Sketchbook: There's Something About Cats

Pencil on paper

Most artists I've met don't have great big complicated motives for choosing their subject matter. There's just something about silos, or checkerboard patterns, or vintage travel posters - some quality that captivates the artist enough that they spend hours, days, years working with that subject.

For me, cats hold that kind of fascination. Dogs love so freely, and I'm a dog person through and through. But I often have more fun drawing cats, because they're a mystery. One moment they can be wise and fierce, and the next silly enough to stick a badly-spelled caption on and post it all over the internet. They give only what they want to give, and they never forget that they were once wild.

Both of these sketches started as experiments with different kinds of cat eyes. I like some aspects of manga-style eyes, as in the top sketch, but prefer the elasticity of western facial expressions. The bottom sketch marks the second time I've drawn a "wise big cat" sort of character. Don't you ever get the feeling that cats large and small know something we don't? Whether they're teasing and being playful or majestic and wise, I get the impression they're caretakers of many deep secrets, and that's why they look so smug.

Cats will play a significant role in the comic, and may even reveal one of their secrets to a human being.

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