The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll‘s depiction of it in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The term originated from an English saying coined by Peter Pindar. The Cheshire Cat has had a notable impact on popular culture.The Cheshire Cat’s grin is reminiscent of the vagaries of human character or of a trickster.

Alice first encounters it at the Duchess‘s house in her kitchen, and then later outside on the branches of a tree, where it appears and disappears at will, engaging Alice in amusing but sometimes vexing conversation. The cat sometimes raises philosophical points that annoy or baffle Alice. It does, however, appear to cheer her up when it turns up suddenly at the Queen of Hearts‘ croquet field, and when sentenced to death baffles everyone by having made its head appear without its body, sparking a massive argument between the executioner and the King and Queen of Hearts about whether something that does not have a body can indeed be beheaded.

At one point, the cat disappears gradually until nothing is left but its grin, prompting Alice to remark that she has often seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without a cat.

Update 5/13/2009-

At the moment all i have is the outline and started on 2 of the scales. This drawing will have lots of detail and hopefully will help me in getting the look that i want on next drawing. I have picked up a couple of pine cones and I’ve studied them which has helped me understand their look and by feeling them with my hands i can understand why they look the way they do. Well, if you have any questions please comment or contact me.Figure 1.

Update 5/15/2009-

The main reason behind this drawing like i have mentioned is to practice the for the textures that i will be adding on the next drawing. You might be thinking that its a bit too much to be working on a whole new drawing to practice for the next one. Most of the drawings i have done previously have been animals so i have gotten used to working with drawing hair and using the same technique. My next drawing will have lots of wood textures which are a bit different than hair and require me to use other methods. By doing this drawing and getting used to working with this type of texture will allow me continue that flow with the next drawing. It will be an easy transition to the next drawing because of the practice that i will be getting in this one. Preparation and practice are important with all my drawings and this will be the best way to prepare for my next drawing.

From my last update i have gotten used to the technique that will get me the texture that i want. The rest of the drawing will be the same technique and the areas will only differ in darkness from the shadows. Hopefully i can have this drawing done soon so i can start working on the next on.Figure 2.

Update 5/27/2009-

From this point on it will be basically the same textures that ill be adding. There won’t be much change with that except for the shadows. I paying special attention to the grooves that run down the scales. Pine cones have a unique texture, the surface looks smooth, but when you look at it up close you can see those grooves. I’m trying to capture that texture with 6h and 4b pencil. I’ll be adding the same texture to next drawing that ill be working on. Well hopefully ill have this one done soon so i can start on my next one.
Figure 3.

Update 6/2/2009-

As you can see on this update im working on the scale that is in the middle. The process for each one has been pretty basic. I first cover the whole area with paint brush. This lets me add the lightest area on that scale. I also make sure that no white paper will be visible. Once i have that i begin to add the cracks that run down the scale. The texture that these scales have is that of a piece of dried wood. Because of this some areas have cracks. Once i add these cracks i begin to darken the area which will be receiving less light. In this case, the light is coming from the left side, so the right side of the scale will be darker. This will also give the drawing much more depth and realism. From here on i’ll add the dark areas around each of the scales at the bottom. By doing this i can compare the darkest area to the lightest and will give me idea of how dark i should make each scale. Its not a complicated process but it just takes time. If you have any questions, just leave a comment.Figure 4.

Update 6/4/2009-

I was able to finish another scale and with each one im finding the technique to be much easier. Like i have mentioned before, the technique is not hard but it takes time. Layering is the secret and with each layer i add a bit more of detail. The area below each of the scales will be mostly black because of the shadows and this part of the scales are dark in color. When i have to add an area that will be mostly black, i first add a layer with my 8b pencil which is what you see on this update. After this i will blend it with my color shaper. Once i do that i will then add another layer with my 6b pencil to darken it. Why do i do this. By adding that first layer and then blending, i will make sure that no white paper will show through when it go over it with the 6b pencil. Also, by adding that first layer of 8b, it will give me a much deeper black. You can keep adding pencil and blending until you are happy with the darkness. Once i have that i will start adding detail to the next scales. As you can see I’m moving my way down. The scales are getting much smaller as i get closer to the bottom so ill try to put in as much detail as possible to these.Figure 5.

Update 6/8/2009-

I’m finding this drawing to be really interesting, especially the textures. Like i have mentioned before the texture on the scales is a mixture of smooth and rough. Its an interesting texture which I’m having fun drawing. From this update you can see that the small details are what gives it much more realism. The black spots and cracks give the scales a dried up look, which is what i want to achieve. Its a slow process but im really happy with the results so far.
Figure 6.

Update 6/9/2009-

From this update you should be able to see where the light source is coming from. The lighting is very important in this one because it will give the overall drawing much more depth and dimension. The right side as you can see will have more shadows than the left side. I have to take into consideration also all the gaps that are between the scales. These gaps let light through so i have to take that into account when adding shadows and highlights. Here is a close up of one of the scales which shows the detail that im adding. This area measures approximately 5cm. I’m trying to add as much detail as possible to get the right texture. From here on i’ll be moving my way down and start adding detail to the scales below. These scales will be much smaller in size but will not lack in detail.Figure 7.

Update 6/10/2009-

Its all coming together with each scale that i complete. The right side is throwing it off because of the scales that are not complete. Once i finish that side you should be able to see how it will all look together. Like i mentioned before the right side will be much darker than the left side. On the left side im mostly using 6h and 2h pencil, to get the light values. I find these values to be harder to get because if i go too dark i lose the effect of light being brighter on that side. The trick has been to layer and compare it to the darker side until i can see the effect of light making that area brighter.Figure 8.

Update 6/12/2009-

As i progressing im changing subtle details to get the right effect that im going for. I want the lighting to show clearly, therefore i have to darken the scales in shadows correctly. I darkened the scales on the right side a bit to show that they are under shadow. As you can see from this update i started the next scale. This scale will be much smaller than the ones above, but they won’t lack any detail. With each one that i finish you can begin to see how the overall effect will be.Figure 9.

Update 6/16/2009-

Im close to the end with this one. From the last update i have completed a couple of scales. The scales that are at the bottom will be much darker in the end. I will keep adding layers of pencil until im satisfied with the darkness. Im trying to put in as much detail as possible to these bottom scales but they might not be visible because most of this area will be under shadows. I added an extra scale on the right side. This scale will give the cone more form and dimension.Figure 10.

Update 7/1/2009-

Im finishing off the last few scales on the bottom. I’m paying close attention to the lighting because i want to keep it uniform from top to bottom. The technique for drawing the scales has become much easier by now. I simply start with base by covering the area with a brush. I do this to make sure that there are no white areas showing through. After that i begin to add the cracks, followed by adding the highlights and shadow. From there i begin to darken the whole scale uniformly by layering pencil over the whole scale until its dark enough. The light is coming from the left side so the right side will be much darker. This will probably be the last update before i finish it.Figure 11.

Update 7/9/2009-Finished

I have completed the drawing and im really happy with the final piece. The shadow gave the drawing much more dimension and depth. I was thinking about leaving the pine cone without any shadow but it just didn’t look right. The texture for this drawing took some time to get but im really happy i took my time with it. It would not have looked like a pine cone without having the right texture.

Conclusion

Like i mentioned at the beginning of this drawing, this drawing was for preparation. Before this one i had done mostly animals so i was in, you can say, animal mode. With those drawings i mostly focused on hair texture and didn’t get to work with other textures. The purpose of this drawing was to help me break out of that mode and for me to practice on the the similar textures that i’ll be working on my next drawing. Now i have finished this one, once i start the next one it will be in easy transition and will just continue with the similar textures. I would like to thank everyone that has followed this progress and for the support that i have received. If you have any questions please comment.Finished.

Update: 12/16/2008-

I have began to work on the hair around the face. This drawing will measure 11″x14″, which will allow me to add lots of detail. One thing that i have learned from drawing smaller drawings is to take my time and to dedicate the necessary time to get the right results. With larger drawings, all i do is work in sections, each section is a drawing in itself and i take the necessary time until im satisfied with the results. The section that you see is about 2.5″x3″, so its just a small section from the whole drawing. Im using the same technique that i have used in other drawings. This one will take me a while and i don’t want to rush it, whatever time it takes until its just right. Well hopefully you can follow this one and let me know what you think. Figure 1.

Update: 12/20/2008-

It looks like i haven’t done much from my previous update but just that bit of section has taken me quite a while. When working with detail, i usually work in layers. First layer i indent,second i bring out the outlines with 4b pencil. I then start to add value by blending in the shadows. Once i have that i start to outline the clumps of hair that will give the illusion of layered hair. Its a slow process but the effects are great. This is going to be quite a large drawing with lots of detail so it will be a long project. With each new drawing that i do i tweak and change things that i learned from previous drawings. In this one im using a carbon pencil to produce much deeper darks. I first put down the carbon pencil and then run 4b pencil over that to make it much deeper. The results are really noticeable and makes drawing much more dramatic. I will be finishing off the right side and from there will move up to the ear.Figure 2.

Update: 1/2/2009-

Now that things are calming down from the holidays, i have been able to work on it a bit. I have spent quite some time working on the ear. Servals have large ears and having long hair within them has taken me some time to get the right look. Its still not complete, im working to add layers to give it some depth. There isn’t much impact at the moment because i have yet to add the background which will be dark. Well i hope to have the ears done by the next update and hopefully start working down the body. Figure 3.

Update: 1/4/2009-

It’s taking longer than i expected to get the right look on the ears. The reason for this is that i want to have a layered look to it. This will give that area much more depth. I’m indenting quite a lot on this drawing, because of the fine hairs. The hair on the ears are much thicker and longer than the rest of the hairs so im indenting with thicker stylus. After adding the value and outlining some hairs i then used the kneaded to give the effect of clumped hair. This will be the same technique that i will use for the rest of the drawing. Its a long process so it will take a while to complete. Figure 4.

Update: 4/13/2009-

I have progressed a bit on this update. Much of the progress has been on the hair and as you can see there is quite a bit of it. I have been using the same technique on the hair as all my animal drawings and even though its a long process its one that i wouldn’t change. One i have finished the hair i will begin to add detail to the grass. This will give the drawing much more depth and will start to bring everything together.
Figure 5.

Update: 4/17/2009-

The hair on this cat is basically complete. I might add some fine details as i go on but what you see is what the hair will look like in the end. As you can see from this update, i have started to add detail to the grass. The grass will be a bit dark because a shadow is being cast by the serval. Hopefully my scan is able to capture the fine details. I have also added a video below for you to see some of the progress on the grass. You can watch me finish this drawing and other demonstrations by going to Live Drawing. You can chat with me and i’ll do my best to help you out with your drawings.Figure 6.

Update: 4/24/2009-

So fare i have finished the grass on the bottom section of the drawing and im moving my way up. Before i started this drawing i decided that i was going to add as much detail as possible. There quite a few grass blades that i need to work on. They are not difficult to draw and add detail, its just repetitive. As the drawing starts to come together i will either darken or lighten areas to add more contrast. Hopefully this drawing will be done soon and i can move on to the next one.I’m working on this drawing live on my blog so if you’d like to see me work on it you can check it out here, hope to see you there.Figure 7.

Update: 4/30/2009-

This is a pretty significant update. I have progressed quite a bit on the background and from here repetitive work. The background as you can see will be quite dark and because of that will make the cat jump out much more. There are still few grass blades for me to finish, but will not take a long time. The black background will take me a while because im layering to make sure that its completely black. I first add a layer with 8b pencil and then blend that. Over that i add a layer of 6b pencil,blend and keep repeating until its completely black. I’m also darkening and lightening areas as i go along. So far its coming along great and im happy with the results. Next update you will see the background completely black and from there i’ll just add detail to the remaining grass blades. If you have any questions please leave a comment or contact me.Figure 8.

Update: 4/5/2009-

Well,finally finished this drawing and im so happy with the result. This was a long drawing and all the fine details that i added were worth it. I took my time on the hair and it really paid off. I wanted to get a layered look on the hair which adds dimension to the body of the cat and doesn’t look flat. The dark background really makes the serval jump out much more. I would like to thank everyone that has followed this drawing and for the compliments. If you have any questions please contact me.Final.

Process

Well this is a new pencil drawing drawing that i just started. I actually have several drawings going at the same time and hopefully will have them all done soon. This one will measure 5″x7″ and will be of a tiger cub. Like with all my drawings, i usually start off on the eyes and work my way out. I find that working this way allows me to compare the eyes with the rest of the drawing. By getting the eyes right im able to compare them with the rest of the drawing so that the rest of the drawing can flow equally and will not lack any details. The eyes are the most important part of any drawing and getting them right is very important if you want your drawings to have life. Figure 1.

Well here is a small update on the drawing. I have worked a bit more on the face. Im adding the texture of the hair with the needle stylus. Its a tedious process because there are some fine hairs and the drawing is not as large as my other ones. I usually indent and then run the pencil over the lines to reveal the hair. Its going to take me a while to complete this drawing, but its a process that gives me great results. I have also lightly outlined the whiskers with a 2b pencil so i can later indent over those lines and be able to easily erase the lines. Not a big update but hopefully you can begin to see what the drawing will look like. Figure 2.

Update: 11/21/2008-

I now have a better understanding of how i want the hair texture to look on this tiger. I have began to add fine detail to the fur on the face. Its very hard to draw the actual hairs on the nose because they are so short so my goal was to add the right texture to give the illusion of fuzzy hair. This can only be done by understanding what im drawing. Im using several reference photos, and most of them are from regular house cats. Its amazing how much detail you can see from these photographs. I’m not drawing the actual house cat but using the textures and hair detail from them. I have darkened the areas that will suggest shadows to give the drawing much more depth. I will now be moving to the right and will now begin the right and will begin to add the long hair that is on the side of the face. I have decided to add much more detail than usual to all my drawings from now on. Yes, it was a decision and the only way to do this is to be more patient and take my time on each section. There are times that i just want to finish a drawing and get it over with, but then i remember that the results depend on the time dedicated. You can now begin to see the mood of this drawing. This drawing will also have wood textures, but i have a long way before i get to that part.Figure 3.

Tigers are one of the most beautiful animals on this planet and its mainly because of their physical beauty. Drawing them can be challenge because of all the detail, especially the dark bands. If not done correctly they will look unnatural and will not flow with the rest of the drawing. As you can see in this update i have got a bit more of detail on the face and will almost finish the right side of the face. I will then move up to start working on the ear. This section will have longer hair from the rest of the face and will give the drawing another level of depth. I enjoy drawing hair because it challenges me to find ways get as much realism as possible but still keep the feeling that its drawing when you study it up close. There is lots of indenting in this drawing, mostly on the hair. If you don’t know what im talking about you can check out my tutorial on how to use this technique here. I have been developing this technique for quite some time now and it has helped be add a level of realism that separates my drawings from others. It also gives the drawing some texture which i love to incorporate in all my work. This pencil drawing seems to be moving along quite well and hope to have it done soon. Well if you have any questions, just leave a comment.Figure 4.

Update: 11/26/2008-

I have completed almost the whole head. There are a couple of fine details that i would like to add to give the hair much more realism. Im using different pencils for this drawing, I have always used mechanical pencils for really fine detail because of the fine lead that they have. Recently i bought a couple of
2mm lead pointer to give them a try. Now i just can’t see myself going back to using mechanical pencils. These pencils are great they are like mechanical pencils but hold
2mm leads. I also purchased a 2mm lead pointer which is basically a sharpener for these pencils. The thing that i like about these pencils is that they are durable and when you sharpen the lead, it leaves a really pointy tip which is amazing for really fine details. As you can see from the image in this update i was able to add so much detail on the hair using these pencils. As a addict of detail, these pencils are what i need to fulfill my goal of giving hair as much realism as possible in my pencil drawings. Whats even better is that when i use it with my indenting technique it allows me to add super fine hairs because of the fine point. Its unbelievable how much control you can get from these pencils.
Texture is a big part of all my drawings and this one is no exception. I was able to achieve the texture on the hair by adding the right highlights and shadows over the indented lines. Knowing where to add these details will come naturally as you understand how hair flows and behaves. As you are drawing you will naturally see hair patterns and hair clumps. The more you understand it the easier it will be. This is also true for any other texture that i draw, i first study it and try my best to understand how it flows. From here on i will begin to move my way down to the front legs. Its hard for you to tell what pose the tiger has at this stage, but i think on the next update you’ll get a better idea of what it will look like.Figure 5.

The head is about 85% complete and just needs subtle details that i want to add like highlights. These details will add a bit more realism and texture to the hair. For the amount of detail that im putting into this drawing its progressing quite fast. I’m in no way rushing to finish because i want to get as much detail as possible. i guess that from drawing so many animals its now easier to add the desired detail without having to think to much about it. As you may have noticed i have started working on one leg. This is a basic outline of what the hair will look like. I work in layers, this being the first one. I develop the outline of hair clumps and slowly build on it by adding shadows. If i want to add more hair clumps i use a kneaded eraser to remove pencil. Hair clumps are just hairs that come together and for exactly that reason i call them clumps. Most people don’t realize this and just try to draw hair. These small details and being able to put them on paper is what gives a drawing much more realism. What i have so far seems to be light but will darken as i add more layers of detail. Up to now the whole drawing hasn’t been too difficult, just time consuming. Once i complete the tiger i will move on to the log that the tiger cub is resting on. That will be a totally different type of texture and it should be interesting. Within the next couple of updates you should begin to see the complete pose. Well if have any questions please contact me.Figure 6.

I have started developing the next layer for the leg. As you can see from the previous update, there is a big difference in texture and values. The process is pretty tedious, i look for hair clumps of hair that i can outline. This won’t work unless you know how to add the indentations correctly. Knowing the flow of hair and understanding that hair is not straight will help using this technique. Hair curves and flows in different directions. Once you have the indentations its all about finding the right areas. This will come with practice and has taken me a while to understand this technique, but its a great way to add realism to hair. Once i finish this leg i will move to the other and when that one is finished i will start on the tree bark. So far im really happy with the results and hopefully it will move along smoothly.Figure 7.

One leg is finished and will now be moving to the next one. I wanted to get some good texture on the leg to get a real feeling of a soft large paw. I was able to do this by layering the detail. On my previous update i had a rough outline of the fine detail and i just kept building on that. A good way to add depth is to add the illusion of overlapping hair. At the beginning i mentioned that i usually start from the middle and work my way out. You may be wondering why i started on the leg from the bottom up. Well, the reason is that hair overlaps and in the hair on the leg runs down. So that means that the hair at the bottom is overlapped by the hair on the top. I started indenting from this section and moved my way up, This gave the illusion of overlapping hair and just kept adding detail from there. These little things can help drawings look so much better and will give them more realism. Notice also that the hair doesn’t flow in one direction. It flows in differently and as i have mentioned before hair curls. I will start to work on the next leg and once that is done i will start adding the basic details for the tree bark.Figure 8.

The tiger is basically complete. I will add here and there some subtle details but overall its finished. As you can see i have started adding some details to the tree trunk. This will be a totally different texture that will compliment the tiger. This area will be much darker than the tiger which will make the tiger jump out. Just like textures, i also enjoy adding contrast to my drawings. Contrast makes a drawing much more dramatic. This section of the drawing will take me a while to complete because the texture is much different than hair so i will be using a different technique. Using the kneaded eraser i will be adding the highlights and with a 4b pencil i will add the cracks on the wood.Figure 9.

After spending hours studying and doodling tree bark and its texture i started to add the fine details to the tree. Tree bark has so much texture so i wanted to make it as random as possible and make it look natural. The reason that i like to use Bristol Vellum
is because of the slight tooth that it has. This was helpful in achieving the texture that i was looking for. The whole process started by randomly running my 8b pencil over an area and this created a rough outline of tree bark. Since the paper is a bit rough it catches the pencil in some areas and not in others, so all i had to do was outline some patterns which made up the tree texture. Again, this can only be done by first understanding what you are drawing and it will make things so much easier when looking for those hidden details that need to be revealed. This was the process that i have used and will continue to use on the rest of the tree. I have also used the Kneaded Eraser
to reveal some highlights on the tree textures, giving it some depth.Figure 10.

I have finished the left side of the tree and will not move to the right side and begin to add texture to that side. This texture has taken me a bit long to complete because of the complexity. There are grooves and raised areas that make up wood bark. I’m using several reference photos and i have even gone to my backyard to take a couple of pictures of a tree that i have back there. The more i understand the texture the easier it will be to achieve. Well i hope this will be the last update before i put up the final drawing.Figure 11.

Complete
Well i finally finished it and im really happy with the results. The only part that was left for me to do from the previous update were the tree trunks. These sections where done differently than the tiger since they have totally different textures. I wanted to the wood to have a rough feel to it so i didn’t blend much and if you look at the drawing up close you will see how rough these areas are. The area is much darker which makes the tiger cub jump out much more. I enjoy adding contrast to my drawings and this one was no exception. The branches in the background were deliberately made to look blurry not only for effect but to also keep the feel of a pencil drawing. Even though this drawing is only 5×7, it has much more detail than some of my larger drawings that i have done. It has been a long project but it has been worth it. I learned so much from this drawing and hopefully this knowledge will help in future drawings. Well thanks for all the support and for everyone that followed this one. If you have any questions please leave a comment.Finished Drawing