Tutorial: Real Animal to Furry/Cartoon

Hello! One of the things I struggle with is "how can I draw animals in my style without compromising their features?", so I decided to make a small method to aid me and thought it would be a good idea to share it. X3 For this drawing I used Paint Tool SAI, but it works on anyway other editor with layers, without further ado, I'll explain this method.

Step 1: Reference Picture

Well this is the easiest one in my opinion, first start by browsing an image of any animal you desire, personally I like to browse photgraphs of real animals but you can use other artist's work if you prefer. Despite being easy, it is the MOST important step, finding a good reference will dictate how similar your creation will be in comparison with the real thing.

Step 2: Basic Shape

Now that you have the reference you wish, start by lowering the opacity of the layer where your reference is. On top of that, create a new layer, draw only the basic shape of the animal and the eye line. If you have issues with simplifying the head, I suggest checking this little tutorial, it helped me a lot and inspired me to make one on my own(which you can see now... xp).

Step 3: Sketch

Reduce the opacity of the layer you created on step 2 and create a new one on top of that. On the new layer draw a more refined sketch of the animal, adding some detail like the important fur marking, nose, whiskers and ears.

Step 4: "Stylezation" - Basic Shape

Create a new layer then hide the layers created on step 1 and 3, leaving visible the one made on step 2. Go to the layer of step 2 and reduce its opacity, then on the layer you created on this step make the basic shape of the animal o the style you want. In this case I lowered the eye line for roughly half of the face, as consequence, I had to lower the nose. I also drew the eyes a bit larger, I find them more expressive and funnier to work with, specially if you want to go for a cartoon like approach or a cute style.

Step 5: "Stylezation" - Sketch

 This step is a little trickier as I used 3 layers at the same time. Start by hiding the layer created on step 2, now reduce the opacity of the layer created on step 4. Make visible the layer created on step 3 and reduce it's opacity, at this point you should have the sketch and the basic shape of your "stylized" animal. Create a layer above the layer made on step 4 and sketch out the animal, similar as in step 3.

Step 6: Refining

Hide all layers and leave visible only the layer made on step 5 and reduce its opacity, then make another layer and add the final details and touches to the animal such as the fur texture. Once you're done, hide the layer made on step 5 and you're finished!

This was my first tutorial ever, so I apologize for any errors you might have found. Hope you enjoyed! X3