The Artist Army

[EmberWolf]

@Kristen- I did a red and blue line for you c:


First off, cats don't really have chests. They don't have a collarbone. This helps them fit into smaller spaces. So the neck just kind of connects/disappears behind the shoulders. There is fur and connecting skin to the shoulders that sort of make a cat chest, as well as the end of the center of the rib cage, which, in certain positions and angles, you might see on a cat. Mostly though, they just don't have one. Additionally, their necks are generally pretty short and thin.

Cat heads realistically do not have a dip between their foreheads and their muzzles, it's normally pretty smooth sloping, with maybe a bit of a difference in angle, but overall not that pronounced, however this can also be a stylistic choice (ex., Disney's The Lion King style), but anatomically correct wouldn't be jutting out much. Cat heads are sort of like triangles, not squares or circles. Their eyes should also be closer to the front of their head (though they can be stylized different, in a side profile would be a lot closer to the front of their head). Your cat ears are perfect!

The rest of the body has overall pretty good anatomy- the legs and their joints, etc, but might need to be proportioned a bit differently. The lower joints on the back legs are a bit shorter (and for balance I drew mine a bit back instead of forward), unless it's on a breed like an Oriental or Savannah, which have longer legs in general. Your body was also a bit long.

Other than that, looks great! Overall you had a great grasp on anatomy already, just with a bit of tweaking and proportioning, would look spot on :)

@Fat Unicorn- Wow! beautiful piece! I love all the texture and depth in the face, it looks real. The only thing I have to pick on about it is with all the depth in the face, the mane seems to be a bit lacking in. The texture is there just it all seems to be one flat plane of texture. This might also be because of the quality of the image, I'm not sure c: But overall, looks great! The eye, nose, and bunched up snarly skin are especially nice. Love it!

[Susiron]

@Kristen



I decided to take a crack at redlining also C:
I've also thrown in some photo references

One important thing I wanted to touch on is that a cat's head doesn't have a drastic dip in the slope to the nose, but it also isn't always a sheer slope. It can vary between cats, but most cats do have a subtle dip from their brow to their snout. X X X X

The snout itself is also generally much smaller and shorter

As for anatomy, your cat has very good bones. The front legs of your cat look especially nice, and you have a nice full belly on your cat also!
For the angle that your cat is drawn at, there is nothing wrong with showing a little bit of "chest". Cats don't have a pronounced chest, but they do have a lot of fur and loose hanging skin. From a side view, the shoulder is almost always going to be the first thing you see, but if the cat is turned then you're going to see some extra fur before you see shoulder X

One thing I always, always insist for cats and dogs is to not be afraid of giving them a full neck! Unless a cat or dog naturally has a very sleek build (like a dalmatian or an oriental cat), there is almost always going to be loose hanging fur on the neck that exaggerates the size. Like all traits, this can be more prominent with some cats than others, but since your cat has a thick build I would recommend a thick neck to go with it. X

The legs of your cat could be a bit longer, though it's not a 100% necessary change (especially if you want a cat with shorter legs, longer fur, or a bigger belly). The hind legs of cats can be tricky, but exaggerating how the feet and legs curve can make a foot look more feline. The bottom halves of the feet are also definitely shorter than the rest of the leg, but don't be afraid to make them a bit longer and more curved at the ankle. X

The tail is just a small fix I would recommend so that the tail is more aligned with the spine (since it is an extension of the spine, after all)

I'm not hecka great at paws so I won't go into detail with them, but I just find it can help to really round out cat toes C:

I hope this helps! I have cat tutorials linked in my signature if you need any. You are definitely already on the right track for good cat anatomy!

EDIT:

Also, I wouldn't recommend making your cat's body shorter. If anything, I'd say it's safe to make it longer (though not necessary, your cat's torso has a good length as is). Cats can be very long, sometimes to the point where drawing them looks awkward. If you're used to drawing dogs, it can be tempting to shrink their torso, but cats are fuzzy accordions and some extra length in the stomach doesn't hurt X X X X

There are occasions where a cat's torso can look much shorter depending on how they're standing, but this is usually when their backs are hunched X X X

[meowool]

Okay, it has been actual years since I last finished a drawing of something non-human, and I've never seriously tried to mix non-human species before, but... these happened, and I kind of like them! Uncolored nature and sketchiness aside, are there any glaring errors I should know about? Are there any essential places to go for animal anatomy? Any help is appreciated ;u;

If you're on deviantart you can just look "(animal) anatomy" and look in the tutorials section and there should be GAZLLIONS of refferences, even comparisons between common things like canine vs feline if that would help too!

[Stonefly]

@worshipthesquid - There is a wonder thread on here, click here that has a large list of tutorials and such from canine to human anatomy. I would suggest checking it out.

Ashy, - Love your drawing! but the first thing I see if the closest front shoulder looks to be a little to low down the body? I would suggest maybe moving it up a little bit.

This may seem a little off, but I am currently working on a logo for my company I am hoping to start up some time next year..and I just thought I would ask some of you guys your opinions on it? Do you think it looks good? and does it look okay the the dog?(Head will be added later, Currently looking for a good ref. I will also be adding colour and using fonts for the name..this is just a rough sketch of what I am thinking of.

[kristenn11]

@Susiron Thank you so much for the tips. Unfortunately, I didn't get them until after I finished the drawing, but I'll use those tips for the next cat I draw.

@Emberwolf I tried to fix a lot what you said. I moved the back leg, shorted the body (only a tad though) and fixed the chest. I didn't mess with the head since the curving of the head is more of a style thing, but I do think next time the snout needs to be shorter.

@All So, here's my finished drawing. I removed the tail since I couldn't trace it well.

The coloring got really weird when I made it transparent; I'm not sure why. I showed some friends and one said "Eww" while the other said it looked like a cross between a mountain lion and a pug? cx So, I'd love to know what I could fix/change next time.

Edit;; I don't see much art I can really critique at the moment, but @worshipthesquid I would look up the anatomy of the animal (like a little skeleton or something) and compare it to yours.

[Mythic]

@Kristen
It looks a lot better. Mostly the only problem I see with the drawing is that the muzzle is too thick for a cat. They have smaller more pointed muzzles. I would give you references but I'm on mobile. Just look up cat side view and it should help.

@stonefly
Yes I do really like the logo you made. I like the idea and I'm sure it will look really clean when you finish it.

[joji]

Mark ^^

[crystal gryphon]

-snip-

Here you go! Also, When A canine (and most other animals) are moving, they won;t be holding their head all the way up, and you tail seems to be placed a bit high, (It's part of the spine!)

-snip-

Your shoulders are too low, and necks too long! i can't tell where their chest end and their necks start.

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I would love to get some advice on this, mostly for anatomy and the character's design.

[CaptiveLegacy]

@Kristen
I am not the best with cat anatomy, I tend to avoid drawing them P:
from what I can see, the cat seems a bit bulky - which might be the reason why its being mistaken as a mountain lion. The muzzle seems too big too.
the redlines that others have made seemed to sum up the critiques ;3;

@Fat Unicorn
ahHHHH what an angry lion - looks lovely!
the only critique I have is to make the mane have more defining lighting and shadows - it all seems a bit flat right now P:
other then that I really like it!

@Stonefly
I like the set up for the logo - I think its coming along good so far!

@Crystal gryphon
tbh I don't have anything to critique from what I can see - it looks lovely!
I really like the pose ;3;

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I made this awhile ago - but I am really proud on how the hair and everything turned out ;3;

[meowool]

Captive - I LOVE HOW YOU@VE COLOURED IT!! AHHHHHH!