Warrior Cats
 of the Forest

Subtitle

Kingfish

Cat Paws

« Back to Album Photo 111 of 193 Previous | Next
Cat Paws
1. A normal front paw pose. Start by drawing a circle for the paw; draw a slightly curved line through the middle of it, as you will need it later. Then, draw a gently curved line just in front of the middle line extending upward. At the farthest edge of the circle opposite the previous line you drew, draw a line with a greatly obtuse check-mark shape, extending it upward and away from the other line; this will create the wrist joint. Then, begin drawing the toes. Order is shown by color: blue first, green second, and yellow third. Note that toes are not round, nor square, but somewhere in between. Also note that toes are drawn from right to left, or outermost toe to inner most toe. 2: A normal back leg. Similar to the #1 example, the back leg has the same divided circle for the paw, but the leg structure is done with a single line to show basic shape. Once again, follow the color guide to draw the toes. Note that the heel (blue edge) has a sharp bend, while the ankle (yellow edge) is a soft curve. Also note that only three toes show in this position. 3. Front view standing paw. Basic structure is similar to the #1 example, but the middle line is straight in the center rather than curved. Follow the color guide for the toes again, this time noting that the middle line is traced over first, then the two center toes, and finally the two outer toes. Also, in the color sketch, a dewclaw was added in yellow; the dewclaw should not be very big, unless the cat is polydactyl. 4. A front view back leg. Similar to Example #2, a line shows structure, plus there is now a circle added at the first bend to show where the knee is. In color sketch, the thigh and knee are drawn first (blue), then the heel and ankle (green), and finally the paw as shown in the past examples (yellow). Note that the definition in the knee is not connected to the tight outline, but is slightly broken, caressing the red knee joint sketch (barely visible). 5. Unsheathed claws. Same as #3, but there should be two middle lines. Also, note that the weight is leaning outward on the paw, adding a more defined wrist curve and forcing the inside of the wrist to almost parallel the outside wrist. In the color sketch, the two middle toes are pulled apart, being two circles connected by one dome-shaped arc at the bottom (blue). The two outer toes are almost touching the center toes, but the innermost toe should have a slight separation (green). Then, add the claws, the tendons (lines above the toes) and the dew claw; note that the dew claw is hooked and more visible. Finally, when doing the last details, add small lines around the base of the claws; those are the sheaths. 6. Walking or outstretched paw. Start by making a line that has two angles in it; if you compare it to your index finger, the lower end (toes) should parallel your third knuckle, the tarsals, your second knuckle, and the wrist, your first knuckle. I added three circles to show where the wrist joint and two toes will be. In the color sketch, I drew the center toe, tarsals and wrist first (blue), then the definition of the smaller toe (green), and then the pad portion and wrist (yellow). In the final sketch I added a dew claw, but without the dew claw, this sketch could be used to show the outside of the leg. NOTE: sketch 6 is more of a canine structure than feline. While most of the exercise is anatomically correct, I was simply asked to show how I myself draw paws; I used no references for my art, and thus, paw #6 is slightly less accurate than the rest.
Posted by Kingfish on April 13, 2017 Full Size|

Comments

Oops!

Oops, you forgot something.

Oops!

The words you entered did not match the given text. Please try again.

You must be a member to comment on this page. Sign In or Register

5 Comments

Kingfish
1:17 AM on April 15, 2017 
@Ember, *heart swells* OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?! :D I'm so flattered! I'm glad you like them; it's so much fun to show people what I can do (even if some of it *#6* isn't quite perfect) ^-^
Ember
12:45 AM on April 15, 2017 
*-*
I realize that this was not made for me, but I'm going to thank you anyway. I've always been envious of your paw-drawing ability, so it's so cool to see your process.
♡GhostlyBunnie♡ Lav
5:40 PM on April 14, 2017 
GAHHH YOU DID PAWS TOOOO!?!??!
Silverwind (busy)
9:13 AM on April 14, 2017 
I will admit....sometimes I don't always place the joints properly. @[email protected] But that is why I usually try to draw chibis, since they are more cartoony and don't have to follow strict realistic guidelines xD This is, as Mocking said, very helpful :D

And I was looking at 6, and was wondering about that. But, hey, whatever works. I used to (and still do) draw paws that are very similar to the paws I used to put on my wolves I used to draw XD I referenced a lot from wolves, and foxes, because I used to draw them long before I drew cats. Them and horses. (The horse drawings I have are hideous compared to the stuff I do now, though.)
Mockingdeath & Co.
7:14 AM on April 14, 2017 
This is incredibly helpful!

Oops! This site has expired.

If you are the site owner, please renew your premium subscription or contact support.