How to Draw a Cat - Gesture-Drawn Sitting Cat in 7 Steps

Hold your pencil loosely. Don't grip it like you're writing - more like you're balancing it. Sketch a circle near the top of the page for the cat's head. Go around the same shape three or four times, letting your hand find the line you want.

This is gesture drawing - fast movement, light pressure, multiple passes. You're not committing to anything yet. The whole point is to keep your hand moving so the cat ends up with motion rather than stiffness.

Draw a second circle just below the head for the chest. Make it roughly the same size as the head circle.

Then drop down and draw a third, larger circle for the body and rump. Offset it - only the top half should overlap with the chest circle, leaving the bottom half forming the seat of the cat.

Stand back. Right now you have three circles that look like a snowman tipping forward. That's correct. The cat shape is hiding inside this construction.

On top of the head circle, draw two triangle shapes for the ears. Sit them slightly forward of the top - cats hold their ears up and a little forward when relaxed.

Now draw the spine. Start at the back of the head, curve down over where the shoulder would be, run across the back, and end at the rump. This single curving line connects the three circles into one continuous shape.

Smooth out the chest by tracing along the front of the head and chest circles. Some cats are sleek, some are sturdier - decide how solid you want yours to look and adjust the chest line accordingly.

The hind leg blends into the rump because of how loose a cat's fur and skin are. Don't draw a hard line at the joint - just curve gently from the rump and tuck the back paw underneath.

Drop two short verticals down from the chest for the front paws. Keep them light. You'll refine them in the outline pass.

The tail is where you choose the cat's personality. Sketch a few options lightly - tail wrapping around the front paws, tail curling up over the back, tail curling around one foot. Don't commit to one yet.

Step back and pick the version you like best. Then erase the alternates so your eye isn't fighting between two tail lines while you draw the rest.

Now go around the whole cat with a slightly darker line - but not a smooth one. Every time the outline changes direction, break the line with a little tuft of fur.

Tuft locations: top of each ear, behind the shoulder, halfway down the back, where the rump meets the hind leg, and right at the base of the tail. These small irregular marks tell the eye there's fur there without forcing you to draw individual hairs.

Lightly erase the three construction circles and any leftover tail variations. Use a kneaded eraser pressed and lifted rather than rubbing - this protects the paper and the lines you want to keep.

Touch up any outline marks that got faded during cleanup. Then sketch the face: two eyes on the upper half of the head, a small triangular nose at the center, and a curved mouth below. A few whisker lines on each cheek finish it.