How to Draw Cat Eyes

Using the steps in this lesson, you will learn how to draw cat eyes and give them a characteristic, recognizable shape and details.

Cats have a very distinctive eye shape, and if you see them drawn separately, you will most likely immediately recognize which animal they belong to.

However, even knowing how they look, not everyone can reproduce them correctly and accurately in a drawing.

In this lesson, we show how to draw realistic cat eyes with characteristic narrow pupils, and we also explain what variations exist and how you can diversify your drawing.

How to draw cat eyes step by step

Step 1: Draw the eye symmetry guidelines

First, outline the placement of the eyes on the paper. Draw two intersecting lines to guide you. Use a vertical line to mark the axis of symmetry, and a horizontal line to indicate the lower edges of the eyes. Do not try to make the lines perfectly dark and sharp, but make sure the vertical and horizontal directions are accurate.

Step 2: Draw the upper edges of the cat eyes

A cat’s eyes have a very characteristic almond shape that you need to convey. Begin by drawing the upper eyelids with two smooth lines along the horizontal guideline, placing them diagonally at equal distances from the central vertical line.

Step 3: Illustrate the lower eyelids

Carefully draw the lower eyelids with two slightly curved lines. Check the symmetry and proportions of both eyes, making sure they have the same shape and size and are positioned at a slight diagonal angle. The characteristic almond-shaped cut of the eyes, combined with their slightly diagonal placement, gives a cat’s eyes their recognizable appearance.

Step 4: Add eyelid thickness and folds

Add more volume and realism to the cat’s eyes. Give the lower eyelids thickness by drawing an additional line along each eyelid next to the lines from the previous step. Add subtle folds around the eyes for greater authenticity.

Step 5: Draw the cat pupils inside the eyes

Now remove the construction lines used in the previous steps. Then draw the pupils inside the cat eyes as narrow, elongated rhombus-like shapes. Keep in mind that a cat’s pupils do not always have this form. In darker lighting, the pupils appear larger and more rounded.

Step 6: Add shading to the eyes

To make the drawing of the cat eyes look more complete, add shadows. Apply light shading around the edges of the cat eyes. Most of the hatching should be concentrated along the upper edges of the eyes. Inside each pupil, apply denser and darker shading.

Step 7: Increase contrast and finalize the eyes

You can leave your cat eye drawing as it was in the previous step or make it more expressive by adding greater contrast and additional midtones. You can also darken the pupils further or even color the entire sketch.

A cat’s eyes are almost as expressive as a human’s, and although these animals are not members of our species, they can convey a full range of emotions familiar to people.

This method of communication is well known to artists, who actively use it in their work. The expressiveness of the eyes plays a major role in drawings, both in realistic and cartoon styles where cats are depicted.

As artists, we can always convey a cat’s emotions and mood through the position of the pupils and the angle and shape of the eyes.

However, the eyes are only part of the full emotional spectrum. To study this topic in more depth, visit our lesson on how to draw a cat’s face, where all the details are shown thoroughly and from different angles.

In that lesson, we not only explain how to depict the facial features, but also describe in detail what emotions these animals are capable of expressing and how to show them correctly in your drawing.

Also be sure to visit the cat drawing lesson, where you will learn how to depict this animal in full body, understand all the important nuances, and practice adding realistic, three-dimensional shading to the figure.