In this tutorial I will show you how to draw eyes without a reference. Eyes are a beautiful subject to draw—a lot of different materials are combined in them, and they look like precious gems hidden in our own body. They're also quite challenging to draw, but it doesn't mean you can't do it!
The pencil study of an eye is broken down into steps to help you understand each stage of the drawing process. We start by drawing the outline of the eyelids, followed by the iris and surface of the eye, finishing with the eyebrows, eye lashes and the surrounding shading that pulls everything together.
MATERIALS:
Mechanical Pencil with 0.5 mm
2H, 2B ,4B and 6B Pencil
Kneaded Eraser
Blending Stump
Step #1 - OUTLINE THE SHAPE OF AN EYE
Take the HB pencil and lightly sketch the basic shape to get the proportions right ..
Observation is very important when starting the line drawing of an eye. You must pay particular attention to the difference in shape between the upper and lower eyelids.
Each eye is unique and the more acute your observation will be, the more accurate a likeness you will achieve.
Step #2 - SHADE THE PUPIL AND THE IRIS
Keeping in mind that the bottom of the iris usually fits on or very slightly below the lower eye . Now using 6B pencil ,fill in the pupil and try to avoid pressing too hard so you can erase if you need to make corrections later on Now using 2H pencil, add in some light tone to make the eye look more 3D. Think about the reflection and the highlight on the iris and use a sharp 2B pencil to draw the fine details in the iris.The iris contains a variety of tones and flecks which radiate to the centre of the pupil. It is usually darker around its outside edge and lightens towards its centre creating a translucent effect.
Step #3 - ADD DEPTH AND SHADE THE SKIN
With a 4B pencil draw spokes going outward from the pupil and overlap some of the spokes to create thicker lines ..Leave some areas as they will be filled later on . Now use the blending stump to fill the white spaces in the iris ..Now with 6B pencil create a shadow under the eyelid to give the eye more depth and roundness
For shading the skin use 2H pencil and lightly shade the upper and the lower part of the eye. Don'r leave the eyeball completely white or else it will look unrealistic. Now add darker values using 2B and 4B pencil and use kneaded eraser to make he highlights pop and dab areas of the eye that need to be lightened
Step #4 -DRAW EYEBROW AND EYE LASHES
Now fill in the eyebrows as well as eyelashes..To create the eyebrow use 2H pencil for the sketch and then add darker values using HB pencil. For eyelashes, go with something darker, like 6B. Use curve lines while drawing eyelashes and avoid straight lines
Step #5 -TOUCH-UPS
The final step is to render the solidity of the eye socket and surrounding area using graduated tone..The upper eyelid casts a shadow which forms a dark curve across the top of the eyeball. This gradually softens into the shaded areas at each corner of the eye. Graduated shading is used to cover the outline detail and build up the tone of the eyelids and surrounding area. While eyebrows and eyelashes are formed by soft, delicate hairs, so draw these lightly and pay particular attention to the direction of their growth.
I really hope you enjoyed this simple step by step tutorial on how to draw a realistic eye with pencil. If you have any questions or requests, let me know in the comments below! Your feedback would be greatly appreciated
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