Big Cat Ear Tutorial
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First looking at the overall shape of the ears, we can see they vary between species and habitats. The main job of the ears is to cup sounds so the cat can locate precisely where the sound it coming from, practically at close quarters as cats are long sighted. A. Is a Leopard ear, it is fairly long and rounded. Note the large jutting lobe. This is the same shape as a Jaguar. Puma ears are similar but are more pointed with a narrower tip. B. is a Lynx ear, long and pointed like a domestic cat ear with a long tuft. Caracal ears are similar with the tuft but are broader and slightly shorter . C. is a lioness ear. It is large, very round and the top section is wider than the base. It also has a lot of fur. D. Is a snow Leopard ear, to prevent frostbite it is very short, round and broad with a slightly flattened top. E. is a Tiger ear, it is long and narrow (except Siberian Tigers which are shorter, rounder and broader) Note the clear 'nick' in the outer edge. Golden cats and Ocelots have a similar ear shape. F. is a cheetah ear, its short and round with a slight flattened edge on the top inner side edge. G. is a Margay ear, it is pointed and broad. Servials have similar ears but they are even more broader and set close together. Some big cats, Tigers in particular, have light spots on the backs of their ears. This is to help cubs follow their parent/s (a cub with weak eyesight would have trouble following their mother who is naturally camouflaged) and they are also used sometimes to signal moods. (I have added ear spots to some of the drawings to help show the backs.) |
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Now looking at the overall structure of an ear. Of note there is the lobe (blue) the 'nick' (red) and the inner edge that widens towards the bottom (green). These all vary slightly according to species. |
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Also there is the the actual inner ear which tends to be hidden by hair/ fur. However the start of the ear canal is visible. |
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The amount of hair in and surrounding the ear again depends on species. The hair helps stop debris entering the ear. |
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When a cat hears a noise it'll turn one ear towards the sound, The cat then may turn its head or not depending on the sound being recognized as something of interest or not. Most of the muscles are at the base and to the sides of the ear, the ear itself doesn't really contain muscles. The head muscles pulling on the ear makes most of the turn. The area of ear where the movement comes from is the outer edge. |
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This means the ear isn't a floating object, when drawing the muscles feeding into head must be considered, and how they effect the overall ear. There is normally a bulge where the back of the ear meets the skull where the muscles attach it to the head. Also on the face, the shape of the ear feeds in and there is a small ridge of muscle.
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A good example of this is the flattened ears pose. As you can see, the is flat to the ground and ear curled back so it is almost doubles back on itself. This is because the muscles on the outer edge contract and is caused by the head muscles (jaw, base of the skull) tightening. |
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The ear also isn't a 2D object. While it is fairly flat it does have some thickness and gets wider at the base. It also curves like a semi-circle to create the 'cup' as seen in this cross-section. |
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Additionally it curls when it is twisted. See how the ear rim (red) extends past the ear (blue) and flairs out at the tip back toward the ear spot. |
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The position of the ears on the head can be worked out like this. From the front draw a line from the outer edge of the nose through the middle of the eyes. That line will connect to the inner edge of the base of the ears.
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The ear sit lower than the top of the head. Note how the head curves down before meeting the ear curve back out (blue) |
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From the side the line from the outer edge of the nose passes under the eye (in cartoon cats, the eyes are larger so the line may pass through the eye) to the base of the inner ear edge. Also, the distance between the eye and ear is slightly more that the distance between the nose and eye. |
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Three quarter angle follows the same rule as from the front view. However the opposite ear has a line from the middle of the nose, through the eye to the ear. Also the bottom of the ear is a similar height as the top of the eye (this varies slightly again in different species) |
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From the top the same rule applies as the front view. |
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Also you can use the muzzle and sides of the face as a guide. |
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Animal ears have long been used to convey emotions in cartoon cats. By exagerating the normal positions, combined with an facial expression helps show what mood the cat is in. Natural ear positions. A frightened cat would have ears laid back and wide eye pupils, while an angry cat would have the ears laid back with narrow eye pupils and a wrinkled muzzle. An alert or interested cat would have its ears pricked forward focused on the source of the sound. A relaxed cat would have its ears in a neutral position (pictured) sitting slightly lower and the tips slightly more downwards. The droop could be enhanced to create a depressed mood. |
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Some cats such as lionesses turn their ears towards the ground. This could be used to create a aggressive, frightened or sad mood depending on facial expression. |
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But remember to always keep the cats overall species ear shape in mind. the same pose may look different with a different ear! |
Once again I recommend real-life study to really gain an understanding of the structure as well as watching cartoons i.e. Bambi to see how animal ears are used for expression :) |
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