1 First I capture the cat’s gesture—or line of action—by drawing a curved line that starts at the chest and sweeps under the body. From this line, I build the cat’s pose, positioning the body, chest, head, muzzle, and ears with smooth, sweeping, curved lines.
2 Now that I have established the pose and position of the cat’s body, I add the legs, paws, and tail with quick, simple strokes. At this stage, I also erase a few guidelines I no longer need on the left sides of the muzzle and head.
3 Next I start refining the cat’s outline, defining the paws, mouth, eyes, and ears. I indicate the folds and wrinkles of the skin with thin, curved strokes, which start to give the cat’s body a sense of form. I also begin to suggest the soft fur on the cat’s underbelly.
4 After I erase the guidelines from the face and underbelly, I begin developing the texture of the coat. I use thin, straight strokes that follow the direction of the hair and the form of the body. In shadowed areas, such as the ear, underside, and far hind leg, I apply denser strokes.
5 I continue developing the coarse texture of the coat with dark, unblended strokes of pencil. I use shorter strokes for areas with shorter hair (such as the face and chest) and longer strokes to represent longer hair (such as the underbelly and ears). Finally I add the whiskers and fill in the eyes, leaving a few small white highlights.