How to Draw a Cat

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Draw a circle a bit wider than it is tall. This is the head.

Ṣẹ̀dà nínú àwọn àyọkà àwọn ìṣàmúlò-ètò

Fi àwòrán àwọn àwòrán àwọn àyọkà rẹ pamọ́

A tí fi àwòrán pamọ́ fún ọ. Àwọn àkọlé àwòrán ní pàtó àwọn àwòrán.

Àkóónú àwòrán yìí

A cat's head is a circle with two triangles on it. That is genuinely most of the drawing. The bit people get wrong is not the ears or the whiskers - it is putting the eyes too high, which happens because we all think of eyes as being near the top of a head when they sit almost exactly halfway down.

So this lesson makes you draw the halfway line before the eyes. It looks like a fussy extra step and it is the reason your cat will look like a cat.

Àwọn ìṣàmúlò-ètò

Àwọn ìtàn 1

Draw a circle a bit wider than it is tall. This is the head.
Àwọn ìtàn 2

Draw a light line across the middle of the circle. The eyes go here.
Àwọn ìtàn 3

Put two triangles on top of the circle for ears - sitting on the line, not floating above it.
Àwọn ìtàn 4

Two eyes on the middle line, one eye-width apart.
Àwọn ìtàn 5

A small triangle for the nose, just below halfway between the eyes and the chin.
Àwọn ìtàn 6

Two curves under the nose for the mouth, like a very wide W.
Àwọn ìtàn 7

Whiskers - three each side, coming from beside the nose, not from the edge of the face.
Àwọn ìtàn 8

Inner ears, and a little fur tuft on each side of the face. Done.

Ohun ti ọkan yio kọ ọ

This one is a proportion lesson wearing a cat costume. The halfway line, the eye spacing of one eye-width apart, and the ears sitting on the circle rather than floating above it are all the same skill: checking a new shape against a shape you have already drawn instead of against your idea of what the thing looks like.

It also drills closure - the ears have to actually meet the head, and beginners very often leave a small gap there without noticing.

Àwọn ìṣàmúlò-ètò: Line confidence Proportion Corners and joins

Ohun tí o fẹ́

Anything. A finger on a phone screen works, so does a mouse, so does a pencil and the back of an envelope. If you are on paper, draw lightly for the first four steps - those lines are scaffolding and you will want to be able to lose them later.

Tí o bá jẹ́ àìdájú

If it looks wrong and you cannot say why, it is almost always the eyes. Cover them with your thumb and look again - if the head suddenly reads better, move the eyes down.

If your circle came out lumpy, leave it. A lumpy circle turns into a perfectly good cat and stopping to redraw it is how twenty minutes disappears. Draw the whole thing, then draw the whole thing again.

Píríǹtì àwọn ìtàtì

Fi o kù nínú ojú-ìwé. Àwọn àtòjọ-ẹ̀yàn ìtàn tí a píríǹtì lórí ojú-ìwé kan.

Àkọ́lé (US) A4paper size

Àwọn Àtòjọ-ẹ̀yàn

Why does my cat look wrong?: Nine times out of ten the eyes are too high. They belong on the halfway line of the head, not above it. Draw that line first.
Do I need a drawing tablet?: No. This works with a mouse, a trackpad, a finger, or a pencil and paper photographed with your phone. Most people here use paper.
How long should this take?: About seven minutes the first time and three the second time. Drawing it twice teaches you more than drawing it once slowly.
Can I draw a realistic cat instead of a cartoon one?: Start here anyway. The underlying shapes are the same and the proportions transfer directly to a realistic cat.
My circle is not round. Does that matter?: No. Nobody has ever looked at a finished drawing and noticed the construction circle. Keep going.
What if I run out of patience halfway through?: Use the finish-early button. You get a complete cat with fewer details, which is a finished drawing rather than an abandoned one.
Should I use the guide or turn it off?: Use it the first time. Turn it off on your second attempt - that is where the actual learning happens.
Can I print the steps?: Yes, there is a printable step sheet in Letter and A4 further down the page.