Drawing realistic cat eyes can bring your feline portraits to life. The eyes are often considered the most expressive feature of a cat, capturing their unique personality and gaze. In this tutorial, artist Peggy Osborne guides you through her process of drawing captivating cat eyes using colored pencils. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist, these step-by-step instructions will help you master the art of drawing feline eyes that truly shine.
This tutorial is based on a reference photo from Pixabay, cropped to specifically focus on the eyes for detailed study.
Peggy works on Robert Bateman Series 110 pound paper, known for its quality and texture, and uses Prismacolor pencils, renowned for their vibrant colors and blendability. However, you can achieve excellent results with any good quality drawing paper and artist-grade colored pencils.
Let’s dive into Peggy’s expert techniques for drawing realistic cat eyes.
Step 1: Laying Down the Foundation – Light and Dark Areas
The initial step in drawing cat eyes is to identify and define the areas of light and shadow. Peggy starts by using a sharp white pencil to draw in the highlights. This preserves the white of the paper in these key areas as subsequent colors are layered. She also applies white to the brightest parts of the eye, ensuring these areas remain luminous throughout the drawing process.
Next, she lightly sketches the pupil, taking care to avoid smudging black into the lighter areas. Alternatively, the pupil can be added later if preferred.
For the first color layer, Peggy uses Cream with a light touch. Employing a sharp pencil and small circular motions, she covers the entire eye area, excluding the highlights and pupil. Following this, a wash of Jade Green is added to the mid-tone areas and the subtle, squiggly lines within the iris, introducing depth and dimension to the eye.
Step 2: Defining the Eye’s Outline
To give shape and definition to the eye, the next step involves outlining it with Sepia. This outline serves as a guide and will be refined as the drawing progresses. Peggy emphasizes the importance of continually revisiting and redefining this outline throughout the process. She continues to build up layers of color, alternating between White, Cream, and Jade Green, gradually adding complexity and realism to the eye.
Step 3: Deepening the Shadows for Dimension
Creating a three-dimensional effect is crucial in drawing realistic eyes. In this step, Marine Green is introduced to deepen the shadows around the eyelids and the outer edges of the eye. This technique helps to give the eye a spherical, rounded form, enhancing its realism.
Continuing to build layers, Sand is applied to the mid-tone areas to add warmth and variation. Then, a wash of Sap Green is applied over the entire eye, carefully avoiding the highlights to maintain their luminosity. This is followed by a light wash of Celadon Green, further enriching the color palette of the eye. Peggy emphasizes a light touch for both Sap Green and Celadon Green washes to ensure subtle blending.
To maintain the light center of the eye and enhance the three-dimensional appearance, White is used with medium pressure to touch up the lightest areas. Over this, a light wash of Grey Green is applied. These light washes are essential for seamlessly blending the colors, contributing to a realistic and cohesive look.
Step 4: Layering Shadows for Depth
To further enhance the depth and realism of the cat eye, shadows are deepened using 70% French Grey. Peggy then continues to add washes of Celadon Green and Jade Green across the entire eye, once again being mindful to avoid the highlight areas.
In the mid-tone regions of the eye, Sand is applied with medium pressure, building up the color and texture. Returning to the outline, Black is used to redefine both the eye outline and the pupil, making them sharper and more defined.
Step 5: Achieving Saturation and Detail
As the drawing nears completion, the focus shifts to achieving color saturation and fine detail. Peggy increases the pressure slightly while still employing small, circular motions to apply the colored pencils. The goal is to create a smooth, glossy appearance characteristic of a cat’s eye. To achieve this, she burnishes certain areas, which involves blending the colors and filling in the paper’s tooth to create a seamless surface.
Shadows under the eyelid are intensified with Sepia and Marine Green, adding further depth and contour. Marine Green is also used to enhance the depth around the outer eye and the area near the pupil, creating a sense of form and volume.
Sand is reintroduced to the mid-tone areas, refining the color transitions. The entire eye is then burnished with Jade Green, blending all the layers together harmoniously. For added realism, Peggy uses either Jade Green or Sepia to place tiny details within the eye, mimicking the intricate textures of the iris.
Eyelash reflections on the eye surface are delicately added using Sepia, capturing subtle light play. The lightest areas of the eye are then burnished with White, further enhancing the highlights.
Finally, a touch of Slate Blue is added to the white highlight in each eye, introducing a subtle cool tone that enriches the overall color palette and adds a final layer of realism. Throughout this detailed process, Peggy emphasizes the importance of consistently referencing the original photograph to ensure accuracy and likeness.
Peggy mentions that she typically moves on to drawing the surrounding fur at this stage, planning to return to the eyes for final touches after the fur is complete. Drawing the fur around the eyes helps in accurately judging the values and tones within the eye itself, ensuring a cohesive and realistic integration of the eye and fur.
Step 6: Blocking in Color for the Fur
While the primary focus is on drawing the eyes, understanding how the surrounding fur is started provides valuable context. Peggy explains that the fur is built up through numerous layers of colored pencil. She begins by laying down hair-like strokes in the direction of the fur growth using 70% French Grey. A wash of Cream is then applied over this initial layer, followed by more hair-like strokes, this time with 20% French Grey.
This sequence is repeated – another wash of Cream, followed by more hair-like strokes of 70% French Grey. These repeated steps are crucial for building depth and dimension in the fur. Peggy continues this layering process until the paper’s tooth is filled and the desired fur effect is achieved.
Step 7: Layering and Blending for Realistic Fur
The key to drawing realistic fur lies in the technique of layering and blending. For the area between the eyes, which has a slightly different fur pattern, Peggy utilizes 70% Warm Grey with a sharp point, applying short, hair-like strokes. This is followed by a light wash of Peach Beige and more short strokes of 70% Warm Grey.
This area is then burnished with a blending pencil, seamlessly merging the colors. The white of the paper is strategically left visible to represent the lightest hairs, adding highlights and texture. The remaining fur areas are finished using the same colors and layering techniques mentioned earlier, consistently referring to the reference photo and building layer upon layer, with occasional burnishing between layers to integrate the colors.
This meticulous layering and blending process results in fur that appears three-dimensional and lifelike. The darkest points of the fur are achieved using layers of Black and Sepia, filling the paper’s tooth to create rich, deep shadows. A blending pencil is used to drag the dark color into the lighter areas, ensuring a smooth and gradual transition and enhancing the overall realism of the fur.
Step 8: Drawing the Nose with Layering Techniques
The cat’s nose, with its unique hair pattern, is drawn using the same layering methods applied to the fur. Peggy emphasizes following the direction of fur growth as depicted in the reference photo.
The layering technique for the nose incorporates a slightly modified color palette, including Burnt Ochre and Light Umber in addition to the French Greys and Peach Beige used for the fur. These earth tones add warmth and depth to the nose, differentiating it subtly from the surrounding fur while maintaining color harmony.
Step 9: Burnishing for Seamless Blending
Once the drawing is nearing completion, burnishing plays a crucial role in blending the fur throughout the entire picture. This technique smooths out the textures and unifies the different areas of the drawing, creating a polished and cohesive final piece.
For adding final highlights and individual hairs, Peggy utilizes Brush & Pencil’s Titanium White mixture. This specialized medium allows for the addition of fine, bright details that stand out against the underlying colors, enhancing the realism and adding a final layer of refinement.
To put the finishing touches on the eyes, Marine Green is added to deepen the shadows, and a touch of Light Umber and Sand are introduced to enrich the eye’s color palette. The entire eye, except for the brightest highlight, is then burnished with Celadon Green, ensuring a seamless blend and a professional finish.
Step 10: Final Comparison with Reference Photo
A crucial step in Peggy’s process is comparing the finished drawing with the reference photo. This comparison involves checking for accuracy in color, likeness, and overall resemblance to the original subject.
In addition to a color comparison, Peggy also conducts a side-by-side comparison in black and white. This value study is essential for verifying the accuracy of light and shadow relationships in the drawing, ensuring that the values translate correctly even without color.
Peggy’s Expertise in Drawing Cat Eyes
Peggy Osborne’s detailed approach offers invaluable insights into drawing realistic cat eyes. Her method emphasizes layering, blending, and meticulous observation of the reference photo. By following these steps, you can learn How To Draw Cat eyes with depth, dimension, and captivating realism.
For further exploration of Peggy’s techniques, you can delve into her tutorials on drawing fur: How to Draw Black Fur and How to Draw a Long Haired Dog.
If you have any questions about this tutorial or suggestions for future topics, feel free to leave a comment below. Peggy often visits to answer your questions and engage with the community.
About the Artist: Peggy Osborne
Peggy Osborne is a self-taught artist from Canada, renowned for her realistic pet and family portraits. Colored pencils have been her medium of choice for many years, drawn to their simplicity and versatility. Her artistic journey began with graphite pencils, making the transition to colored pencils a natural progression. Peggy’s passion for animals and art are deeply intertwined, and she is continually amazed by the level of detail and realism achievable with colored pencils.
You can see more of Peggy’s artwork at Pet Portraits by Peggy. Additionally, you can learn more about Peggy in the January issue of CP Magic magazine.
