Soft Pastel Drawing: FLUFFY KITTENS

Drawing with soft pastels – FLUFFY KITTENS

Soft pastels
Eraser
Pastel fixative (varnish)
Black felt-tip pen
A3 paper
Painter’s tape

Take an A3 sheet of paper and firmly secure it to your work surface with painter’s tape / masking tape.

Color Selection: Choose the colors you like. In this example, various shades of red, brown, and orange were selected.
Application: Using the side of a pastel, rub the entire paper evenly to create your base.

Blending: Using your hand, a cotton pad, or a tissue, blend the pastel across the paper.
Learning point: This is the moment to experiment and observe how the pastel pigment spreads and diffuses.

Layering Additional Colors: Now add more colors. With pastels, the layers overlap—adding blue and dark brown on top will show through.
Final Blending: Blend again for a uniform background
Clean-up: Once you’re satisfied with the base, wash your hands before moving on.

Creating the Bodies: Erase small balls using the eraser to serve as the kitten bodies. You can make as many as you wish; in this example, six balls are created.
Learning point: The erasing process will not return the paper to pure white, and the eraser debris may fill in areas. Instead of wiping with your hand (which might spread the cleared area), gently blow away the debris.
Adding the Heads: Next, add a smaller eraser ball adjacent to each body to represent the head.

Drawing the Tail: Kittens are known for their tails. Although you could modify this step for other creatures (for example, mice with small circles as ears and slim tails or rabbits with long ears and fluffy tails), here we continue with kittens by drawing long, white tails.
Fixative Application: Apply the fixative (pastel varnish) over your work and allow it to set/dry.

Fur Details: Draw white strokes along the edges of the kitten bodies to simulate fur.
Adding Ears and Adjustments: Include details like the ears. Since the bodies have a reddish undertone, cover those areas with white pastel to enhance contrast. Use the pastel to adjust the shapes as needed.

Eyes and Nose: Add eyes and a nose using a black felt-tip pen or black pastel or green pastel.
Corrections: If any white lines stray, you can correct them by applying a red tone (matching the background) and reworking the detail. Take care not to let the white pastel spread undesirably.

Enhancing the Composition: To fill any empty space and add interest, incorporate extra elements. In this example, a ball of yarn is drawn running across the image.
Execution: Use dark brown pastel for the yarn and create a dynamic, sweeping line among the kittens.
Layering for Clarity: To distinguish parts of the yarn (for instance, which is in the foreground or background), selectively apply a layer of white pastel where needed.
Finally apply the fixative (pastel varnish) over your work!