I have always been fascinated by the Sphynx cat. Their special appearance - the naked, wrinkly skin, the big ears and the intense gaze – combined with their lovable and fun demeanor.

The Sphynx is a very energetic, curious and playful cat, that demands a lot of attention from it's family. They are very social animals, and loves the company of both humans and other animals, such as cats or dogs. Today's breed is a result of selective breeding that started in Canada in the 1960s. The lack of hair is caused by a natural mutation.

Then, if I'm so fond of the Sphynx, why don't I own one? Well, I'm allergic to cats, and I couldn't even live with a hairless one... I have my Whippets though, and they are pretty close to being cats. ^_^

My drawing process

The sketch

I initially sketched the drawing on cheap copy paper. The cat is referenced from a real Sphynx and the moth is drawn without a reference. I decided to add a moth since that's kind of the insects equivalent of the Sphynx. Many people fail to see the Sphynx' beauty, and the same applies the moth. When we think of beautiful insects, we think of butterflies, but the moth can be even more interesting, spectacular and colorful. When I was happy with my sketch, I transferred it onto quality paper.

For this drawing I used Arches Hot Press Watercolor Paper. This paper is amazing for line-less work, such as this drawing. There are several reasons for why I love using Copic markers on this paper:

Absolutely no feathering (color that bleeds past the intended line)
It allows for endless layering
Smooth blending

However, there are some negative sides with it that one should keep in mind:

The texture of the paper damages the marker nibs (tiny paper hairs get stuck in the nib)
It sucks up a lot of ink, causing the makers to dry out faster than with a non-watercolor paper
Since it sucks up a lot of ink, coloring large areas with a flat color is very, very hard.

The transferred sketch

For transferring drawings I use a cheap lightbox that I bought on Ebay. I highly recommend using a lightbox for anyone who are messy sketchers, like myself. I can't paint or draw on top of my original sketches, since I basically ruin the paper with all the erasing and sketching the paper endures until I'm happy with the sketch.

I used a regular mechanical pencil, and very light strokes. I didn't want the pencil lines to show under the markers.

The coloring process

I don't use references for my coloring, it always comes out looking better when I shade and color from my head. I prefer to start coloring the body, since that kind of allows me to warm up and get used to the colors and paper. If I mess up, it won't be as noticeable as if I had messed up when coloring the head or other more important parts of the drawing.

The Eyes are the window to the soul

The eyes make up such an important part of the drawing, so I always try to put at much details in them as possible. It truly makes a huge difference if the eyes look expressive and interesting.

One eye without detail and one eye with details. I added details in the eyes using colored pencils and white gel pen. Adding details really brought the sphynx to life ^_^

The finished Sphynx

I added a small amount of details to the sphynx using a white colored pencil, just bringing out the highlights a bit more.

The Moth and the Background

I struggled a lot with the Moth. I couldn't decide on how I wanted to color it or what colors to use. I initially colored the violet parts bright pink, and ended up hating it. I had a small breakdown (and unfortunately I didn't take any photos the bright pink moth), but then I remembered that the paper allows for a lot of layering, so I decided to try and change the color. I used a dull violet on top of the bright pink, and the color turned out really nice.

I used the same violet color, in several different shades, on the background.

We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents

Or so Bob Ross has told us... I dropped my Copic cleaner (removes Copic ink) over my drawing.. Luckily, it only hit the background (a huge blob...), and not the cat or moth. I decided to just go with it, and added more drops all over the background. I actually ended up liking it.. So I guess Bob Ross was right ;)

The finished drawing

I added detalis using white gel pen and white colored pencils to make the moth and the Sphynx pop a bit more.

Time-Lapse Gif

My support crew

Apparently. I'm supposed to include these two in all my posts, or so I've been told in the comment section... Anyway, here they are – The Whippets aka Giant Rat Dogs

(Yes, I have an embroidered pillow of one of my dogs...)

Postface

If you want to know more about me, check out my:

Sphynx and Moth – Step by step of my drawing process, from sketch to finished artwork