1 Sketch your subject

I began by making a super quick sketchbook drawing of my first encounter with the cat using compressed charcoal. After a quick line drawing on the right, I then drew a pose that I thought might work for the composition.

I used the compressed charcoal in a very fluid way and drew without taking my eyes off the subject. This is almost impossible to get right, but somehow through experience you get something. This quick compositional pose became the basis of the whole painting.