How do I draw a Blue Cat Eye in Pastel Pencils?
How to draw a blue cat eye - new tutorial available on Patreon
In this pastel pencil tutorial, I show you how to draw a realistic blue cat eye using only Stabilo Carbothello pastel pencils: no soft pastel sticks, no mixed brands; just pencils. This is a great opportunity to explore how much you can achieve with a single brand of art materials.
This focus study is perfect for improving your skills in layering, blending, and fine detail, especially around the iris, fur, and reflection. I’ve included a portion of the surrounding fur to give you a sense of how the eye sits within the face.
🎯 Who This Tutorial Is For
This tutorial is suitable for:
Beginner to intermediate artists working in pastel pencils
Anyone looking to improve realism and detail in animal eyes
Artists who want to work with a limited set of materials
📹 What You’ll Learn in the Cat Eye Tutorial
How to draw a cat eye using a simple grid method
Layering techniques for building realistic colour depth in the iris
Blending fur with pastel pencils
Tips for refining edges, highlights, and adding subtle detail
How to work with just one brand of pastel pencils
You’ll also get real-time commentary as I work through each stage, so it’s like we’re problem solving together.
🆕 This video was filmed using a new camera lens, so the quality is sharper and clearer than ever!
🕓 Chapter Breakdown
00:00:00 – Grid drawing and outline sketch
00:06:35 – Pupil base layers
00:23:17 – Blocking in the iris with pencils
00:37:27 – Eye outline and white of the eye
00:43:05 – Iris detail work
01:35:52 – Base layers of surrounding fur
02:02:39 – Adding eye area details
02:05:54 – Final fur details and refining
🧰 Materials Used
Paper
15x15 cm brown Clairefontaine Pastelmat (1 cm border)
Pastel Pencils (Stabilo Carbothello)
635, 400, 405, 425, 722, 620, 750, 655, 625, 692, 100, 685, 770, 642, 590, 545, 680, 681, 700, 440, 110, 311, 708, 435, 450, 706, 105, 430, 720, 760, 640, 615, 690, 390
Tools
Cotton buds, air puffer, silicone tools, and a putty rubber
📍Where to Watch
This tutorial is available exclusively on my Patreon for members in the £6/month tier. You’ll get full video access, step by step guidance, and the chance to ask questions or request future tutorials using other brands.
💬 Have a favourite pencil brand? Let me know! I’ll be creating more focus studies like this, using different materials.
You can view a timelapse version of this tutorial on YouTube here.
💖 Share Your Work!
If you follow along and create your own blue cat eye drawing, I would absolutely love to see it! Tag me on social media or post it in the Patreon community so I can admire your progress.
Felicity x