DrawWithMike.net

this a person's beloved cat that I am recapturing for them. I am just starting to get the basic shapes down and of course I find the wax bloom shows up quickly. I have never asked for feedback before so, honest but gentle comments are requested.
]download/file.php?mode=view&id=2663

I can offer you comments, but not constructive feedback... because there's nothing I'd wish to see done differently.

You have a very interesting approach, and it's quite enlightening to see you exploring areas before you commit to detail.

Higher up, in the completed area, your explorations have paid off with an obvious understanding of what you wish to achieve.

The eyes have reflections of light that suggest the lenses are curved. Personally, I'd wish to see a point of pure white in there - where the light is reflecting directly into my eyes, but that's not essential. The irises contain detail that many artists might miss. Well, the detail is suggested, but that's perfectly OK. There are subtle highlights running around the left-hand edge of both irises, which is, again, quite natural but easily overlooked. However, I'd expect to see a diffused highlight above the bottom edge, too. That's created by light entering the eye through the highlight you've established, then being refracted within the internal liquid, to be bent and exit lower down. In other words, it's a highlight produced internally. Now I'm questioning my own advice, so I'll try it out... OK... I allowed Affinity Photo to "do its thing" and auto-adjust the contrast, levels, colour, and white balance... and the eyes lit up! So, I'm making the assumption that this image is closer to your drawing than your photo. Adjust what follows to suit.

New, more subtle highlights are now apparent within each eye, so I'm doubting that secondary highlights are necessary. But, best to check, so... Before and After - worth consideration, but probably not worth the effort?

Returning to Gandalf (lovely name!) That hint of yellow above the nose is something else I think many artists might miss. The hair is usually thin and short in that area, and there's a change of angle too, of course - before the top of the muzzle climbs up from the "stop" between the eyes.

So, as I said, not much help, but I think you're doing superbly well.

Thank you for the comments Mike. I think that looking at the reflected highlight is a good suggestion. Your version of Gandalf is closer to the real thing. I had difficulties trying to get the attachment small enough to upload and I think it sacrificed a lot of quality.
You have given me the courage to carry on!

No critiques from me. I have owned cats all of my life, so my eye is naturally attuned to any anatomical errors and there are none here.

A cat’s eyes are the first thing we all notice and these are lovely! Mike’s keen eye picked up on the reflection, and his advice is spot on, but I also agree that it’s your call. They can stand on their own as is if correcting them might risk smudging your drawing. I don’t use coloured pencil, so I have no idea of the risks.

As one cat lover to another, this is wonderful! The owner will be so pleased,

Beautiful work, I love the progress.
May I ask which colour pencils you are using? Some 'bloom' more than others, the Derwent Colorsoft are pretty well known for this issue. But that said, I cannot notice much bloom in your work, it is lovely.
Re the white spot, it can be difficult to add white color pencil to create a real white spot. You COULD try a very, very, soft pastel stick such as a Sennliers and just touch a dot on. But do this at the very last as pastel can smudge if you accidently touch it while working.

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide your thoughts. I so appreciate it. I am using a mix of Holbein and Caron D'ache luminance pencils at the moment. I like them because they are so soft but of course that comes with its own set of challenges. In the past, the very last thing I have done before sealing the work is using a white gel pen for the whiskers and the highlight. I have not thought of white pastel...I will have try that!
I will post my progress again in few days.
Thanks again for the comments

I’m in love with your colored pencil rendering. I’ve not been successful much with my attempts at colored pencil drawing, hence I joined Mike’s community. I have a large assortment of colored pencils, so my heart jumped for joy when I saw this category.

I have been working away at the cat and in the final few days of working on it. I plan on gifting it on Saturday, so this is it.
I sprayed it with a workable fixative so that I can go in and brighten the eyes. Fine tune the fur and add the whites and whiskers. Observations and suggestions are welcomed as it is still in process.

I have essentially finished the cat to the best of my current abilities. I will pull it out for one last look on Friday so any or all comments are welcome. I am surprised by the lack of colour/ contrast/ detail in the picture I uploaded. It actually doesn't look much like my final. I assume that must be a combination of lighting and me making it smaller to upload.

Yes, lighting and the camera you are using can affect the digital result. Also, wax based colour pencils have a certain glow/shine and depth to them that is difficult to reproduce. Personally, I always scan my final works in preference to using a camera.
Photography issue aside - THIS IS A WONDERFUL drawing! Your receipent will love it.