How to draw realistic cat eyes with this how-to video and step-by-step drawing instructions. Simple drawing for kids and beginners.
Please see the drawing tutorial in the video below
You can refer to the simple step-by-step drawing guide below
Step 1:
Start by drawing the light and dark areas.
The first thing I do when drawing the eyes is draw the highlight with a sharp white pencil so it stays white while I color. I also add white to the whitest areas of the eye to keep those areas bright, as I overlay other colors on top of them.
I paint lightly on the pupil of the eye, being careful not to drag the black into the light.
The first color is Cream drawn with a light stroke. I use a sharp pencil and draw in small circular motions that cover the entire eye minus the highlights and of course the pupils. Then I added a layer of Jade Green to the areas of medium tones and small zigzag lines in the eyes.
Step 2:
Identify the outside of the eye.
The next step is to add a border with Sepia to define the eye. I go back and redefine this contour as I work with the eye. I continued to build layers with White, Cream, and Emerald Green.
Step 3:
Darken the areas around the outside of the eyes.
Add Marine Green to the darkest shadows under the eyelids and around the outside of the eyes. This helps to give the eye a spherical shape.
I continue to build layers using Sand on my neutral tones. Then I rinsed Sap Green over my entire eye, avoiding highlights, followed by a rinse of Celadon Green. For both colors, I keep my touch light.
I wanted to keep the light in the center of the eye to keep that three-dimensional look. So I hit the very brightest areas of the eye using White with medium pressure. On this, I once again washed lightly with Gray Green. These light washes help keep everything blended together so the eyes look real.
Step 4:
Create deeper shadows with additional color layers.
I created a deeper shadow with 70% French Grey, then continued to add the Celadon Blue and Emerald Green washes to the entire eye except for the highlights.
In areas with medium tones, I add Sand with medium pressure.
Then I went back to black to outline the eye and pupil.
Step 5:
Paint saturated color with more layers, increase pressure and rounded strokes.
When I’m close to finishing the eye, I add a little more pressure but still use small circular movements. The eye should have a smooth glossy appearance, so I buffed these areas to fill in the teeth of the paper.
I deepened the shadows under the eyelids a bit by adding sepia and navy. I used Marine Green to create more depth around the outside of the eye and the area near the pupil.
Again I used Sand in medium tone areas. Then I buffed the entire eye with Emerald Green to blend all the colors together. I use Emerald Green or Sepia to place small details on the eyes for added realism.
The reflection of the eyelashes on the eye was added with Sepia, then I shaded the brightest areas of the eye with White.
Finally, I added slate blue to the white highlights on each eye.
During this process, I followed the reference image.
I’m going to move on to creating the hair around the eyes but will be back to add the final strokes and details to the eyes once the fur is complete. Drawing feathers around the eyes helps me to better assess the values in the eyes.
Step 6:
Start drawing feathers by coloring.
Since this is an eye tutorial, I won’t go into the details of the coat. However I will share some steps to create the hair, then I will go back and complete the final details on the eyes.
The coat is built up using layer after layer with colored pencils. First I stroked in the direction of the fur with 70% French Gray. I wash off the Cream on top, then add hair-like strokes with 20% French Gray.
This was followed by another Cream wash, and then more hair-like strokes with 70% French Gray.
These steps give depth to the bristles and I keep repeating them until the paper teeth are full and I get the effect I want.
Step 7:
Complete the feather painting by creating multiple layers.
Building layers and blending is what gives you the real-looking coat. The area between the eyes is a little different than the others, so to create this area I used a 70% Warm Gray with a pointed tip and short hair-like strokes. Then I added a light coat of Peach Beige and more short strokes of 70% Warm Grey.
I polished this one with a mixing pencil. The white of the paper was exposed like the lightest hairs. The rest of the area I finished using the same colors as mentioned earlier, closely following the reference image and building up layer after layer, with some buffing between layers.
I created a three-dimensional look for the fur. The darkest points of the coat are finished with layers of Black and Sepia to fill in the teeth of the paper.
With my blending pencil, I dragged the dark color into a light color for a smooth blend look.
The white of the paper was exposed like the lightest hairs.
I used sepia in the darkest spots
of the fur as the base layer. I have finished the hair on the forehead here.
Step 8:
Draw the nose using the same methods as the rest of the plumage.
A cat’s nose has an unusual coat pattern and I always follow the direction of the hair growth as shown in the reference photo.
I used the same layering method to draw the nose, but added a bit of burnt ocher and light brown to the French gray and peach beige.
Step 9:
Polish the color layers so they blend together.
On the finished canvas, I buffed several areas to blend the fur throughout the whole picture.
I used Brush & Pencil’s Titanium White blend to add some hair and highlights throughout the canvas.
Then, to complete the eyes, I added Marine Green in the shadows, a little Light Umber over the eyes along with Sand, then buffed the entire eye with Celadon Green, except for the brightest highlight.
Step 10:
Compare drawing with reference photo
As usual, I compare the photo with the reference photo and the final drawing to check the color, similarity, etc.
How to draw cat’s eyes – Color side-by-side comparison
I also did a side-by-side black and white comparison to check the values.
Other drawings for your reference:
