Learning how to draw a cat face is largely a matter of getting a few relationships right. The space between the eyes, the distance down to the nose and the width of the muzzle have more influence on a cat’s expression than hundreds of carefully rendered hairs.
I prefer to sketch these relationships from the darkest features in a photograph. The upper eyelids, pupils and nostrils give me something definite to observe. From there, I can develop the rest of the face without enclosing it in a circle or using construction lines to decide where everything belongs.
The process below works particularly well for an observational pencil or pen drawing. It also gives you room to make corrections as you learn more about the particular cat you are drawing.
First, look at the space between the features
Before I begin a cat face sketch, I spend some time looking at the photograph without drawing. My attention moves between the eyes, nose and muzzle rather than around the outer edge of the head.
Notice the distance between the inner corners of the eyes. Then compare the width of the nose with that distance. Finally, look at how far the muzzle extends below the nose and how much of it projects to either side.
These measurements are visual comparisons, not numbers you need to calculate. The purpose is to notice whether this cat has a broad muzzle, closely spaced eyes, a short nose or some other combination that makes its face recognizable.
Choose a reference photograph where you can see those relationships clearly. A slight three-quarter view can be especially useful because it reveals the projection of the muzzle. Extremely close phone photographs are harder to interpret because perspective can exaggerate the nose.
Good directional light helps too. A shadow beneath the upper eyelid or beside the nose can explain the form more clearly than a photograph illuminated evenly from the front. I discuss this further in my guide to choosing an animal drawing reference.
Sketch the expression before the shape of the head
I usually begin with the darkest visible part of one eye. Depending on the photograph, that might be the pupil or the heavy shadow made by the upper eyelid.
Draw that small shape and compare it with the second eye. Resist the temptation to finish the first eye with a perfect iris, highlight and surrounding fur. At this point, the relationship between the two eyes matters much more than the detail inside either one.
Pay particular attention to the upper eyelids. Their angles contribute enormously to the expression. An eyelid that slopes downward can make a cat appear sleepy or watchful, while a more open eye can change the character of the entire drawing.
The eyes do not have to match. In a turned head, the farther eye may appear narrower, closer to the bridge of the nose or partly hidden by the surrounding fur.
Draw these differences as you see them. Making both eyes perfectly symmetrical can remove the perspective and expression that made the reference interesting.
Once both eyes are indicated, I place the darkest part of the nostrils. This gives me three separate landmarks to compare across the face.
The nose tells you whether the eyes are in the right place
A cat’s nose often appears triangular at a glance, but it is more useful to observe its actual edges than to draw a tidy triangle.
Look at the nostrils first. Their dark shapes may differ in size or visibility according to the direction of the head. Add the upper surface of the nose by watching where its value changes against the fur above and beside it.
Then pause.
Does the nose appear too low compared with the eyes? Is it too narrow for the face? Does one eye now look farther from the nose than it does in the reference?
I prefer making those corrections now rather than discovering the problem after drawing the ears and coat markings. With pen, I simply add the revised marks. The previous lines can remain visible as part of the drawing’s development.
A small adjustment here can do more for the likeness than an additional hour spent rendering fur.
How to draw the cat’s muzzle
The muzzle is the area where I most often see an otherwise convincing cat drawing become generic. Cats differ considerably in the width, projection and shape of their whisker pads.
Start immediately beneath the nose. Look for the short division that descends toward the mouth. It may appear as a dark line, a small shadow or only a subtle change in the direction of the fur.
Now compare the two sides of the muzzle.
On a front-facing cat, the whisker pads may seem fairly balanced. When the head turns, one side can look broad and prominent while the other is compressed. Even a small difference is worth preserving.
I use short, curved marks that follow the surface rather than drawing an enclosed shape around each whisker pad. Look for the shadows where the muzzle meets the cheeks, and let those changes in value establish its volume.
The mouth deserves restraint. Its two sides may descend or turn outward from the central division, but they do not necessarily form an upward smile. Follow the angles in your reference instead of relying on the familiar cartoon version of a cat’s mouth.
A small area of shadow beneath the lower lip is often enough to suggest the chin.
What the forehead and ears reveal about the head’s direction
At this stage, the eyes, nose and muzzle should already suggest a particular expression. I then look at how the face turns away from those features.
The bridge of the nose can be difficult to see because it is covered in fur. Instead of drawing two continuous lines toward the forehead, observe the shadows and markings that pass between the eyes. Their direction can indicate whether the forehead is facing you or turning to one side.
Once the forehead feels believable, locate the ears by looking at their bases. Their relationship to the eyes is more dependable than guessing where the pointed tips should end.
One ear might turn forward and expose its interior while the other rotates away. The farther ear may appear smaller or sit closer to the center of the head in the photograph.
Follow the observed edges, including any slight bends, flattened sections or tufts of fur. Real ears are rarely the identical, rigid triangles that appear in simplified cat illustrations.
Dark values inside the ears can establish depth. A few directional marks near their bases will usually describe the fur more effectively than filling the entire interior with repeated strokes.
Let the fur establish the boundary of the face
By working from the features outward, I can leave the outer shape of the head unresolved until I understand what is happening inside it.
Look at the direction of the fur around the forehead, cheeks and chin. Hair above the eyes may travel upward or outward. Along the cheeks, it can spread away from the muzzle. Below the chin, it may point downward and merge with the chest.
Use groups of marks to suggest these changes. I leave small interruptions along the edge rather than tracing a continuous outline around the whole face.
The amount of detail depends on the coat. A short-haired cat may need only slight breaks in the contour, while a long-haired cat has a more irregular silhouette. Neither requires an identical fringe of individual hairs around every edge.
Coat markings can contribute to the form as well. On a tabby, a stripe crossing the forehead might narrow as it approaches the nose. Dark patches on the cheeks can curve around the muzzle, suggesting its projection.
I establish the larger areas of dark and light before adding individual hairs. In pencil, broader value changes can do much of this work. With pen, changes in the spacing and direction of marks can create the same effect.
Try not to give every patch an equally dark border. The edges of coat markings often soften or disappear into neighboring fur.
Whiskers should describe movement beyond the muzzle
I leave the whiskers until the muzzle has enough shape to show where they originate.
Study the way they spread from the face. Some extend almost horizontally; others arc downward or cross neighboring whiskers. Their paths are not necessarily symmetrical on the two sides.
Before making a mark, I follow the direction of a whisker with my eyes. Then I draw it with one continuous movement rather than assembling it from several short segments.
It is not necessary to include every whisker in the photograph. A selection of lines with convincing directions can communicate the character of the full group without overwhelming the facial features.
Small whisker spots on the muzzle can help explain where the hairs emerge. Keep them varied in spacing and value rather than arranging them into an artificial pattern.
A useful final test: ignore the fur
When a cat portrait does not resemble its reference, I look past the fur and coat pattern. Imagine that only the eyes, nose, mouth and major shadows remain on the paper.
Do those features still describe the same cat?
If not, compare the spaces between them again. The eyes may be too widely separated, the nose might sit a little too low or one side of the muzzle may extend farther than it should.
These corrections are often small, but their effect on the expression can be substantial. I am comfortable leaving earlier marks visible when I make them. They record the observations and decisions that shaped the drawing.
Ultimately, drawing a believable cat face is less about perfecting each feature individually than understanding how the features relate to one another. Once the expression feels right, the fur, coat markings and whiskers have a convincing structure to build upon.
If you want to take the same observational approach beyond the head, my realistic cat drawing tutorial covers the full animal. You can also browse my other cat drawing tutorials for related subjects.