How to Make a Flat Cat - Coloring

You have drawn and outlined your flat cat and now you are ready to personalize it by coloring.  There are a number of media I like, but colored pencils and soft pastels would be the easiest for an inexperienced artist.  One of the fun things is experimenting with color.  Your can use unconventional colors in the same way the Impressionists did.  Here is how I colored Julie's head above.

I apologize in advance for the photos.  On my phone the colors looked really dark, when I posted them, they looked really light.  Please enlarge so you can see more clearly strokes and the effects of smearing.  My own Julie flat cat was very cartoon like, but I'd like to show you how to use pastels.

 I erased most of the lines leaving just enough to guide me.  I blocked the dark areas out in light blue.  I got the idea to use blue from the little old ladies who used bluing to make their hair whiter.  MOL

 I added a background for contrast so you could see it better.  I rubbed my fingers on the pastel and swirled the color into place.  See how nice and soft it is?  A great technique for the face.

 Its a messy affair.  You need to shake the dust off your picture into the trash and wash your hands often.  When you use a pastel over color already laid down, you will need to wipe the pastel too.

I've put dark blue strokes in the darkest areas .  I'm using more color than needed because the final step will be added white strokes.  Smear strokes as needed.  I'm using a dark purple for the darkest parts.

I've smeared to blend some areas then gone over with large sweeping strokes in white.  Strokes should flow in the direction of the fur.  Experiment with varying the pressure, use less, more, or starting out heavy and ending light.

 I could end it here, but its not the 1960's

I've taken my meds and they've kicked in.

I've swirled my finger on a grey pastel and gone over the medium dark areas.  I'd like to keep some of the blues and purples.

 I've added pink to the lightest areas (still leaving the whitest areas paper white), added more grey.

 I've blended, smeared and added more pink.

I've added grey strokes, and worked on the ears and eyes.

I have no idea how I made this picture this shape!  I added a lot of white strokes which tones down the other colors.  And I've needed to wipe the white pastel off often.  A sharp edge will give a narrow stroke and a wider edge a softer, wider one.

This is the final product.  I've added some grey around the eyes and a few strokes.  I could continue refining it by working on the whisker holes on her whisker humps and a few other areas, but I think you get the general idea. 

By starting with blue and purple, I wanted to show you how easy it was to change the entire look of your kitty so you wouldn't be afraid to experiment and try new things.  I almost never use black.  I think you get a much richer look by using other colors.  I block out the darks first, then start adding color.  Think of and follow the bone structure under the fur.  When doing your kitty, keep your strokes flowing in the direction the fur grows.  The softer areas you can add color with your finger tip.

I think next I'll talk about finishing, then come back to coloring tabbies, unless you want tabbies first.  Let me know in the comments. Do you have any particular question?  I will be covering eyes after tabbies.

My Julie flat cat wasn't nearly as detailed as the head I did above and more cartoon like, I wanted to give you an idea of the range of techniques you could use.