Eye Tips by tall73
Eyes can be challenging! This is a place for tips when drawing eyes.
If you want your eye to have a 3D look then you need to think of the structure of the eye. It is built around the eye ball!
If you play the video in this example you will see that I start with a simple circle. From there I add shading to show where the light is coming from and to make the circle a ball.
Then I added the iris. The highlight is caused by light bouncing off of the lens, which is rounded.
Once you have the eye ball you then stretch the eye lids around the ball. This is how you get more of a 3D impression.
The eye brow, etc. forms a cast shadow which further gives it form.
#talltips
#tallstips
#wc497
#rdcontest
The comment has been reported
The Colors! Gallery moderators will look at it as soon as possible.
Comments
09 Apr, 2023, 2:40 am
Other eye tips:
the whites of the eye are usually not white, but some color of shadow. Try to reserve the brightest white for highlights. Even the highlight may not be completely white.
If your painting includes two eyes you may want to focus on one to make the painting more compelling. One area of focus is easier for the viewer to understand.
The darkest dark against the lightest light, often seen when there is a highlight on the pupil, may draw the eye to that one spot. Another idea is to put one eye more in shadow, such as in this example: #talleyeinshadow
Harder edges in a painting with mostly softer edges can draw the eye.
More color saturation can also draw the eye to the area of focus.
Sometimes you don't have to show all of the eye at all. The brain can fill in many details. For instance, in this portrait I didn't put any eyes, but just placed a hard cast shadow that obscures them:
#tallnoeyeportrait
The viewers attention is still drawn to the nose and eyes because of the dark/light contrast between the bridge of the nose and the dark recess of the eye socket.
Remember when painting eyes to look at the pattern caused by light and shadow, not just draw what you think an eye shape looks like.
When aligning two eyes on the face it can help to put a line between tear ducts. But remember that the head is not a flat box, and there will be some curve to that line.
09 Apr, 2023, 2:53 am
@Owl_In_The_Sky glad they were helpful!
09 Apr, 2023, 9:13 am
A good eye tip I read: The space between eyes is usually one eye length apart. Can help with proportions.
Nice tutorial, very thorough and in depth
09 Apr, 2023, 12:19 pm
@mcollins yes that is a helpful one!