Snow Leopard Portrait

A snow leopard today... hopefully a convincing human portrait tomorrow.

Hand drawn by Catherine Knee

One thing I have learnt is that drawing isn't really about producing one brilliant piece. It's about quietly fixing one weakness at a time. Every drawing becomes an excuse to work on something specific, and hopefully the next one is just a tiny bit better than the last.

I think I have finally reached the point where what I draw doesn't immediately resemble something scratched onto the wall of a cave with a burnt stick. That's encouraging. Unfortunately, improving only reveals all the new mistakes you couldn't even see before. The better you get, the more flaws you notice. I'm beginning to suspect artists spend their entire lives chasing an ever-moving finish line.

This time I decided facial proportions were going to be the focus.

My longer-term aim is actually to draw a portrait of someone as a gift later this year. If a portrait is going to look like the person rather than simply a person, then proportions matter. A lot. Eyes that are a few millimetres too high, a nose slightly too wide or a jaw that's just a little off can completely change who you're looking at.

Now, before anyone points it out, yes... human faces and snow leopard faces are rather different creatures. I am aware of that. But proportion is still proportion. Training your eye to compare distances, angles and relationships between features doesn't suddenly stop being useful because the subject has whiskers.

I'd seen a photograph of a snow leopard online and immediately thought, I'd like to draw one of those cats. They have such beautifully balanced faces. Everything feels soft and powerful at the same time. It seemed like a good subject to sit down with a pencil and simply observe.

I didn't put pressure on myself with this drawing. It wasn't destined for a gallery wall or a competition. It was practice, and practice is allowed to be imperfect. In fact, it almost has to be. If every piece came out exactly as I wanted, there wouldn't be much left to learn.

Looking at it now, I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. I like the expression, and I think the eyes work reasonably well. The overall character of the snow leopard comes through, which is always a relief.

Can I see mistakes? Absolutely.

Some of the proportions still aren't where I'd like them to be. There are areas that feel a little uneven to me, and if I were drawing it again today I'd probably approach parts of it differently. That's completely fine. Spotting those things is part of improving. You can't correct mistakes you can't yet see.

I suppose that's the strange thing about learning any creative skill. Success isn't reaching the point where you stop finding faults. Success is reaching the point where the faults become more subtle than they used to be.

So this drawing wasn't really about snow leopards at all.

It was about teaching my eyes to observe more carefully, so that when I eventually sit down to draw a human portrait, I'll have a few more tools than I did before.

One drawing at a time. That's all any of us can do.

Inspiration

I wanted to spend some time practising facial proportions before attempting a human portrait later in the year. After seeing a beautiful photograph of a snow leopard online, I thought it would make an enjoyable subject to study while training my eye to judge shapes, distances and feature placement more accurately…

© Catherine Knee 2026. All rights reserved.

Interested in seeing my photographic artwork?
👉 Explore my Photography Portfolio here.

Did you know I also write poetry?
👉 Read my collection of poems here.

Fancy saying hello or asking me a question?
👉 Get in touch with me here.

Summary

A pencil drawing of a snow leopard became the perfect opportunity to practise facial proportions while developing realistic portrait drawing skills.