Chikasartrefblog - Chika's Art Ref Blog

perhaps a tutorial about front legs?

yea sure !

i’ve already done a tutorial on back legs, so i guess this will be like the other half to it haha

so ! while a cat’s haunches are a trapezoid, a cats shoulders are like a very skinny and squished half circle. this shape is actually a simplified version of the scapula + humerus bones. it extends from the tip of the shoulder down to the elbow

some things to note about cats is that they have FLAT chests. their chests will not protrude like a dogs. yes, sometimes their fluff and fur may make it look like they have extended chests, but in reality it’s flat

the rest of the leg is fairly simple, it’s just the shoulders i notice a lot of people have problems with. so let’s draw a cat then yea?

i started with the head first, followed by the chest. you can see i used a rounded rhombus for that. starting with the chest + head can help your character feel more stable and proportional and help give weight to the character. then i threw in the shoulders and the rest.

legs are fairly simple, they will get smaller slightly towards the feet. you can make them more muscular or skinny depending on the character you want. 

HERE IS AN EASY TRICK FOR PROPORTIONS. A cat’s elbows WILL ALMOST ALWAYS align with their stomach. The beginning of the leg will align with the end of the chest. (obviously if you’re drawing super longhaired cats thats different but)

How to draw EARS tutorial by STUDIOBLINKTWICE

Hey friends!

Meg here for TUTOR TUESDAY! Just a quick beginning look at colors and some color theory! I’ve had a few recommendation for color palette stuff, so I hope this is a start! Paul has done some on color as well! If you have any recommendations send ‘em in here or my personal! Keep practicing, have fun, and I’ll see you next week!

How do you paint hair and skin? Because I love the way you paint ❤

Aww thank you! ❤ This is a big question to try and answer briefly tbh but I love, love, love talking about painting so…

I use lots of references.There’s so many variations of skin/haircolor, texture, styles and lighting out there! (I horde stuff to Pinterest. lol)

I reference the masters as well.These guys already figured this stuff out and we just gotta take what we want from them. My favorites include Howard Pyle, J. C. Leyendecker (prob the most obvious), Tom Lovell, and John Singer Sargent.

For hair, I think about the overall shapes and chunks rather than strands. You can always get more and more detailed as you go. Simplifying something you’ve overwrought is a pain in the buns and a waste of time.

I have a video on my IG here that’s just me doodling some hair fwiw.

James Gurney has a couple of good blog posts here and here.

For skin…

Skin will pick up color from its surroundings. It’s also not just a “skin tone” with lighter and darker variations. There can be so many unexpected colors in there! This goes for pretty much everything in a painting too though so… XD

I often have to select all the skin and lessen the contrast and/or saturation a bit to get it to look right. Selecting it and playing around with colors and tones can be super helpful. (I love digital art.)

Color zones! People have different underlying colors all over their body. I did a post several years ago on the color zones of the face here. Also here’s a post where you can see it on a hand study.

As far as technique, I don’t blend a whole bunch in general and when I do it’s just here and there because I will go overboard and make a mess. I’m personally not a fan of “airbrushing” skin on with super soft brushes but some people are and that’s cool! That’s a style/workflow choice.

Color and Light is my #1 recommended book. It has helped me so, so much. I can’t praise it highly enough.(I’d love to do more tutorials. It’s just a matter of a)finding the time and b)feeling like it’s worth doing when there’s soooo many amazing tuts out there already! I certainly don’t know it all but I enjoy trying to teach people what I feel I do kinda know. lol)