Draw a Cat in Graphite Pencil

Drawing / Sketching

Draw a Cat in Graphite Pencil

A Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing Your Cat - Page 2 of 3

5. Building Up Form. Because there are large, dark areas, at this point some shading is boldly added to the cat's body and background. A fair bit of time is taken to define the whiskers, and carefully observe the shapes of the marks on the face. A little more shading is added to the eye, taking care to preserve the paper white highlight.
	6. Adding Detail. Close observation and patience are needed to carefully add the details of facial features and fur, such as dark whisker spots, the nose and the mouth. In this example, the cat's mouth is very subtle, drawn by short upward strokes, as the top lip is defined only by white hairs and the shadow on the lower jaw. Note the smooth shading that is drawn as a base for the darker fur texture that will be added next.
	Fur Detail This example shows the short pencil marks, narrowing as the pencil is lifted towards the end of the mark to give a fur texture. Where the fur is very short and thick, very short marks and dots can be used to build up the texture.