How to Draw a Maine Coon Using Color Pencils

The Maine coon is one of the biggest domestic cat and was also recorded by the Guinness World Records as the longest cat. Specifically, the Maine coon from Nevada named ‘Stewie’ which was measured with a length of forty-nine inches.

Here's as example of how to draw a Maine Coon's face.

  • Establish the primary outlines.

The Maine coon is known for its pointed ears and long fur coat (especially around its neck). The ear furs are also long there’s also a section of long furs right above the brow line. But other than that, the face and forehead is covered with short furs. Its eyes are round and big. Due it thick coating, the heads may look angular. The muzzle is thick but doesn’t protrude much from its base (surface of the head).

  • Convey the short furs with short thin lines using light and single strokes for each. The pattern or flow of the short lines should depict the dimensions of the planes (surface of the head/face).

Point the lines sideways, from the center of the forehead and going to the ears (this means that the direction of the lines depending on the area it covers are opposing), but the center lines flowing to the farther side of the crown (top of the head) and to the back should point upwards and bend/angle with the convexity of the head. Apply an ‘M’ shaped marking right on the brow area at both sides.

  • Apply some brown color.

Use brown for the areas that should have a darker tone. Apply short strands of lines on the brow line and the area surrounding the eyes, the short furs covering the nose, and a few more lines along the area to make strands of fur with a darker tone.

  • Use orange to further define the fur.

Establish the strands of fur with orange color. Apply a number of thin curved lines to convey the long furs on the neck area. Portray several layers of fur by using a series of short and long lines in a single row, then add another different of row underneath the first row. Arc or bend the lines according to the row it follows, then use brown to further establish the layers by making a lining of shadow on the edge of each layer.

  • Add a tone to the muzzle.

Color the nose red, and then apply a thin layer of orange and reddish brown around the marginal edge of the muzzle. You only need a faint coloring in this section, so apply the color with very light hand strokes using scribbling pattern (circular hand strokes with the side of the color pencil would not leave a visible linear marking).

  • Darken the short furs of black and complete the short fur coat on the upper side of the head, and then draw the markings on the face.

Use a black tone with a deep pitch (I’m using a finely sharpened 8b charcoal pencil for this step) to have a good depth of blackness that can effectively go with the strong color tones of the drawing.

Put some faint dot marks on the white eyes to make it look more realistic, and then darken the pupil even more. Apply a faint shading on the inner edges of the eyes before you apply the color.

  • Define the color of the eyes.

The eye color of a Maine coon is yellow. Remember to leave a highlight to make the eyes look glossy and more natural.

  • Elaborate the color value of the fur even further.

Add a couple of more dark (brown) strands to give more accent and depth in color tones of the fur. Darken the overlapped layers of fur a bit further and also darken the areas that should appear farther. Add more strands of furs spiking outward on the upper side of the head (long strands of fur on the brow line and the ear furs). Make a couple of more brown and orange lines to fill up the gapes you unintentionally left when defining the furry texture.

  • Re-darken the face marking and the farther sides and add more depth to the farther sides.

Darken the corners (the edge of the actual head crossed by the stripes subsiding to the fur layers) and apply a very faint shadow to the farther sides of the layered furs and the inner sections of the ears.

Make you final fills and retouches to finalize your illustration by applying a few more strands of orange and brown lines once again. Add more tone to the muzzle and a faint shade on the lower mandible. And you are done drawing a Maine coon.

More drawing tutorials about various subjects are available in our books. Each drawing tutorial compilations are carefully discussed in a manner that even a non-experienced individual could easily learn how to draw. 

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