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Drawing a Realistic Eye
Drawing a Realistic Eye
From HERE
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SPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT
Students drawing from home!
Great work artists!
Work with what you have
Work with what you have
The Basics
The Basics
It doesn't take fancy materials to draw
#2 pencil is a medium weight graphite, not too hard, not too soft. You get clean lines and it's soft enough for blending.
White paper - any sketch paper will do
Paper towel can be used to help blend
Below is a video on how to make your own blending stump or "tortillon" out of paper towel
Drawing Set
Drawing Set
You might have access to a variety of pencil types or even other items from something like a drawing set or kit.
Above I drew out a value scale to illustrate the differences between different types of pencils.
As you can see the B pencils give you a fuzzy yet darker line and the H pencils look a little sharper and lighter.
A #2 pencil is very similar to the HB or - right smack in the middle.
Included in this set there is a blending stump/tortillon
a kneaded eraser (gray putty like substance)
& a white plastic eraser
Observation is Key
Observation is Key
Work from a Photo
Work from a Photo
The first step in getting your drawing to LOOK real is to OBSERVE real.
Have someone take a clear, close photo of one of your eyes
Photograph in a well lit area where you can have a relaxed pose (not squinting out the sunlight)
This is a photo I took of my daughter's eye
You could work from a propped up mirror if you do not have photo access
People often assume what something looks like. We just think we know what something very familiar to us looks like. I have a great example of this and how our brain "overcompensates" here in this clip below from the show "Brain Games."
Blocking In
Blocking In
Basic Almond shaped outline
Iris - this is a true circle, although you cannot see the entire thing - you may sketch the entire shape of a circle beyond the lid to capture the proper curve
Pupil - this is a smaller concentric circle
The membrane on the inside corner of the eye (the caruncle)
Basic Shape
Basic Shape
While observing your eye, take note of the basic "almond-shaped outline" of the rim of the eyelid as it outlines the eyeball - This is the first line you will draw. As you "block in" that line you may need to try multiple times to capture the accurate shape and angle. I like to use a quick measurement for comparison of height to width - on the photograph I am using colored lines to demonstrate this. The vertical red line is the height, I took that measurement and turned it sideways to measure how many of the heights it takes to equal the width. I have one (left red line) and a second (the yellow line) and remaining blue which is about 1/4 of the red..... so the width of my eye is 2 1/4 wider than the height however high i draw it. You can use your fingers to "measure" with.
Use light repetitive strokes. These are not the END product yet. Light lines are easy to erase - but try not to erase yet.
Shading and Detail
Shading and Detail
In the video I describe the different pencils I am working with. Above I mentioned that you can work with what you have. If you only have a #2 pencil, that is OK. You will just need to vary the pressure you are using with that pencil. Always start with light pressure (regardless of pencil type) and as you darken and "commit" to a line, you can press harder.
Dive Deeper
Dive Deeper
Stop after "Blocking in" if you are interested in taking the idea of the eye portrait deeper. You could consider drawing something else "superimposed" into the eye. You could replace the already circular iris with something else that is round. You could place a new object over the top of the iris or pupil while still retaining the eye detail. You could fill the entire almond opening with something of your choosing. Below are 8 samples from my past students and 3 others from an internet search. When trying to come up with something, consider the shapes already occurring in the eye and what does your idea represent? Usually choosing something meaningful or of interest to you makes sense. If you are choosing to draw someone else's eye, you could pick something meaningful to them.
Samples from my students over the years
Samples from my students over the years
Samples from various artists through an internet search used as concept inspiration
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