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Realistic Drawing - How to Draw a Cat's Eye
Highest Rated
Rating: 4.9 out of 5(16 ratings)
87 students
Created byJamie Boots
Last updated 3/2021
English

What you'll learn

  • Learn techniques that I use in creating a realistic looking cat’s eye from how to get the glassy look of the eye to the coarse and tangled texture of the fur.
  • How to get proportions correct in the initial sketch
  • How to add shading and build shape
  • How to make a tool for embossing texture in the paper
  • How to create textures such as realistic fur

Explore related topics

Course content

1 section • 10 lectures • 1h 56m total length

  • Introduction and Course Outline2:04

    In this introduction I will briefly introduce myself and will give you an understanding of what the course consists of. 

    There are 2 downloadable images of the Serval - one in colour and one in black and white.  I personally chose to work from a colour photograph as I feel that I can see more detail but you have the choice of the two or you can use both. 

  • Explanation of Materials9:11

    Learn about the materials that I use and also how to make an embossing tool to use in the creation of fur texture.  You do not need to use the exact same materials just bear in mind that different makes of pencils may work slightly differently.  You can also get embossing tools but I personally feel that the dart is more substantial and doesn't take much work to modify it for the purpose that we need.  The embossing technique is quite invasive into the paper so you will need a tough paper, it wants to be 300 gram Hot Press and ideally 100% cotton as this will take the embossing very well. Cartridge paper or printer paper is not substantial enough and will tear.

  • Initial Drawing11:40

    Learn a simple way of getting proportions correct without having to use a grid.  You will also learn the advantages of using a blunt pencil to create a drawing that can easily be altered and changed.

  • Shading6:34

    How to use a blending stump to apply tone and build shape into a picture.

  • Building Depth of Tone14:28

    Learn to use the pencils and blending stump to build a depth of tone to start to create a glassy look to the eye.

  • Adding Detail to the Eye15:45

    The eye is the most important part of a picture as you want to capture the character of the animal.  Use the pencils to add fine detail to create more shape and bring life to the eye.

  • Creating Skin Texture12:48

    In this stage we will work on the skin texture in front of and around the eye to create a subtle texture.

  • Basic Fur texture19:12

    Using the 4H pencil we will create a transition between the skin and fur texture before moving on to using the dart or embossing tool to create a basic fur texture.  Blunt pencils will then be applied to bring out the texture.


  • Tangled and Coarse Fur14:26

    Moving on from the previous stage we can now start to work on the coarser more tangled fur to give the effect of the fur overhanging the eye thus creating more depth.  We will also work on carrying the fur out from the picture to blend it into the background.

  • Finishing Touches and Conclusion10:46

    In this the final stage we will apply some darker tone to just build a bit more contrast into the picture as well as making any alterations that need to be made before using the putty eraser to clean up any edges.

Requirements

  • 300gram Hot Press Watercolour Paper (I recommend St. Cuthbert's Saunders Waterford)
  • Graphite Pencils:- 4H, H, 2B, 4B and 9B (I recommend Caran d'ACHE Grafwood)
  • Putty Eraser - grey (I recommend either Factis or Caran d'ACHE)
  • Normal Eraser (any basic eraser will do)
  • Blending Stump
  • Dart if you want to make an Embossing Tool or an Embossing Tool
  • 2 Rulers
  • These are recommended materials but not essential. Similar materials can be used but may work slightly differently.

Description

Hi there, my name is Jamie Boots.  I am a professional wildlife artist who mainly works in pencil.

In this course I will show you the techniques that I use to create the realistic look of an eye as well as how to create and emboss texture into the paper to create the effect of fur. 

I will start by going through the materials that I will be using to create the picture. 

We will then start the initial drawing and I will show you a way of plotting the picture out to get the proportions correct.  This system is highly adaptable and as you get more confident you can use less and less marks to build up the picture.  Alternatively, if you are confident with drawing the outline you can simply use this method to double check the position or size of parts of the drawing.

We will also be using blunt pencils to do this as this is a non-invasive way to do the drawing and it can easily be erased if any mistakes are made.

We will then move on to building some shape into the picture, again working in a non-invasive way using a blending stump to apply tone that will add shape to the picture effectively creating an under drawing.  Tone will then be applied to the eye using various pencils and the blending stump as well as a putty eraser for any corrections or highlights that need to be added and this will start to build a bit more contrast into the picture before starting to apply more detail to the eye to create a glassy look.

We will then start to work on building some of the texture into the picture starting with very subtle texture of the skin around the eye before moving on to creating the realistic look of fur.  Using the dart or embossing tool I will show you how you can create the texture for the fur before apply pencils over the top to bring out the texture (this does take practice to produce the desired effect).

To finish we will then apply some of the darker tones to just give a slightly stronger contrast as well as making any alterations that need to be done before cleaning up the picture with the putty eraser. 

This is quite a challenging technique but I would say it is suitable for an ambitious beginner who would like to challenge themselves.

There are two downloadable images that you can work from.  I personally prefer to work from a colour photograph as I feel this has more detail but there is also a black and white one if you prefer to work from that.



Who this course is for:

  • This course is aimed at people wishing to try some different techniques, but I would also say that it would be suitable for an ambitious beginner if you want a challenge.

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