How to Draw a Cat

Hakbang-hakbang

1. Hakbang 1

   Gumuhit ng isang bilog ng kaunti mas malawak kaysa sa ito ay mataas.

   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.

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

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

2. Hakbang 2

   Gumuhit ng isang ilaw linya tuwid sa buong gitna ng bilog.

   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.

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

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

3. Hakbang 3

   Gumuhit ng isang ikalawang liwanag linya tuwid pababa sa gitna.

   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.

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

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

4. Hakbang 4

   I-draw ang kaliwang tainga bilang isang tatsulok na nakaupo sa bilog.

   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.

   Mag-ingat Perching the ears above the head with a gap underneath. That reads as a hat.

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

5. Hakbang 5

   I-draw ang kanang tainga upang magkasya, leaning ang parehong paraan outward.

   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.

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

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

6. Hakbang 6

   I-draw ang dalawang mata sa gitna linya, isang mata-width hiwalay.

   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.

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

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

7. Hakbang 7

   Ang mga ito ay may isang maliit na butas sa bawat mata.

   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.

   Mag-ingat Drawing round pupils, or two slits at different angles.

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

8. Hakbang 8

   Magdagdag ng isang maliit na tatsulok para sa ilong, sa sentro ng linya.

   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.

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

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

9. Hakbang 9

   Gumuhit ng dalawang kurva pababa at labas mula sa ilong, tulad ng isang malawak na W.

   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.

   Mag-ingat Starting the curves from the sides of the nose instead of its bottom point.

   Tingnan Both curves should meet exactly at the nose tip.

10. Hakbang 10

    Ang mga ito ay: Ang dalawang mga selula ay may dalawang mga selula ng dugo.

    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.

    Mag-ingat Making them too small, so the face stays flat.

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

11. Hakbang 11

    I-draw ng tatlong whiskers sa kaliwa, mula sa tabi ng ilong.

    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.

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

    Tingnan All three should begin inside the muzzle bumps.

12. Hakbang 12

    I-Draw ng tatlong whiskers sa kanan upang tumugma.

    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.

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

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

13. Hakbang 13

    Gumuhit ng isang mas maliit na tatsulok sa loob ng bawat tainga.

    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.

    Mag-ingat Drawing the inner triangle all the way to the ear tip.

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

14. Hakbang 14

    Ang mga ito ay mga maliit na mga bulaklak na may mga maliliit na dahon, na may mga ugat.

    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.

    Mag-ingat Adding fur all the way around the head, which turns the silhouette to fuzz.

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

15. Hakbang 15

    Pumunta sa ibabaw ng mga linya na nais mong panatilihin, at mawalan ng dalawang mga gabay.

    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.

    Mag-ingat Going over everything at the same weight, which flattens the drawing back out.

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