How to draw a cat with a pencil

Cats are incredibly graceful and beautiful animals, making them a joy to draw. For beginner artists who are new to graphic design, these step-by-step pencil drawing tutorials are perfect.

Cartoons

Creating these cats doesn't require skill, talent, or artistic flair. If your child asks you to draw a cat and you're short on time, you can stick to funny images.

Sleeping kitten

Anyone can easily draw such a sleeping miracle. All you need is an A4 sheet of paper, a soft and hard pencil, an eraser, and a little patience and perseverance.

Step 1: We begin drawing the sleeping cat with the head. Using a hard pencil, draw a circle and mark thin guide lines. The vertical line divides the face neatly in half, and the horizontal line extends so that the top half of the circle takes up more than half of the circle.

Step 2: Using the guide lines drawn in the first step, outline the kitten's eyes, nose and mouth.

Step 3: Use a soft pencil to outline the head. Draw the ears, the protruding fur, and the playful "whirlwind."

Step 4: Draw the animal's body and outline the tail. Note that the kitten is curled up, so the tail covers part of its face.

Step 5: The final step is to draw the paws and whiskers. Carefully erase any unnecessary lines and markings with an eraser. The kitten is ready. If desired, you can color it with paints or colored pencils, or leave it as is.

Check out our website for more information on: How to make a paper cat, and also origami cat.

A mischievous kitten

This mischievous little one will delight any child. Start drawing this mischievous kitten from the head. Draw a circle, add triangular ears, and then sketch out the muzzle. Then draw the body and paws. Play with the kitten's emotions and show your child that small details can influence the mood of the cat depicted in the drawing. Surprise can be conveyed with wide-open eyes; a protruding tongue adds mischief, and by slightly shifting the pupils, you can create a pensive or sad cat.

Kitten made of circles

Even a child can draw a cat using circles in pencil, as it's one of the easiest techniques for beginners. The animal is drawn from behind, so there's no need to define features or maintain proportions.

First, draw two circles on a piece of paper, making sure they overlap slightly. The diameter of the lower circle should be approximately twice the diameter of the upper circle. Then, add ears to the upper circle, and a tail to the lower circle. Then, add whiskers and randomly mark out the fur.

One circle, two circles

Another clear example of how you can quickly and easily draw a cat with a pencil.

First, draw a larger circle, then draw another, smaller circle inside it. Add the ears, facial features, and a tail. A funny sleeping kitten will be a delight for children and can quickly distract them and lift their spirits.

Playful kitten

This sketch is something between simple schematic images and realistic drawings of animals.

Step 1:

We outline the animal's outline with thin guide lines drawn with a hard pencil. The head is sketched as an octagon, the ears as triangles, and the body as a rectangle or cylinder. Next, we mark the paws.

Step 2:

Draw a horizontal line in the center of the head, indicating eye level. Sketch the mouth and nose, along with round eyes. Draw the chin and mustache.

Step 3:

We define the muzzle more clearly. We draw the eyes, nose, whiskers, and cheeks in detail. Using a soft pencil, we draw the hairs on the ears, head, and muzzle. Then we draw the front paws with claws and pads, and add detail to the back paws.

Step 4:

At the final stage, carefully erase all the auxiliary lines. Now it's time to draw the fur. A 2M (or 2B) lead is best for this, but any soft lead can be used.

Realistic

Many people think that realistic pet portraits are a daunting task for beginners, but in reality, not all sketches are complicated. This can be seen in the step-by-step instructions for painting a Scottish Fold.

Let's draw a Scottish Fold cat with a pencil.

Scottish Folds are beloved by many breeders for their personality and charming appearance. Thanks to the breed's distinctive feature—their ears folded forward and downward—these cats look so adorable that it's impossible not to cuddle them. We offer a simple, step-by-step tutorial for beginners on how to draw a British Shorthair cat step by step.

In the first step, use a hard pencil to draw the auxiliary lines: one vertical and two horizontal. The vertical line marks the center of the muzzle, so it should be slightly offset to the right relative to the center of the page, as the cat is sitting slightly turned.

The horizontal lines should be parallel to each other, as they indicate the size of the animal's eyes. After this, it's time to begin drawing the outline of the muzzle and eyes.

Important! For a cat to be proportional, the distance between the eyes should correspond to the size of the eye.

When drawing the nose, remember that its size should be smaller (narrower) than the distance between the eyes.

Then, using an M or TM pencil, darken the eyes and nose. More experienced artists, confident in their strokes, can use a black pen for this purpose.

To make the cat's look "live", do not forget to leave unpainted, white areas, as in the picture.

For the third step, you'll need a 2M (or B2) pencil. Using smooth lines and shading, carefully darken the areas around the pupils. Note that the color transitions from the darkest (around the pupils) to the lightest. Then, using a hard lead, draw arrows outward from the nose. These indicate the direction for drawing the fur.

Using the softest pencil (preferably B4 or 4M), draw the darkest hair, following the arrows. The crown and under the ears should be the darkest.

To complete the painting, draw the remaining fur. The cat is ready.

Please note: The color of the bristles depends on the pressure applied.

Read also:

• How to draw cats
• The difference between British and Scottish cats
• Cat purr translator