same.

8. Gawo 8

   Kuwonjezera triangle wamkulu kwa m'makutu, pa msewu wapakati.

   The nose sits about halfway between the eye line and the chin, and it points down. Keep it small - a nose drawn too large is the second most common reason a cat face reads as a dog, after a snout that is too long.

   Onani Drawing it level with the bottom of the eyes. It belongs lower, in the gap between eyes and chin.

   Chezani It should sit on the vertical line, with equal space either side.

9. Gawo 9

   Zithunzi ziwiri zozungulira pansi ndi kunja kwa m'mimba, monga W yolimba.

   This is the mouth, and the shape is two shallow curves rather than one line. Both start at the bottom point of the nose. Keep them shallow - deep curves turn a neutral cat into a grinning one, which is a fine choice but should be a choice.

   Onani Starting the curves from the sides of the nose instead of its bottom point.

   Chezani Both curves should meet exactly at the nose tip.

10. Gawo 10

    Sankhani m'mimba: mabowo awiri olimba pamodzi ndi m'mimba.

    The whisker pads are what give a cat its rounded, slightly smug lower face, and beginners almost always leave them out - which is why a drawn cat can have every feature in the right place and still look flat. Keep them low and wide.

    Onani Making them too small, so the face stays flat.

    Chezani They should sit below the nose and overlap the mouth curves.

11. Gawo 11

    Zithunzi zitatu za whiskers pambali pambali, kuchokera kumbali ya m'mawere.

    Whiskers grow from the whisker pads, not from the outline of the face - that is the detail that makes them look attached rather than drawn on. Fan them out at different angles and let them run past the edge of the head. One confident stroke each.

    Onani Starting them at the edge of the face, which makes them look like scratches on the paper.

    Chezani All three should begin inside the muzzle bumps.

12. Gawo 12

    Draw atatu whiskers pa lamulo kuti agwirizane.

    Match the angles rather than the exact lengths - real whiskers are uneven, and identical ones look printed. Again, one stroke each, and let your hand move from the shoulder rather than the fingers so the lines stay straight.

    Onani Drawing these more carefully than the left side, so the two halves have visibly different line quality.

    Chezani Step back. The whiskers should read as a fan, not a comb.

13. Gawo 13

    Draw m'munsimu triangle waukulu m'mimba mwake pamodzi ndi m'mimba.

    The inner ear sits slightly forward of centre and does not reach the tip. Leaving a margin of outer ear all the way around is what gives the ear thickness - fill it to the edges and the ear goes flat.

    Onani Drawing the inner triangle all the way to the ear tip.

    Chezani There should be a visible border of outer ear on every side.

14. Gawo 14

    Ikani maonekedwe a furs ochepa m'mbali mwa m'mimba mwake, posonyeza.

    Fur is suggested, never drawn hair by hair. A handful of short strokes breaking the outline at the cheeks is enough for the eye to fill in the rest, and it stops the head reading as a hard circle. Point them the way the fur grows - outward and slightly down.

    Onani Adding fur all the way around the head, which turns the silhouette to fuzz.

    Chezani Only the cheeks should be broken up. The top of the head stays smooth.

15. Gawo 15

    Pitani pa zigawo zimene mukufuna kuti azisunga, ndi kuchotsa ma guides awiri.

    This is the step that turns a construction drawing into a finished one, and it is the step most people skip. Press harder on the outline, the ears and the eyes; leave the fur and whiskers light. That difference in line weight is what makes a drawing look deliberate rather than traced, and it costs thirty seconds.

    Onani Going over everything at the same weight, which flattens the drawing back out.

    Chezani The outline and eyes should be clearly darker than the whiskers.