Willow The Wisp🌸 @donotdisturbwillow - Tumblr Blog

if i ask for a drawing related to firestar gets a job. is this on topic enough for your warrior cats blog because i absolutely understand if it isn't

i would also understand if you simply do not care about it anymore but i need you to know i miss it every day

hi apollo here's a new page to firestar gets a job. every body else ignore this post don't worry about it

rookflower

Do you have any advice on drawing cat mouths/muzzles? I've always admired just how three dimensional and expressive you draw muzzles, especially since it's something I struggle with. Any tips are appreciated because it seems like everywhere I look it's a case of "draw a circle for the head, draw a circle for the muzzle, draw the rest of the effing owl."

hiya! thank you so much!!

So, again, take these tips with a grain of salt. I'm a hobbyist and self-taught artist, so any tutorial I can give isn't something with any backing beyond my own experience and won't necessarily work for everyone. That being said, here's a rundown on how I go about cat muzzles!

1: Usual circle with a cross on it to plan out the placement of the head. I use the lines to start out with which way the character is looking- vertical denotes if they are facing left or right, and horizontal if the muzzle is facing up or down, each curving towards that direction. It also helps create the mental impression of the sketch as a 3D object rather than a flat circle, which is immensely helpful for figuring out perspective while you draw.

2: Second oval to lay out the specific size and placement of the muzzle. The intersection of the original cross is usually just below where the top/base of the muzzle starts.

3: Nose! I usually go for a wide heart or triangle kinda shape, there are many other ways to do it though. It sits high up on the 'front' of the muzzle circle.

4: Top lip! In most expressions it will be some sort of :3 shape at the front, but for a frowning character it may look like more of a :< face, without the 'smile' curving back upwards after the dip. The corners of the mouth will be pulled up a bit higher/further on the face if your character is smiling or snarling, similar to equivalent human expressions. It can be helpful to visualise two oval shapes that are squished upwards or downwards depending on that expression.

5: The lower jaw of an open mouth will usually start out somewhat askew from the muzzle. Also, a mouth opens with the lower jaw hinging downwards rather then the upper one hinging upwards- the top part of a mouth will fall in place with the rest of a character's head, which is why it's so much easier to start with.

6: I add the chin, cheeks, and any visible detail to the mouth. Whether or not a cat's upper teeth are visible along with their lower ones depends on angle and expression, but in this instance the head is angled downwards and their teeth are not bared/their expression is relaxed and friendly, so it can look less busy to not include them. Again, it is very helpful to try and visualise about the face as a 3D object. To make a face look more natural, it will usually dip a bit below the more skeletal guideline with fat and/or fur.

Here's some more examples and some tips:

Also: you've definitely already heard this 1000 times but use references!! Look at pictures of real cats to build stylisation on!

(And also, don't post traced or heavily referenced work as your own obviously, but it can be very helpful to look at the way other artists draw muzzles! There are thousands of people online drawing cartoon cats, which means there are thousands of places to draw inspiration from! Look at the shapes and shortcuts and details that other people include in their art, and think about how it would translate in your own style.