Eye drawing tutorials for your skill

Hello everybody!

It’s me again. I came back to you with some eyes base drawing ideas guys! We know that eyes are the open window to the soul. To read a person’s emotions, you just need to look into the person’s eyes.

So we move on!

Eyes occupy an important place in depicting character portraits. This is honestly my favorite object to draw. I intend to give you drawing tips to improve your technique. You can further deepen your knowledge by visiting eye drawing tutorials digital presented on the Internet. Let’s get started!

Anatomy of the eye

Eyes are located in the 2nd zone of conditional three zones of a face contour. The first zone is between the hair above a forehead and eyebrows. The second one is between eyebrows and a nose. The third zone is in-between a nose and the chin. Eyeballs are of spherical shape.

A distance between human eyes equals their diameter. The areas surrounding them are pupils, eyelashes, irises, eyelids. Their eye shapes are very different for persons. The eyes of Europeans appear different from those of Asians.

An iris color in Asians is dark brown. In Europeans it is light. It is obviously easier to see the pupil of a person from Europe. Eyelids are also very different. Profoundly deep double eyelids characterize Europeans. Representatives from Asian regions have it less deep. Adult faces obviously larger than babies. But eyes sizes are the same. So when you draw a child, his eyes appear large.

Realistic eye drawing

Eyes are an essential element of any portrait. It is important to draw them realistically. I always recommend drawing eyes from life. This develops observation and the ability to notice the smallest details. But do not neglect drawing from a photograph.

Learn drawing eyes and watch your portraits come to life. It is clearly not enough to draw only pupils for the person´s eyes on a picture to look vivid and natural. The eyes shape, eyelids creases, and eyelashes shape are also important for making your drawing look realistic. A drooping or swollen eyelid also affects the eye shape.

Basic techniques

1. Sketch. I draw a circle. Further, trace transverse and vertical lines in it. The resulting intersection defines the eye position.

2. I draw an eye view angle, outlining at the intersection two circles and setting eyes location. I draw eyes relative to the head direction. You can set head and eyes position at different angles.

4. Contour lines. I draw neat and clean contour lines of the almond-shaped eyes with a pupil and an iris.

5. Then I update the almond shape. I vary lines above, below, and on both sides of eyes, curves of folds on both eyelids, and desired eyebrows shape. They often serve to express emotions.

eye drawing

6. In a complex and detailed outline, I add shadows to the eyes with hatching to make them expressive and bright. Of course, it is imperative not to go to the hatching stage before your sketch is finished.

Stylistics for comics and cartoons

Personally, I like to draw big stylish eyes for cartoon characters to emphasize the comic book character. Cartoon eyes tend to be grotesque for expressive or aesthetic purposes.

How to draw cartoon eyes?

Let’s experiment with the expression of surprised eyes. In my imagination, the surprise is associated with a wide-eyed style. I focus on showing the eyes extra whites by opening eyes wide or shrinking the iris. One can also engage eyelids along with eyebrows to heighten emotions one needs to convey.

eye drawing

Conclusion and thanks

Thanks for your great patience with my long tutorial. I wonder if my drawing tips are helpful. If so, please send me your appreciation! Follow me on Pinerest or just visit my web page on Facebook. Until next time!

author avatar
Vladislav Karpets Founder
As an experienced art director and senior product designer in IT, I combine my technical expertise with a creative approach. My passion for innovation has been recognized through wins in the IED Master Competition in Turin and the Automotive Competition at IAAD Torino. Additionally, I designed Ukraine's first electric car, demonstrating my drive to explore new frontiers in design and technology. By merging my creative skills with technical knowledge, I deliver innovative solutions that push the boundaries of industry standards.

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