cat drawing anatomy drawing
Cats rule the Internet! No doubt one day they'll take complete control over our lives. To prepare for this day, we need to know the enemy. By drawing a cat, you'll understand what they really are made of. So grab a pencil, and I'll show you what cats are made of!
This cat drawing tutorial will show you how to draw a cat step by step. Also, this realistic cat drawing tutorial can serve as inspiration if you're looking for cat logo s for your brand or business.
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Quick Cat Anatomy Tutorial By Addictionhalfway On Deviantart
If you want some references to work from, you can find plenty of cat photos over on Envato Market. Just make sure that you don't get too distracted by all that cuteness, and remember to come back and finish the tutorial!
Let's start this cat anatomy drawing tutorial with the base. Learning the skeletal structure is the first step to creating a believable pose. The bones are a support for the muscles, and the joints between them define the range of motion.
Luckily, you don't need to remember the exact shape of the bones. You just need to know how long they are and how they're connected to each other. The good news is, most four-legged animals have the same bone structure, with the bones' length and the distance between them being the only differences. Learn it once, and you're set forever!
Cat Feline Anatomy Drawing Sketch Image Illustration
You should remember your skeleton as a group of ovals (joints, skull, chest, hips) and lines (bones, backbone). Once you've remembered this structure, you can easily draw every pose. Drawing cat poses will be easier.
There's one more thing you need to remember: every joint has a specified range of motion. When you break their limits, your animal will look broken. To understand it, take a good look at this running animation. While running, a cat uses a full range of motion, so you can see which movements are natural.
If you want to take a better look at the running cycle, here's a great reference: a video of a cheetah in slow motion.
Cat Anatomy Drawing Reference Guide
This is a very popular interpretation of an animal's skeleton. It comes from confusing the hind and forelegs. They are not the same! Just compare your hands and feet.
Well, this pose isn't universally wrong—it'll work quite well in cartoons, where the characters use their legs as propellers. In the real world, though, the hind legs reach at most 120 degrees rotation (even with cheetahs). Also, the cat will try to keep its head in the same position while running—unless it's some mad zombie-cat (check the animation again for the proof).
Wow, that's an interesting skeleton! It comes from adapting the bones purely to the cat's thigh shape. The problem is it's not only bones that make the thigh shape—it's mostly muscles, and you can't ignore that. Also, the first pose has a crouching foreleg and a sitting hind leg. Small cats eat in this pose, but their chest isn't on the ground then.
How To Draw A Realistic Cat Step By Step
Another problem comes from a weird habit of cats. They use a "pacing" gait when walking—they move two legs from one side first, and then two legs from the other side. This mistake will not be noticed by most people, but hey, it's still a mistake! Luckily, cats change to a "diagonal" gait when speeding up.
Muscles give shape to the cat's anatomy. You can draw a body without knowing the muscle structure, but guessing is not the best way to go about it. You may think it's too complicated to learn, but I can show you that it's not that hard.
First, cover your pose with simplified muscle masses. Yes, it's that easy! If your cat is going to be very furry, it's actually all you need. The muscles won't show anyway.
Easy Cat Drawing Step By Step Tutorials
To keep the cat proportions, those of us who prefer short- or medium-haired cats need to learn some more. Still, it can be simplified too. These are big masses that can be visible under the skin. If you want to learn it painlessly, just use this reference to start. After a few exercises, this structure will sink in itself.
There's one more thing. Cats have quite loose skin; in some areas it's not used to cover the muscles. If you have a cat, try to touch the area between the thigh and the calf—you'll feel only skin and fur! Thanks to this additional skin, you can't see the thigh or calf when a cat is sitting.
Let's talk about cat paw anatomy. A cat's hind and forepaws are different, just like your hands and feet. You can use them to imagine a paw structure. Cats walk on their fingertips, using just a part of the "palm" for support. They also have a little thumb (dewclaw) and a small appendix on the wrist (pisiform), but only on the forepaws. The hind paws are actually very similar to our feet.
Cat Anatomy Reference 1 By Opticalxarsenal On Deviantart
Cat paw anatomy is totally unique in the animal world. Their claws are retractable, but this doesn't really work like most of us imagine. A claw is attached to the last bone of a finger. Surprisingly, this part is placed next to the previous bone, not on the end of it. Only when it's retracted does it come close to the end.
What does that mean for us? The claws, including the little bones they're attached to, are placed at the outer side of every finger. It means they're not symmetrical. If the illustration below confuses you, check out photos of sphinx cats—as they have "no fur", the claws are more visible.
Here we have the left and right forepaw, both with claws retracted. Try to do the same position with your hand to learn where the forearm ends and where the paw starts.
Ayy! I've Been Working On Getting Better At Cat Anatomy And I Plan On Making Warrior Cats Related Art In The Future. Feel Free To Make Suggestions Or Give Critique!
Now cover the whole shape with fur. The claws have their special, thin coat, covering them only on the top and sides.
Next up, the cat face drawing. Cat facial proportions differ among breeds, but there are some rules you can use for a "typical" cat.
So now we know how to draw the head of a cat, but it's still just the base for a real drawing. In the next steps, we'll take care of every single element of a cat's face.
Anatomy Of The House Cat Drawing By Heidi De Leeuw
Next up, a little cat eye drawing tutorial. If you followed my previous tips, you should have an oval/circle as an eye base.
We can see three elements around the cat eye drawing: the edge of the lower eyelid, a row of upper eyelashes, and a dark area in the inner corner. Part of the third eyelid can be shown too.
The size of the pupils can be important for a picture's authenticity. If you draw a cat with big, round pupils, and it's on a sunny beach (or in front of a fire), it will look unnatural.
How To Draw Big Cats
It's not only the eyeball that makes the eye. If you were drawing a human face, you'd add eyelids, eyelashes, and probably eyebrows too, to make it more complete. For a cat eye, we can add lighter areas around it, and also a dark, narrow ellipse over the eye—it's the place where a few whiskers come out from.
The side view may be a little tricky. From this view, a transparent dome of the lens is visible, and the rest of the eye seems flat (try looking at photos of cats to see this).
Add the nose bridge. It should be round on top. Also, the sides of this bridge will be slightly darker, and the fur will be a lot shorter.
Sketches And Them Doodles — Could You Guys Please Give Me Some Cat Head/face
Cat ears are not really as simple as we would think. They're not just triangles or even cones—they're a complicated structure that you will need to learn in order to make your drawings more realistic.
To draw an ear from the front, start with a circle. Then divide it into four parts, drawing the lines at a small angle.
Cats have a weird fold on the outer side of their ears, called a "tragus". It's quite hard to draw from the front, but it's necessary—draw it and people will think you're a cat expert!
Prompthunt: Anatomy Of A Cat With Sketch Drawings And Arrows Explaining Each Body Part, Da Vinci Notes, Ultradetailed, Anatomy Study, Artstation
Now you can add hair tufts. Their amount will depend on the breed, but generally it's best to attach them to the inner side and leave the outer part bare.
But hey, there's more! Cats can rotate their ears, so what about other "poses"? You can use the same method for them. Just keep in mind that ears are bigger than what we usually see. You can cover this bottom part with soft fur. If you compare the ears of long hair and "no hair" cats, you'll see what a difference fur makes in terms of how large the ears appear.
Whiskers are a cat's additional sense. They have them on their mouths, above the eyes, under the chin, and behind the paws. Whiskers grow out of little, dark "holes" in the fur. We've already drawn the
