How to draw Animals | Brown Bear Drawing in 7 Steps

August 20, 2020August 20, 2020 by hyphaem

Bears appeals to everyone’s imagination, they are large land mammals which come in various species located all across the world.

The Syrian brown bear is even mentioned in the bible three times. This makes bears a valuable part of the human culture.

Most bears are omnivorous because they can’t afford to make many choices. Because they are so big, they burn a lot energy and can’t be picky on what they will consume.

A long time ago we also had bears in the western part of europe, only when people came with agriculture we chased the bears away.

Luckily there are still bears living in eastern europe, but they are relatively rare.

Many cultures see the animal as a symbol of strength and power. And to be honest, the bear has earned it.

If you don’t know where to on how to draw bears, I will explain step-by-step how to draw a bear.

Or at least there are thousands of ways to draw bear, but I am trying to explain my method to you.

Bears are pretty easy to draw because they often have a lot of fur and have round shapes because the muscalature is not visible. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to think so much about the anatomy.

When you see artist drawing from their imagination, it means that they can skip several steps in their head.

As a artist you need to work on your visual library and process.

A visual library is necessary to allow yourself to come up with imaginary images and references.

The process is important to allow yourself to break the subject in smaller parts, after you can easily approach any subject.

By doing the anatomy study I allow myself to work on my visual library, I can check if I missed some details. And the Step by Step guide offers you a beginning reference on how I approach drawing animals. The step by step guide is therefore my thoughprocess, If you need more steps there is nothing wrong with that.

Bear Anatomy for Artists

Beginning tutorials often show steps to make you draw a bear, but the importance of a anatomy study is often neglected.

An anatomy study is important because you learn to understand the shapes and planes of the animal. Also when you get familiar with animal anatomy, it can tell you a lot about the place it inhabits in it’s ecosystem.

I notice when I draw the animal and I didn’t study it’s anatomy I run into all kinds of obstacles.

I question myself “How does the animal walk?”, “What are the freedom of movement? or “what are those shapes doing there?” and there are countless questions that I don’t have the answer to before I start drawing.

When I study the animal extensively, I get a better idea of how the animal is constructed. Eventually You will see what happens under the skin, the muscles and bones which makes the animal uptill a beautiful machine.

Above you will find my detailed study for the skeleton and muscles.

It is a beautiful animal with a unbelievable amount of strength and power.

In the study shown below the skeleton, I tried to create shading. In this way the animal is translated more into surfaces and shapes.

You really don’t need to know the exact anatomy, it’s more about eventually getting an idea of how to put the animal on paper. Your drawing will eventually get a lot more life if the rough basic shapes are correct.

This has everything to do with the fact that everyone has seen a gorilla and knows subconsciously what it looks like. If you want to draw a realistic primate or monkey and the proportions or anatomy are not quite right, people will realize that there is something wrong with the drawing. Even if they can’t pinpoint this error.

It does not have to be a perfect drawing, but sketching the rough lines or proportions can help a lot.

Drawing a Brown Bear | Step by step

When you have a rough idea about the anatomy, you’re ready to start drawing the bear. It is important that you can put the essence on paper.

When you draw the animal always start with the big shapes and work slowly towards the details. As shown in the steps below.

I made these images in photoshop for the sake of clarity for the website.

I advise you to start with an HB pencil and in your sketchbook or a piece of paper and for example change to a 2B or even 4B pencil from Step 3 onwards.

If you are not satisfied with a line, erase it. We are all students and don’t be ashamed to correct yourself with a eraser if you don’t like the line.

Step 1 | Flowing lines and large shapes

Bear Step 1 | Gesture and Organic shapes

Actually, all steps on this website regarding animal drawing are almost the same, it is important that you work from big to small shapes. The general though process of drawing animals is for me universal.

I always start with big organic shapes combined with gesture lines. This step is important because you lay the foundation for the rest of the drawing.

Pay also attention to correct proportions and placing of your drawing. The placement of shapes within your drawing boundaries determine your overall composition. If you only do a study this is not that important, but when you draw or sketch for a beginning painting keep this in mind.

When the ground work is laid on paper and step 1 is finished I dissect the animal in different parts mainly the head, neck, shoulders, belly and legs.

Step 2 | Construction of large shapes

This step is for the most part imaginary, I try to imagine for myself the big shapes.

Because these big shapes will often “muddy” down your drawing, therefore I try to avoid them to put them on paper.

When the drawing is ‘muddy’ed down it will lose it’s gesture, life or force. Therefore it becomes stiff and unpleasent to look at, you don’t want this because you wantthe animal to jump from the paper.

Off course, when you first draw a new animal it can help to put these big shapes on paper. But only if you find it hard to imagine then I would put the essential shapes in your drawing.

The most helpful shape for me is the keystone shape at the shoulders. You then have a good basis to put the legs down.

Step 3 | Head and Neck

When you have the essence on paper, we can draw over the large forms step by step.

As mentioned earlier I always divide my subject into sections, for animals this is head, neck, shoulders, body and legs.

For the Head, I start with the eyes and nose, these are important characteristics for me because they determine the proportion of the head. When these are correct I sketch the ears and the rest of the head on paper.

Try to get the proportions of the facial features right, these are often the focal point of your drawing. And people can easily sense if something is off with the drawing if the overall proportions does not match.

It is important that you draw between and around the large shapes. And only create the suggestion with minimal lines.

For example when you draw a bear with fur, you only want the suggestion of hair or fur.

I work my way down and try to follow the anatomy of the beast.

Try to draw ‘Over’ and ‘Around’ the imaginary shapes of step 2.

Don’t focus on every detail you see, because a drawing is just a representation of the artist perception of reality. And it is therefore not “THE” exact reality.

Step 4 | Shoulders and Body

Again, try to think in big shapes and don’t get distracted by the details.

You will notice that the simpler the drawing the more pleasant it is to look at.

Remember: When you put the lines of the shoulder and the body try to draw ‘around’ and ‘over’ the imaginary shapes and lines of step 1 and 2.

Step 5 | Legs and Detailing

Bear Step 5 | Legs + erasing gesture lines

The legs can be a bit complex because muscles can be complex. Try to imagine the anatomy well and simplify it to the structure you see, for ease look to the anatomy study above.

If you have followed the steps above you will see that it slowly starts to look like a bear.

And if you have already created a good looking bear, the next step is to indicate the details. Try to stop in time and don’t include too many details in your drawing.

Sometimes drawing less lines tells you more about your subject.

When the ground work is layed down, you can finalize your line drawing by adding the details.

Step 7 | Tone, Shade and Color

Try to add some tonal value in your drawing, do this by applying the laws of light and shadow.

Erase the HB pencil construction lines from step 1 and 2, if you don’t want them in your details.

When you use a pencil this can be done by cross hatching or slightly fill the area with graphite. And when darker values needs to be put down on paper just press harder or use a 4B or even 6B graphite pencil.

Highlights can easily be created by erasing them in with your eraser.

I even went a step further and gave the bear some color. The coloring job is not my greatest but for this example it will suffice.

I am certain your bear art will be eventually better than my drawing from this example.

Further Steps

If you have followed the steps above, there is now a bear on your drawing. Maybe you are not satisfied with it yet, but this is going to be fine if you keep practicing.

Drawing is a skill that takes time, the same as any other profession. Remember that drawing is just a hobby and try to have a lot of fun with it.

If you want to draw even more bears you can take pictures of bears in a zoo near you or look up pictures online. The steps are exactly as indicated above, keep repeating this and before you know it you may call yourself an professional artist.

Good luck and more importantly have fun!

How to draw Animals | Gorilla Drawing in 6 Steps

August 19, 2020 by hyphaem

Gorillas are large, imposing primates, which live in the rainforest of central Africa. They can also be seen in various zoos near you, which is certainly worthwhile.

The leader will eventually get a silver back and by tapping on his chest, he can show his dominance within the group.

I find it difficult to draw gorillas because they look a lot like humans. And just like the human figure, it has many complex shapes. What helps is that these shapes sometimes hide behind the fur.

If you don’t know where to start I will now explain step-by-step how to draw a gorilaa. Or at least there are thousands of ways to draw gorilla’s, but I am trying to explain my method to you.

When you see artist drawing from their imagination, it means that they can skip several steps in their head.

As a artist you need to work on your visual library and process.

A visual library is necessary to allow yourself to come up with imaginary images and references.

The process is important to allow yourself to break the subject in smaller parts, after you can easily approach any subject.

Gorillas Anatomy for Artists

Beginning tutorials often show steps to make you draw a gorilla, but the importance of a anatomy study is often neglected.

An anatomy study is very important because then you learn to understand the shapes and planes of the animal. Also when you get familiar with animal anatomy, it can tell you a lot about the place it inhabits in it’s ecosystem.

I notice when I draw the animal and I didn’t study it’s anatomy I run into all kinds of obstacles.

Above you will find my detailed study for the skeleton and muscles. The most striking thing I find is the resemblance to humans.

It is a beautiful animal which consists almost entirely of muscles. This is quite surprising when you consider that gorillas don’t do much other than eat.

In the study shown below the skeleton, I tried to create shading. In this way the animal is translated more into surfaces and shapes.

It does not have to be a perfect drawing, but sketching the rough lines or proportions can help a lot.

Drawing a Gorilla | Step by step

When you have a rough idea about the anatomy, you’re ready to start drawing the Gorilla. It is important that you can put the essence on paper.

When you draw the animal always start with the big shapes and work slowly towards the details. As shown in the steps below.

I made these images in photoshop for the sake of clarity for the website.

I advise you to start with an HB pencil and in your sketchbook or a piece of paper and for example change to a 2B or even 4B pencil from Step 3 onwards.

If you are not satisfied with a line, erase it. We are all students and don’t be ashamed to correct yourself with a eraser if you don’t like the line.

Step 1 | Flowing lines and large shapes

Gorilla Step 1 | Gesture and Organic shapes

I always start with big organic shapes combined with gesture lines. This step is important because you lay the foundation for the rest of the drawing.

When the ground work is laid on paper and step 1 is finished I dissect the animal in different parts mainly the head, neck, shoulders, belly and legs.

Step 2 | Construction of large shapes

This step is for the most part imaginary, I try to imagine for myself the big shapes.

Because these big shapes will often “muddy” down your drawing, therefore I try to avoid them to put them on paper.

Off course, when you first draw a new animal it can help to put these big shapes on paper. But only if you find it hard to imagine then I would put the essential shapes in your drawing.

Step 3 | Head and Neck

When you have the essence on paper, we can draw over the large forms step by step.

As mentioned earlier I always divide my subject into sections, for animals this is head, neck, shoulders, body and legs.

It is important that you draw between and around the large shapes. And only create the suggestion with minimal lines. For example when you draw a gorilla with fur, you only want the suggestion of hair or fur.

I work my way down and try to follow the anatomy of the beast. Try to draw ‘Over’ and ‘Around’ the imaginary shapes of step 2.

Don’t focus on every detail you see, because a drawing is just a representation of the artist perception of reality. And it is therefore not “THE” exact reality.

Step 4 | Shoulders and Arms

Again, try to think in big shapes and don’t get distracted by the details.

You will notice that the simpler the drawing the more pleasant it is to look at.

Remember: When you put the lines of the shoulder and the arms try to draw ‘around’ and ‘over’ the imaginary shapes and lines of step 1 and 2.

Step 5 | Body

If you have followed the steps above you will see that it slowly starts to look like a gorilla.

Step 6 | Legs, Details and Erasing

The legs can be a bit complex because muscles can be complex. Try to imagine the anatomy well and simplify it to the structure you see, for ease look to the anatomy study above.

After the majority is drawn I erased most of the lines from step 1.

And if you have already created a good looking gorilla, the next step is to indicate the details. Try to stop in time and don’t include too many details in your drawing.

Sometimes drawing less lines tells you more about your subject.

Step 7 | Tone, Shade and Color

Try to add some tonal value in your drawing, do this by applying the laws of light and shadow.

Highlights can easily be created by erasing them in with your eraser.

Further Steps

If you have followed the steps above, there is now a gorilla on your drawing. Maybe you are not satisfied with it yet, but this is going to be fine if you keep practicing.

Drawing is a skill that takes time, the same as any other profession. Remember that drawing is just a hobby and try to have a lot of fun with it.

If you want to draw even more gorilla’s or other primates you can take pictures of gorilla’s at your local zoo or look up pictures online. The steps are exactly as indicated above, keep repeating this and before you know it you may call yourself an professional artist.

Good luck and more importantly have fun!

How to draw Animals | European Hare in 6 easy steps

August 20, 2020August 17, 2020 by hyphaem

Hares are fast and fascinating little creatures, there are several species of hares and unlike the rabbit it doesn’t bury a ground hole.

I live in The Netherlands and I love it when the hares are chasing each other in early spring. Hares are extremly agile and can outrun most dog species.

But let’s start drawing hares!

If you don’t know where to start I will now explain step-by-step how to draw a hare. Or at least there are thousands of ways to draw hares, but I am trying to explain my method to you.

hare are pretty easy to draw because they often have a lot of fur and have round shapes because the muscalature is not visible. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to think so much about the anatomy.

When you see artist drawing from their imagination, it means that they can skip several steps in their head.

As a artist you need to work on your visual library and process.

A visual library is necessary to allow yourself to come up with imaginary images and references.

The process is important to allow yourself to break the subject in smaller parts, after you can easily approach any subject.

European Hare Anatomy

Hares are agile creatures which is shown in the structure of the animal, with it’s big hind legs it can sprint away and can achieve high speeds in just a matter of seconds.

It is a complex machine which runs entirely on plant material.

By studying the bone structure and muscle mass, you get a understanding on how the animal lives and is placed in it’s ecosystem.

So once again you don’t need to know the exact anatomy, it’s more about getting an idea about how to put the animal on paper.

In the picture you see the skeleton above with all the important muscle groups shown below.

In the study below the skeleton I tried to create shadows. This way the cat is more translated into large shapes and planes.

It doesn’t have to be a perfect anatomy drawing but as long as the rough shapes and proportions are correct the study should suffice.

Because remember you are only doing a anatomy study to solve problems for your initial art or future drawings.

Drawing a Hare | Step by step

When you have a rough idea about the anatomy, you’re ready to start drawing the Hare.

It is important that you can put the essence on paper.

When you draw the animal always start with the big shapes and work slowly towards the details. As shown in the steps below.

I made these images in photoshop for the sake of clarity for the website.

I advise you to start with an HB pencil and in your sketchbook or a piece of paper and for example change to a 2B or even 4B pencil from Step 3 onwards.

If you are not satisfied with a line, erase it. We are all students and don’t be ashamed to correct yourself with a eraser if you don’t like the line.

Step 1 | Flowing lines and large shapes

hare Step 1 | Gesture and Organic shapes

I always start with big organic shapes combined with gesture lines. This step is important because you lay the foundation for the rest of the drawing.

When the ground work is laid on paper and step 1 is finished I dissect the animal in different parts mainly the head, neck, shoulders, belly and legs.

Step 2 | Construction of large shapes

This step is for the most part imaginary, I try to imagine for myself the big shapes.

Because these big shapes will often “muddy” down your drawing, therefore I try to avoid them to put them on paper.

Off course, when you first draw a new animal it can help to put these big shapes on paper. But only if you find it hard to imagine then I would put the essential shapes in your drawing.

The most helpful shape for me is the keystone shape at the shoulders. You then have a good basis to put the legs down.

Step 3 | Head and Neck

When you have the essence on paper, we can draw over the large forms step by step.

As mentioned earlier I always divide my subject into sections, for animals this is head, neck, shoulders, body and legs.

It is important that you draw between and around the large shapes. And only create the suggestion with minimal lines. for example when you draw a hare with fur you only want the suggestion of hair or fur.

I work my way down and try to follow the anatomy of the beast. Try to draw ‘Over’ and ‘Around’ the imaginary shapes of step 2.

Don’t focus on every detail you see, because a drawing is just a representation of the artist perception of reality. And it is therefore not “THE” exact reality.

Step 4 | Shoulders and Body

Again, try to think in big shapes and don’t get distracted by the details.

You will notice that the simpler the drawing the more pleasant it is to look at.

Remember: When you put the lines of the shoulder and the body try to draw ‘around’ and ‘over’ the imaginary shapes and lines of step 1 and 2.

Step 5 | Legs and details

The legs can be a bit complex because muscles can be complex. Try to imagine the anatomy well and simplify it to the structure you see, for ease look to the anatomy study above.

If you have followed the steps above you will see that it slowly starts to look like a hare.

And if you have already created a good looking hare, the next step is to indicate the details. Try to stop in time and don’t include too many details in your drawing.

Sometimes drawing less lines tells you more about your subject.

When the ground work is layed down, you can finalize your line drawing by adding the details.

Step 6 | Tone, Shade and Color

Try to add some tonal value in your drawing, do this by applying the laws of light and shadow.

Erase the HB pencil construction lines from step 1 and 2, if you don’t want them in your details.

Highlights can easily be created by erasing them in with your eraser.

I even went a step further and gave the hare some color, this final image you can see in the first page of the blogpost.

Further Steps

If you have followed the steps above, there is now a hare on your drawing. Maybe you are not satisfied with it yet, but this is going to be fine if you keep practicing.

Drawing is a skill that takes time, the same as any other profession. Remember that drawing is just a hobby and try to have a lot of fun with it.

If you want to draw even more hare you can take pictures of hares outside or look up pictures online. The steps are exactly as indicated above, keep repeating this and before you know it you may call yourself an professional artist.

Good luck and more importantly have fun!

How to draw Animals | Giraffe tutorial step by step

August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 by hyphaem

Giraffes are the tallest animals on the african savanna, you can easily recognize them by their long neck and legs.

This long neck comes handy for picking the most juicy leaves on the top of the tree. And they posess a long tong which makes it easy to devour the leaves.

Don’t be fooled about the speed of the giraffe, because they have long legs they could travel vast distances.

But enough about those fascinating animals let’s start drawing.

When you see artist drawing from their imagination, it means that they can skip several steps in their head.

As a artist you need to work on your visual library and process.

A visual library is necessary to allow yourself to come up with imaginary images and references.

The process is important to allow yourself to break the subject in smaller parts, after you can easily approach any subject.

Giraffe Anatomy

Giraffe come in all shapes and sizes, although these differences the species generally all have similar skeleton and muscle groups. Therefore by making one overall anatomy study I could already tackle 95 percent of the problems.

By studying the bone structure and muscle mass, it is shown that giraffe are very agile.

This can also be seen in its appearance and posture.

So once again you don’t need to know the exact anatomy, it’s more about getting an idea about how to put the animal on paper.

In the picture you see the skeleton above with all the important muscle groups shown below.

In the study below the skeleton I tried to create shadows. This way the giraffe is more translated into large shapes and planes.

It doesn’t have to be a perfect anatomy drawing but as long as the rough shapes and proportions are correct the study should suffice.

Because remember you are only doing a anatomy study to solve problems for your initial art or future drawings.

Drawing a Giraffe | Step by step

When you have a rough idea about the anatomy, you’re ready to start drawing the Giraffe. It is important that you can put the essence on paper.

When you draw the animal always start with the big shapes and work slowly towards the details. As shown in the steps below.

I made these images in photoshop for the sake of clarity for the website.

I advise you to start with an HB pencil and in your sketchbook or a piece of paper and for example change to a 2B or even 4B pencil from Step 3 onwards.

If you are not satisfied with a line, erase it. We are all students and don’t be ashamed to correct yourself with a eraser if you don’t like the line.

Step 1 | Flowing lines and large shapes

Giraffe Step 1 | Gesture and Organic shapes

I always start with big organic shapes combined with gesture lines. This step is important because you lay the foundation for the rest of the drawing.

When the ground work is laid on paper and step 1 is finished I dissect the animal in different parts mainly the head, neck, shoulders, belly and legs.

Step 2 | Construction of large shapes

This step is for the most part imaginary, I try to imagine for myself the big shapes.

Because these big shapes will often “muddy” down your drawing, therefore I try to avoid them to put them on paper.

Off course, when you first draw a new animal it can help to put these big shapes on paper. But only if you find it hard to imagine then I would put only the essential shapes in your drawing.

The most helpful shape for me is the keystone shape at the shoulders. You then have a good basis to put the legs down.

Step 3 | Head and Neck

When you have the essence on paper, we can draw over the large forms step by step.

As mentioned earlier I always divide my subject into sections, for animals this is head, neck, shoulders, body and legs.

It is important that you draw between and around the large shapes. And only create the suggestion with minimal lines. for example when you draw a Giraffe with fur you only want the suggestion of hair or fur.

I work my way down and try to follow the anatomy of the beast. Try to draw ‘Over’ and ‘Around’ the imaginary shapes of step 2.

Don’t focus on every detail you see, because a drawing is just a representation of the artist perception of reality. And it is therefore not “THE” exact reality.

Step 4 | Shoulders and Body

Again, try to think in big shapes and don’t get distracted by the details.

You will notice that the simpler the drawing the more pleasant it is to look at.

Remember: When you put the lines of the shoulder and the body try to draw ‘around’ and ‘over’ the imaginary shapes and lines of step 1 and 2.

Step 5 | Legs

The legs can be a bit complex because muscles can be complex. Try to imagine the anatomy well and simplify it to the structure you see, for ease look to the anatomy study above.

If you have followed the steps above you will see that it slowly starts to look like a giraffe.

And if you have already created a good looking giraffe, the next step is to indicate the details. Try to stop in time and don’t include too many details in your drawing.

Sometimes drawing less lines tells you more about your subject.

In this step I also deleted most of the lines which we have drawn in step 1. In this case it makes the image more clear and it is easier to draw in all the spots clearly.

Step 6 | Details

When the ground work is layed down, you can finalize your line drawing by adding the details.

Although I say it very easily this was the most difficult and tedious task of the drawing. Drawing all the spots correctly took me quite some time.

But nonetheless fun to do!

Step 7 | Local Color

Normally I put tone, color and shade under the last step. But for the giraffe I made a exception.

Drawing in photoshop can be somewhat different then drawing with pencil.

But if you find it interesting you can follow a long with the last few steps.

First I colored the giraffe in with it’s local color, meaning I neglect shadow and highlights. Painters also use this methods in traditional painting, because it allows them to add or substract color to the picture.

Step 8

Next I use multiply mode on photoshop to add a blueish shade to the giraffe.

Step 9

Lastly I add light where it is necessary.

The shade of the ground I did together with the quick background. Which can be seen in the first image of this blogpost.

Further Steps

If you have followed the steps above, there is now a giraffe on your drawing. Maybe you are not satisfied with it yet, but this is going to be fine if you keep practicing.

Drawing is a skill that takes time, the same as any other profession. Remember that drawing is just a hobby for most and try to have a lot of fun with it.

If you want to draw even more giraffes you can take pictures in the zoo near you or look up pictures online.

The steps or process is exactly as indicated above, keep repeating this and before you know it you may call yourself an professional artist.

Good luck and more importantly have fun!

How to draw animals | Domestic Cat in 7 Steps

August 20, 2020August 14, 2020 by hyphaem

Cats are stubborn and curious beasts that have conquered our hearts. You’ll probably agree with me when you have a cat of your own.

Maybe this is why you would want to draw a cat yourself. Cats can be difficult to sit still and can be annoying when you are drawing because they always demand your attention.

However, because cats are so interesting I also like to draw them.

If you don’t know where to start I will now explain step-by-step how to draw a cat. Or at least there are thousands of ways to draw cats, but I am trying to explain my method to you.

Cats are pretty easy to draw because they often have a lot of fur and have round shapes because the muscalature is not visible. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to think so much about the anatomy.

When you see artist drawing from their imagination, it means that they can skip several steps in their head.

As a artist you need to work on your visual library and process.

A visual library is necessary to allow yourself to come up with imaginary images and references.

The process is important to allow yourself to break the subject in smaller parts, after you can easily approach any subject.

Domestic Cat Anatomy

Domestic cats come in all shapes and sizes, although these differences the species generally all have similar skeleton and muscle groups. Therefore by making one overall anatomy study I could already tackle 95 percent of the problems.

By studying the bone structure and muscle mass, it is shown that domestic cats are very agile.

This can also be seen in its appearance and posture.

So once again you don’t need to know the exact anatomy, it’s more about getting an idea about how to put the animal on paper.

In the picture you see the skeleton above with all the important muscle groups shown below.

In the study below the skeleton I tried to create shadows. This way the cat is more translated into large shapes and planes.

It doesn’t have to be a perfect anatomy drawing but as long as the rough shapes and proportions are correct the study should suffice.

Because remember you are only doing a anatomy study to solve problems for your initial art or future drawings.

Drawing a Domestic Cat | Step by step

When you have a rough idea about the anatomy, you’re ready to start drawing the cat. It is important that you can put the essence on paper.

When you draw the animal always start with the big shapes and work slowly towards the details. As shown in the steps below.

I made these images in photoshop for the sake of clarity for the website.

I advise you to start with an HB pencil and in your sketchbook or a piece of paper and for example change to a 2B or even 4B pencil from Step 3 onwards.

If you are not satisfied with a line, erase it. We are all students and don’t be ashamed to correct yourself with a eraser if you don’t like the line.

Step 1 | Flowing lines and large shapes

I always start with big organic shapes combined with gesture lines. This step is important because you lay the foundation for the rest of the drawing.

When the ground work is laid on paper and step 1 is finished I dissect the animal in different parts mainly the head, neck, shoulders, belly and legs.

Step 2 | Construction of large shapes

This step is for the most part imaginary, I try to imagine for myself the big shapes.

Because these big shapes will often “muddy” down your drawing, therefore I try to avoid them to put them on paper.

Off course, when you first draw a new animal it can help to put these big shapes on paper. But only if you find it hard to imagine then I would put the essential shapes in your drawing.

The most helpful shape for me is the keystone shape at the shoulders. You then have a good basis to put the legs down.

Step 3 | Head and Neck

When you have the essence on paper, we can draw over the large forms step by step.

As mentioned earlier I always divide my subject into sections, for animals this is head, neck, shoulders, body and legs.

It is important that you draw between and around the large shapes. And only create the suggestion with minimal lines. for example when you draw a cat with fur you only want the suggestion of hair or fur.

I work my way down and try to follow the anatomy of the beast. Try to draw ‘Over’ and ‘Around’ the imaginary shapes of step 2.

Don’t focus on every detail you see, because a drawing is just a representation of the artist perception of reality. And it is therefore not “THE” exact reality.

Step 4 | Shoulders and Body

Again, try to think in big shapes and don’t get distracted by the details.

You will notice that the simpler the drawing the more pleasant it is to look at.

Remember: When you put the lines of the shoulder and the body try to draw ‘around’ and ‘over’ the imaginary shapes and lines of step 1 and 2.

Step 5 | Legs

The legs can be a bit complex because muscles can be complex. Try to imagine the anatomy well and simplify it to the structure you see, for ease look to the anatomy study above.

If you have followed the steps above you will see that it slowly starts to look like a cat.

And if you have already created a good looking cat, the next step is to indicate the details. Try to stop in time and don’t include too many details in your drawing.

Sometimes drawing less lines tells you more about your subject.

Step 6 | Details

When the ground work is layed down, you can finalize your line drawing by adding the details.

In the example above I sketched in the pupils of the eyes and put some suggestion of fur on the animal. Also I tried to put some lines around the various muscle groups to show the strenght and power of the cat.

Step 7 | Tone, Shade and Color

Try to add some tonal value in your drawing, do this by applying the laws of light and shadow.

Erase the HB pencil construction lines from step 1 and 2, if you don’t want them in your details.

Highlights can easily be created by erasing them in with your eraser.

I even went a step further and gave the cat some color, this final image you can see in the first page of the blogpost.

Further Steps

If you have followed the steps above, there is now a cat on your drawing. Maybe you are not satisfied with it yet, but this is going to be fine if you keep practicing.

Drawing is a skill that takes time, the same as any other profession. Remember that drawing is just a hobby and try to have a lot of fun with it.

If you want to draw even more cats you can take pictures of cats outside or look up pictures online. The steps are exactly as indicated above, keep repeating this and before you know it you may call yourself an professional artist.

Good luck and more importantly have fun!