How To Draw Realistic Cat Eyes

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Drawing Cat Eyes

Would you like to learn how to draw realistic cat eyes?

In this easy drawing tutorial, I am going to share with you all of the steps I take when I draw detailed cat eyes.

Learning how to draw a cat face starts with learning the cat’s anatomy.

For information on a cat’s eye anatomy visit – Eye Structure and Function In Cats

The proportions are essential for drawing realistic cats, and in my opinion, the eyes are something you should put extra time in.

Some people believe that the eyes are the windows of the soul and, in most cases, are the focal point of any portrait.

How To Draw Cats Eyes For Beginners

What you will need for this drawing tutorial:

Reference image (The reference I am using for this eye drawing tutorial is courtesy of Pixabay.)

A Set of Tombow Mono Professional Drawing Pencils or your favorite graphite drawing pencils.

Pencil grades needed for this tutorial:

Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Board Pads 9″ x 12″ Velum or your favorite drawing paper.

I recommend practicing on a drawing surface you will be using for your final drawing.

Over the years I have tried multiple brands of drawing paper. For my drawing style, Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Board Pads 9″ x 12″ Velum is the best. I use this paper for all of my commission drawings and original drawings.

Erasers needed for this tutorial:

Blending Tools needed for this tutorial

Loew-Cornell Blending Stumps

Blending tools are optional. The majority of my drawings are done with graphite and erasers. I create soft value changes by adding multiple layers of graphite on the drawing surfaces. I will, however, use blending tools for softening lines.

Extras:

Step 1 – Sketch The Eyes Of The Cat

The first step of drawing the cat’s eyes is to sketch the contour (shape) of the eyes lightly on the drawing surface.

There are several different drawing techniques you can use to draw the shape of an eye.

Sketch the eyes freehand
Use the grid method
Trace the eyes with graphite tracing paper
Use a lightbox

Drawing the contour of the cat’s eyes accurately is an essential step in a realistic cat drawing.

You can shade the eyes perfectly, but if the proportions of the eyes are incorrect, the finished drawing will look off.

I use the grid method for all my realism drawings.

I know many artists who trace the subject on the drawing surface or use a projector.

One of the problems I have encountered with tracing the subject is that the line traced on the drawing surface will be difficult to erase. The dark line will create a problem when you start to blend in the values.

If you are not familiar with the grid method you can watch how I use the grid method step by step in a tutorial I have on TableWise of you can purchase the video tutorial.

How To Draw Realistic Drawings – TableWise (Monthly Fee – Try it free for 30 days)

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Purchase Video Tutorial – Watch as many times as you wish.

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Draw Realistic Cat Eyes Tips

Use an H2 pencil to lightly sketch the shape of the cat’s eyes
Do not press hard with the pencil so you can remove and blend the lines easier
Make sure the proportions of the eye drawing is correct
Pay close attention to your reference image when blocking in the detail. (The reference I am using for this eye drawing tutorial is courtesy of Pixabay.)
Study the cat’s pupils. The pupils can range from large circles to skinny capsule shapes depending on the light source
Check your sketch for mistakes by looking at your drawing and your reference image sideways and upsidedown. It is easier to identify uneven shapes when you look at the picture at different angles

Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright-free images and videos. All contents are released under the Pixabay License, which makes them safe to use without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist – even for commercial purposes. (Source: Pixabay)

Step 2 – Shade The Cat’s Eyes

Begin by studying the reference image and identify where the darkest values are.

Start adding graphite to the pupil and inner part of the eye with a 2H pencil by using light lines that overlap each other.

Tip – Make sure that you use light, even pressure, and do not leave spaces between the lines you are drawing. You can make the area darker by drawing over the area with softer leads when you have completed conditioning the paper with your 2H pencil.

Conditioning the paper with a 2H pencil will prevent the finished drawing from having “white dots”.

Using a harder lead like a 2H pencil will allow you to add graphite slowly to the valleys of the “tooth” of the paper.

Some artists get impatient and use a softer lead to draw the darker values just to speed up the drawing process.

A softer lead will draw a darker line but there will be a lot of white spots and imperfections that will be noticeable because the soft lead does not reach the bottom of the valleys of the “tooth” of the paper.

The white imperfections will make your drawing not look as realistic. Cat’s eye does not have a bunch of white dots all over them.

Take the time to condition the paper with your 2H pencil.

After you have conditioned the drawing surface you can continue to add value to different areas by drawing over the conditioned areas with softer leads. This process will also allow you to erase and blend the values easier.