If you want to know how to draw a Maine Coon cat, you are not alone!
This beautiful breed has captivated cat lovers all over the world, but their unique appearance can be difficult to capture in an illustration.
To draw a Maine Coon cat, you will need to outline the basic shapes of the head, neck, shoulders, and body. Then, you can add the legs and paws, and begin adding details like fur, eyes, and the muzzle. Maine Coon cats are more square in appearance than the average cat, and they have thicker, more muscular limbs.
Drawing cats is notoriously difficult because they are so flexible that they often look like they do not have any bones at all!
If you have been struggling to draw cats, particularly the majestic Maine Coon, then read on so you can draw your own Maine Coon step by step.
How To Draw A Maine Coon Cat
The Maine Coon is a popular cat breed known for its unique appearance and enormous size.
These gentle giants have:
- Broad Faces
- Powerful Jaws And Muzzles
- Muscular Bodies
Even if you already know how to draw a cat, you may need some help to learn how to draw a Maine Coon step by step.
Step 1: Gather Your Equipment
You can make a Maine Coon cat drawing using traditional or digital materials.
If you are drawing traditionally, you will need:
- Paper or a sketchbook
- Pencils (preferably artists’ pencils)
- An eraser
- Some kind of pen or marker.
If you would rather draw digitally, here are the supplies you’ll need:
- A tablet such as an iPad, as well as a stylus, OR
- A computer and drawing tablet such as a Wacom Sketch.
- A drawing program, such as Paint Tool SAI, Clip Studio Paint, or Krita.
Once you have all of your materials ready, it is time to learn step-by-step how to draw a cat!
Step 2: Gather References
Before drawing, you should gather reference images.
You can look on cat breeding websites such as Cat Fanciers’ Association to find images of Maine Coons.
Try to gather references in a variety of poses.
If you are drawing digitally, it can help to trace the “line of action” over these images.
The line of action is a simple line that shows the energy of the subject you are studying. Even the most complicated poses can be simplified into one line!
Keep in mind that, in nature, lines are rarely straight. Instead, they tend to curve in C or S shapes.
Step 3: Draw The Head And Line Of Action
If you want to learn how to draw a realistic cat, you will have to start with basic shapes.
Begin with a line of action and a circle for the head. The line should follow the curve of the cat’s spine.
You can add guidelines to the head to show the direction the cat is looking.
Step 4: Draw The Bean Shape
The “bean shape” refers to the basic body shape of the cat you are drawing.
When learning how to draw a Maine Coon cat, one important thing to keep in mind is its rectangular body shape.
While cat breeds like the Chartreux (one of the ten rarest cat breeds in the world) tend to have rounder shapes and breeds like the Siamese have more slender, angular shapes, the Maine Coon is more blocky in appearance.
Once you have drawn the main body, it is time to add the shoulders, and then the neck.
Cat shoulders are one of the most difficult parts of drawing a cat! This is because, unlike dogs, cats do not have chests.
Instead, the muscles of their front legs wrap around the front of their body.
This is a pretty complicated part of cat anatomy that can take a long time to learn, but it is easiest to think of a cat’s “chest” as a V-shape or heart shape.
The shoulders meet just at the base of a cat’s neck.
The scapula curves forward, then the upper front legs curve back as the scapula meets the humerus.
The neck is much simpler than the shoulders and upper front legs; you can simply attach the head to the shoulders in two lines.
Step 5: Draw The Legs
Now it is time to add the legs and paws!
Maine Coons have very large, wide paws, which they use to walk more easily on snow. Their legs are quite thick and muscular, as well.
To finish up the front legs, you can add the forearms, wrists, and then the paws.
For the back legs, there are five major parts:
- First is the pelvis, which curves down at the end of the spine.
- Then there’s the femur, which juts forward to meet the fibula and tibia
- The fibula and tibia are the longest bones of the back legs.
- The “heel” of a cat’s back leg is actually it’s tarsals, which, in humans, are found in the back of the foot.
- Finally, you can draw the cat’s back paws.
Step 6: Add Final Sketch Details
To finish off the sketch, add details like the tail and the body of the fur.
Now you can add the eyes, muzzle, and ears as well.
Step 7: Line Art
One of the last parts of step-by-step drawing animals is to add the lineart.
You can do this by drawing over your sketch in pens or markers, or you can add a new layer and draw in a darker, thicker line if you are drawing digitally.
Step 8: Remove Sketch
To polish your drawing, either erase the sketch you drew (if you are drawing traditionally) or hide the sketch layer (if you are drawing digitally).
You can finalize the lineart if you wish by cleaning up some of the details and adding a bit of line weight to show depth and shadow.
Maine Coon Cartoon
If you would like to draw a cartoon Maine Coon cat, most of the stylization occurs in the face.
Begin by drawing the basic shape of the head and neck.
Next, include the rough outline of the:
- Cheekbones
- Muzzle
- Jaw
- Browbones
When drawing a cartoon cat, people often add eyebrows, which add human-like expressiveness. You can also make the eyes bigger.
Once you have your sketch finished, you can polish it up with lineart.
If you are going for a more cartoony style, feel free to experiment as much as you’d like!
Conclusion
To learn how to draw a Maine Coon cat, you will have to draw a sketch that includes the head, spine, and basic body shape.
Since Maine Coons are so stocky and muscular, their bodies are more thick and rectangular than the average cat.
Once you have got the main body of your cat drawn, you can add the legs and paws, and finish up with details like ears, eyes, and muzzle.
Finally, you can polish your drawing by adding a more detailed lineart and hiding or erasing your sketch.