How to Draw Eyes

Co-authored by Renée Plevy

Last Updated: May 4, 2022

This tutorial will teach you how to draw realistic eyes and anime eyes. Remember, eye styles vary vastly. Depending on whether your expertise is anime, realism, comics, doll eyes, or even just doodle, use this article as a general guide. It will take a bit of practice to get a good handle on drawing eyes.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Realistic Eyes

1
Draw a light horizontal guideline across. Draw an almond shape with one corner tapering downwards.
2
Draw another almond shape of the same size. The space between these eye shapes is equal to the length of one almond shape.

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3
Erase the guidelines and draw a circle inside each of the eye shapes. The diameter of the circles is equal to the height of the almond shapes. Leave some space between the bottom of the circle and the lower edge of the eye shape.
4
Draw an arc for each eye to create tear ducts.
5
Draw the eyes' waterline. Draw these from the base of the tear duct passing between the iris and lower eyelid going to the upper lash line.
6
Draw a circle for the pupils. Don’t forget to draw an arc for the upper lid.
7
Darken the pupils and erase the part of the iris that intersected with the upper eyelids.
8
Lightly erase the guidelines and start shading using your pencil. Darken the lashlines, upper lid fold and the pupils. The eyeballs should be shaded very lightly.
9
Draw lines around the iris. These lines should should look like rays radiating out of the pupils. Darken (smudge effect) the upper portion of the iris of both eyes.
10
To add highlights, use a kneaded or putty eraser. Shape the eraser thinly to easily erase thin lines above the upper lashline, lower eyelid, above the waterline, outside the tear duct, inside the lower part of the pupil and inside the eyeball.
11
Draw the lashes. Draw eyelashes from the root (eyelid). Start by pressing firmly with your pencil then slowly release the pressure as you curve it towards the tip. The lower lashes should be thinner and shorter than the upper eyelash. To create the round catchlights in the eyes, use correction fluid or white paint to make the dot.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Method Two: Anime Eyes

1
Draw two slightly squished oblongs.
2
Instead of drawing the eyelashes hair by hair, anime lashes can be drawn by one very thick arc. Follow the guidelines to make the upper lash line and the thinner lower lashline.
3
Erase the guidelines and draw oblongs for the iris. They can be unevenly shaped.
4
Draw smaller oblongs inside the iris to make the pupils. Leave some space between the bottom of the pupils and the lower edge of the iris but make the top edges touch.
5
Draw ovals to make the catchlights of your anime eyes.
6
Thicken the outline of the iris. Again, this doesn’t have to be perfectly done. Darken the insides of the pupils. Do not color the catchlight.
7
Fill the lower portion of the iris with the color of your choice. Create extra highlights by drawing a U inside the colored space. The U should be lighter than the first color you used.
8
Create shadows underneath the upper eyelash.
- If you want to draw better read more about art.
- Do plenty of sketching.
- Find a good teacher in your area, who will help you to see what you are missing.

Expert Q&A

Question

How can you make oil paints last long?

Renée Plevy
Portrait Artist & Educator
Renée Plevy is an Internationally Acclaimed Portrait Artist from New York/Palm Beach who has painted The Grand Dames of Palm Beach and various celebrities and community leaders. With over 50 years of experience, Renée specializes in painting realistically in oil and capturing the soul of the person. She has studied under internationally renowned portrait artists John Howard Sanden, David Leffel, Robert Beverly Hale, Clyde Smith, and Leonid Gervits. Renée is featured in over 68 shows and galleries including a one-woman museum show at the Paterson Museum. She has garnered numerous awards including “Artist of the Year” from The Bloomfield Art League and First Prize from the Boca Raton Museum Artist’s Guild. Renée has even painted a portrait of celebrity, Vanilla Ice. She also teaches at the Boca Raton Museum Art School - formerly at SVA in Manhattan.

Renée Plevy

Portrait Artist & Educator

Expert Answer

Keep the caps clean and close the tubes. Keep them away from heat. Otherwise, the binder and pigments will separate. When you open the paint tubes to use, plenty of linseed oil will come out.
Question

How is the color wheel helpful?

Renée Plevy
Portrait Artist & Educator
Renée Plevy is an Internationally Acclaimed Portrait Artist from New York/Palm Beach who has painted The Grand Dames of Palm Beach and various celebrities and community leaders. With over 50 years of experience, Renée specializes in painting realistically in oil and capturing the soul of the person. She has studied under internationally renowned portrait artists John Howard Sanden, David Leffel, Robert Beverly Hale, Clyde Smith, and Leonid Gervits. Renée is featured in over 68 shows and galleries including a one-woman museum show at the Paterson Museum. She has garnered numerous awards including “Artist of the Year” from The Bloomfield Art League and First Prize from the Boca Raton Museum Artist’s Guild. Renée has even painted a portrait of celebrity, Vanilla Ice. She also teaches at the Boca Raton Museum Art School - formerly at SVA in Manhattan.

Renée Plevy

Portrait Artist & Educator

Expert Answer

The color wheel helps you understand how to get new colors by mixing the primary colors. Red, blue, and yellow are the primary colors. When you combine red and yellow, you get orange.
Question

How big should the head around the eyes be? I don't want the eyes to look too big or small.

Community Answer

The head should be about a centimeter away, or if you draw differently, make the eyes lower and erase the top of the head and draw bangs or hairstyles.