Don't try and draw what you think a cat looks like.
Look at an actual reference and draw what a cat looks like.
This is an awesome way of saying this. I've never understood why people needed references before as I can usually picture just about anything as it's said. I now understand. I can picture it but that picture doesn't necessarily offer the
CORRECT image.
The thing that stands out the most apart from the wobbly shape, are the eyes which seems to be viewed from the front which gives the appearance of eyes being attached like on a fish or bird.
I was having trouble with the eyes because of the pixel limitations. One issue that I was having was that I knew I needed to add a reflection but I couldn't figure out how to place it with the eye being only 10ish pixels. I'm understanding now, due to some reading I've been doing, that perhaps it would've been better done with a grey spot instead of a white spot. However, I understand that that isn't the issue you're talking about and that the shape is way off, I'm just stating another issue that I could fix with it.
As for the shading, work with more roundness, right now it looks like a cat shaped in cookiedough. I'm not saying this as an insult, I just want to give you an idea of how it's perceived.
Because your brain will say "this is what a cat looks like" but depending on which side of the brain you ask, you'll get different results. The left side of the brain always wants to think of things as flat, even if they're viewed from an angle. The left side also works more with symbols and predefined images rather than what things actually look like.
I totally get that! I'm having that issue right now actually. I'm trying to draw an apple from reference
http://www.wilsonsfruit.com.au/media/uploads/reddel.jpg there and I'm having trouble guessing where to even start. I know that you're supposed to break it down to basic shapes but, to me, it's a few basic shapes and if I put them in the way that I'm seeing it, it turns out completely 2 dimensional. (This is how I'm seeing it right now:
)
HOWEVER, after looking at it for a while, I may have figured out a better direction to go in. Maybe someone can tell me if I'm headed the right way? (Here:
)
Lastly, I know it's just a simple, tiny sphere (And I see a slight flatness on the sides) but I was hoping I could get some feedback on this: