Eye sketches. How to draw a realistic eye with a pencil

I have already said that eyes and lips are the most important parts that a beginning artist needs to be able to draw on a person’s face. We have already depicted, now I will tell you how to draw a person’s eyes step by step with a pencil for beginners. Besides the fact that this is just part of the face, you need to understand that for each shape you need to depict different eyes. You also need to understand that the fullness of the eye and its color rendition can help you express your mood and mind. In fact, the eyes are the most difficult to draw, since they are mainly used to determine big picture. It has great importance the pupil, eyelashes and corners of the eye, we will pay attention to these points and draw a more or less standard eye; novice artists usually train using this drawing.

We are drawing regular pencil, if we paint with colored paints, we will have to work even more, since color rendering is a difficult moment in the picture. I provide you with a master class on step by step drawing human eyes.

We immediately draw the lower eyelid, two lines, an elongated horizontal one and a small semi-vertical one.

Now there are a lot of elements to draw. On both eyelids we immediately draw a few eyelashes; it is very good if they are drawn casually, for naturalness. Above the right eyelid we draw a semi-arc to complete the eye. And the most important thing at this step is to mark the boundaries of the pupil, a vertical arc on the right and a vertical arc on the left. On the left we even draw a small bulge, it is needed to diversify the eye and the pupil in particular.

Then we need to draw the pupil. On the left we make another arc, and it looks like the letter B. We draw a circle and in it another circle, sketch the central one. We also sketch the upper part of the pupil. And in the very central part it leaves a miniature oval not sketched. The direction of the lines with which we sketch parts of the eye is very important; they should be directed towards different sides. For example, in the center of the pupil it is vertical, and just above the lines look diagonally down to the right.

Lightly draw all the lines of the eye and use very thin lines to sketch out the empty part of the pupil.

What You'll Be Creating

Eyes are great topic for the image, they combine a lot different materials and they look like gems, hidden in our body. They are also quite difficult to draw, but that doesn't mean you can't do it! In this tutorial I will show you how to draw a beautiful, realistic eye without the original image.

What you will need

Paper
Pencil HB
Pencil 2B
Pencil 4B
Pencil 5B
Pencil 7B or 8B
Shading
Eraser (preferably soft)
Pencil sharpener

1. Start Drawing the Eye

Step 1

Take a pencil HB, roughly draw a very light oval. The line should be subtle.

Step 2

Draw two curves intersecting the oval that will create the eyelids.

Step 3

The eyelids need to have a certain thickness, so add an edge to them.

Step 4

Draw a round iris, a pupil in the middle, a reflection of the highlight, and also the corners of the eyes.

Step 5

The eyebrow is the frame for the eyes, so don't forget about it! Draw your brow using straight lines to recreate a natural shape.

Step 6

Before we start shading the eye, we need to understand its 3D shape. You can solve this by drawing guide lines. I described this technique in my lesson

2. Draw a Realistic Iris

Step 1

Take the most soft pencil(a 7B or 8B pencil works best) and then fill in the pupil, leaving an area for a reflective highlight. The darkness of the pupil will determine the contrast for the rest of the drawing.

Step 2

Take a pencil 2B, and then draw the suspensory ligaments extending from the center of the iris. Go around the glare area. Angle the pencil slightly so that the lines are soft.

Step 3

Darken the edge of the iris and also draw a “ring” around the pupil.

Step 4

Take a pencil 2B, and then darken the edges even more. Shade the iris by adding more supporting ligaments or fibers, some fibers should be darker than others.

Step 5

Use the same pencil to shade the entire iris. Draw a penumbra around the ring, as well as small shadows between the fibers.

Step 6

Take a pencil 4B, make sure it is well sharpened. Use this pencil to accentuate the shadows you drew earlier.

Step 7

By using growers, carefully align the outline of the iris. It's part of the eyeball, so the iris shouldn't have a completely hard edge.

Step 8

Take a pencil 4B to draw a shadow from the upper eyelid over the iris. Don't forget that the eye is not flat, and therefore the shadows must be curved.

Step 9

Using the same pencil, draw the shadow of the eyelashes. The shadows will be most visible on top of the highlight's reflection area.

Step 10

Take a pencil 5B to adjust the contrast of the eye. Darken the shadows to make the highlights pop.

3. Shade the Eye

Step 1

Take a pencil HB, and then create subtle shading around the eyeball. During the shading process, remember that the eyeball is roughly a sphere, so don't make the shadows flat.

Step 2

Use a blender to soften the shadows. Don't be afraid to bring them even further into the center.

Step 3

Use an eraser to clean up the highlighted areas. The eye is not completely smooth, so it will look even better if you break up the soft shadows with the hard edges of your eraser strokes.

Step 4

Take a pencil HB and then draw the details lacrimal caruncle. This area is wet and shiny, so add small highlights to the outline.

Step 5

Gently shade the tear duct area.

Step 6

Using a pencil 2B, shade the above area even more. Using the same pencil, add a subtle shadow under the lower eyelid. This will separate the eye from the eyelid.

Step 7

Take a pencil HB to shade the edges of the eyelids. Don't forget about the location of the light source!

Step 8

Blend the shaded area using a feather brush.

Step 9

Using the same technique, shade the rest of the skin around the eye. Draw with the pencil tilted to capture it immediately large area, and also avoid hard lines

Step 10

Take a pencil 2B to add shadows where needed.

Step 11

Take a pencil 4B to darken the shadows even more.

Step 12

Finally, take a pencil 5B to further darken the crease of the upper eyelid.

4. Draw Eyebrows and Eyelashes

Step 1

Take a pencil HB to draw the direction of the eyebrow hairs.

Step 2

Take a pencil 2B to draw the hairs one by one. The hairs should not be sharp - their width will depend on the scale of your image. Angle the pencil if necessary to achieve denser strokes.

Step 3

Take a pencil 4B to thicken the front lower part of the brow.

Step 4

Using a pencil 2B, outline the direction and shape of the eyelashes. However, before you start, look in the mirror and try to understand what you see. Eyelashes are curved in nature and their shape depends on the perspective. They drop down slightly, right from the edge of the upper eyelid, and then curve upward.

Step 5

In the same way, add eyelashes to the lower eyelid.

Step 6

The eyelashes tend to stick to each other, creating a tight bunch.

Step 7

Using a pencil 4B, thicken your eyelashes by adding more hairs between them. Eyelashes don't grow in one thin row! Also, adjust the width of the eyelashes according to the scale of the image.

Step 8

Take the softest pencil, make sure it is well sharpened, and then highlight some areas of the eyelashes.

Step 9

The drawing is almost complete. Look at it from a distance and also try to see how the shading can be improved. Use all pencils for this task.

Step 10

Finally, add small parts to make the drawing more realistic: fine veins in the eye area, including small wrinkles around the eye. You can make the skin more uneven by simply applying rows of thin transverse lines.

If you decide to digitize your drawing to publish it online, be sure to prepare it first:

What About the Other Eye?

I’ll tell you a secret: there shouldn’t be “another eye.” When you draw a portrait, draw both eyes at the same time, step by step. This way you will simply draw both eyes without copying them one after the other. The good news is that they don't have to be exactly identical - our faces aren't exactly symmetrical!

And painting, to depict eyes, then, most likely, he will draw two ovals with a circle in the center. This is precisely the simplest sketch of the eyes. But in order to understand how to draw eyes with a pencil correctly, you need to carefully consider each individual part.

What you need to know about eyes?

It is necessary to carefully consider the subject of your interest before asking yourself the question of how to draw eyes with a pencil. For beginners, the structure of the organ of vision and the ratio of light and shadow on the iris will seem unusually complex, but you have to start somewhere.

The darkest part of the eyes is the pupil, which is a black circle in the center of the eye. The iris is located around the pupil; it determines the color of the eyes. If you look closely at the iris, it will seem very complex - a lot of shadows and highlights, some lines, spots and an incredible variety of shades. It is very difficult to convey this complexity in a pencil drawing; without the correct balance of dark and light, the eyes will look flat and lifeless.

It is important to remember about the shape of the eyeball - it is a ball, and that is why the shadow and highlights on it are unevenly located. To prevent the eye from losing realistic volume, you need to learn how to apply strokes correctly. Below is an instruction explaining how to draw eyes with a pencil step by step. To do this you will need paper, pencils of different hardness and thickness, an eraser and a pressed cardboard blender.

Step 1 - sketch

Drawing an eye with a pencil for beginners starts with drawing an outline. We need to depict a minimum of details, but in such a way that the shape of the eye, pupil, iris and main highlights are visible. It is important to avoid deep fat contours, as they are difficult to get rid of later.

Paint over the pupil with a soft pencil, 6-8B. It is better to apply several layers than to press hard on the pencil. We try not to touch the glare, because they should remain almost white.

Then, with a softer pencil, for example, 2-4B, we easily paint over the outer part of the iris. We smooth out the strokes with a cardboard blender so that we get a smooth, light layer of graphite.

Step 2 - adding details

Are you thinking about how to draw eyes with a pencil in the most realistic way? A simple and very short key to success is the word “details”. They are very important in any pencil drawing, because with their help not only texture is conveyed, but also color, depth and shape of objects.

On the shaded part of the iris we draw lines using a thin hard stylus. A mechanical pencil is perfect for this purpose. The more random the lines, the more natural the result. We will use them as a guide when applying shadows and highlights.

Using the same hard pencil, we easily paint over the middle part of the iris, right around the pupil. Don't forget to carefully avoid round highlights. Smooth using a blender finishing touches, simultaneously mixing them with the border of the pupil. This will add depth and realism to the pupil.

Add a little shadow to the middle part of the iris of our eye. We try to make these shadows random and uneven.

Step 3 - smooth out the details

Using a blender, draw straight lines from the pupil to the border of the iris, while avoiding glare. As soon as the lines are evenly spaced, you can roughly see the future application of shadows and highlights.

We draw an outline around the iris with a 4B pencil, trying not to put pressure on the lead, this makes it harder to erase it if necessary.

Using a nag, we determine the first reflections of light around the pupil. To apply them correctly, you need to determine from which side the light is falling, that is, which part of the iris will be darker and which will be lighter. Accordingly, there should be more reflections on the light part.

Step 4 - finishing the iris

When thinking about how to draw eyes with a pencil, we subconsciously divide the whole process into stages and try to predict the most difficult of them. So, working on the iris is the most difficult part. It is almost impossible to provide a sufficient number of highlights, their intensity and contrast with the shadows.

Using a blender, we smooth out the highlights and shadows so that they smoothly transition into each other. If the result seems too light, add a little more shadow. Now we smooth out the boundaries of the pupil so that they blend a little with the middle part of the iris. The border between the middle and outer parts of the iris of our eye should be slightly darkened.

Using a soft pencil, make the outer border of the iris a little darker, from the contour inward. We try to do this unevenly, creating an uneven, trembling circle. The outer side of the circle should not be much darker than the inner one, and it is best to smooth out the borders.

Using a nag, we add unevenly spaced reflections of light along the perimeter of the border between the inner and outer parts of the iris. You can add subtler highlights coming from the pupil itself. The main thing is not to overdo it.

Step 5 - whites of the eyes and eyelid

I'm done with the iris. However, this is not the whole answer to the question of how to draw eyes with a pencil. Of course, you can also play with shadows and highlights to improve the texture and depth of the iris. However, now we are taking on adding volume to the visible part of the eyeball. To do this, apply a layer of graphite with light strokes to the top of the proteins. Using a blender, smooth out the strokes. For the eyeball, it is very important to convey the shape of the circle; for this we add strokes to the corners of the eyes. The part of the proteins that is illuminated by light rays should be significantly lighter than the opposite part. It is necessary to leave an unpainted corner on the inner edge of the eye; it will help convey the texture and volume of the inner eyelid.

Now we unevenly darken the contour of the lower eyelid and deepen the shadow of the upper part of the eye. We draw the upper eyelid, into which part of the iris goes, quite dark and clearly. We also highlight the fold of the upper eyelid with relatively dark strokes.

On the round highlights in the very center of the iris we add the reflection of future eyelashes, draw them with a soft pencil, unevenly and towards the center of the pupil. After this, with a very hard pencil, for example, 4H, we apply a light fixing layer over the entire iris. Using the same pencil, draw uneven capillaries from the corners of the eye to the center. We draw them very subtly, but clearly, giving them the shape of cracks or lightning strikes. Add shadows to the upper and lower eyelids.

Step 6 - eyelashes

Lastly, add the eyelashes. When thinking about how to draw eyes with a pencil, many consider drawing eyelashes the most difficult stage of the process, because they are so small and uneven. In fact, the process only takes a few minutes. The eyelashes should be on top of all layers, so they are drawn last. The shape, length and thickness of the eyelashes are uneven, this is what adds realism to the eyes. The main thing is to show the bend correctly.

Lastly, add thin lower eyelashes. They should not only be thinner, but also lighter, so it is best to use a 2H pencil. Just like the upper ones, the lower eyelashes are not straight, so it is important to correctly convey their curve.

Here is the answer to the question of how to draw eyes with a pencil step by step. At first glance, it seems complicated and time-consuming, but the more often we draw, the easier the process is, and the better the final result. Don't worry if it doesn't turn out as well as you expected the first time. The first pancake is always lumpy. The main thing is not to despair and continue to draw.

One of the most important elements of a pencil portrait is the eyes. It’s not without reason that they say “the eyes are the mirror of the soul.” One expression in the eyes can say a lot about a person: whether he is sad or happy, angry, offended, thoughtful, happy, upset.

On initial stages learning, it is better to use a hard or medium pencil (softness H-F-HB or T-TM in Russian markings).

The human eye has the shape of an ellipse. The inner corner of the eye is located at the level of the center line.

The outer corner of the eye may be slightly raised above the center line.

On the inside, the upper part of the eye is most often slightly concave.

But it should be remembered that depending on the type of face, the structure of the eyes can also change, fluctuating within insignificant limits.

We draw the basis, taking into account the above characteristics of the structure of the eye.

Add eyelashes on the upper part of the eyelid from the outside.

In the lower outer part of the eye we also draw eyelashes, but shorter than the upper ones. Using a thin line we emphasize the thickness of the lower eyelid.

Having chosen the direction of view, we draw the outline of the iris and pupil.

We shade the iris and pupil, and the pupil should be darker. By changing the pressure of the pencil, we can change the tone of the shading, making it thicker and darker or lighter and lighter. The color of the iris depends on the physiological characteristics of the eyes and the brightness of the light.

Apply shadows from the upper eyelid on the iris on both sides of the pupil. A shadow can also fall on the white of the eyeball, but it is lighter and lighter, and is visible directly under the eyelid, and sometimes almost unnoticeable.

Next, draw the thickness of the upper eyelid with a line parallel to the edge of the eyelid. We emphasize the base of the upper eyelashes, making the line of their attachment clearer. We highlight the contours of the inner corner of the eye. We dial tone on the pupil and iris. Making eyelashes thicker. And finally, add a highlight by selecting the pencil with an eraser.

It is best to draw the eyes in pairs, constantly comparing them. But do not forget that there are no people with exactly the same left and right sides of their faces. So the eyes will be different from each other.

This is quite a difficult lesson, so it may take you quite a lot of effort to repeat it. If you didn’t succeed in drawing the eyes the first time, don’t despair and try again. Try your best to complete this lesson. If it still doesn’t work out, you can try to complete the lesson “”. But I believe that you will succeed.

What you will need

Please note that this technology lesson and it can be done either in pencil on paper or in a graphics program.

In order to draw the eyes we may need:

Paper. It's better to take medium grain special paper: It will be much more pleasant for novice artists to draw on this one.
Sharpened pencils. I advise you to take several degrees of hardness, each should be used for different purposes.
Eraser.
Stick for rubbing hatching. You can use plain paper rolled into a cone. It will be easy for her to rub the shading, turning it into a monotonous color.
Graphic editor GIMP. You need to download GIMP for Win or Mac OS and install it.
Download brushes for GIMP, they may come in handy.
Some add-ons may be needed (instructions on how to install them).
You need Photoshop program.
A little patience.
Good mood.

Step by step lesson

Different parts of the human body and organs should be drawn with a certain degree of realism. This is required academic drawing. Also, he strongly recommends drawing eyes from life or, in extreme cases, from a photograph. This is the only way to achieve high realism and elaboration.

By the way, in addition to this lesson, I advise you to pay attention to the lesson “”. It will help improve your skill or just give you a little fun.

All complex drawings must be created through forward thinking and vision. The subject must be more than just a form on a sheet of paper. You must draw it three-dimensionally, that is, creating it from simple geometric bodies as if they were on top of each other: here is a ball on a cube, and here are two balls next to each other. All living and non-living things on earth consist of these primitive forms.

Tip: create a sketch with as thin strokes as possible. The thicker the sketch strokes are, the more difficult it will be to erase them later.

The first step, or rather the zero step, is always to mark a sheet of paper. This will let you know where exactly the drawing will be located. If you place the drawing on half of the sheet, you can use the other half for another drawing. Here is an example of marking a sheet in the center:

A person’s eyes are the mirror of his soul, and the site already has lessons on drawing eyes, but they are more focused on “take and repeat” practice and do not carry any theory, and there is quite a lot of theory, so I decided to translate and put together a couple of foreign lessons.

In addition to theory, there is also practice that will help you get better. You need to draw either with a pencil on paper or using a graphics tablet. Unfortunately, a mouse will not work here.

First of all, you need to refer to the plastanatomy of the eye - the drawing and terminology are above, use it. It is important for an artist to understand a few basic things about the human eye.

Firstly, the eyes are based on. The eye is spherical in shape. When drawing an eye, you need to take this into account, creating the desired volume when constructing.

Secondly, depending on various factors, such as the depth of the eye socket, the presence of fatty tissue in it, hypo- and hyperfunction of the thyroid gland - the eyeball can lie at different depths. That is, the eye can be bulging, “toad-like,” or it can be located deep in the orbital cavity, shaded by the supraorbital edge. In addition, the more loose adipose tissue around the eyes, the less clearly the border of the eye will be read. And on the contrary - at thin man this boundary will be clearly defined.

Third. The eyelid is not a flat fold of skin. Along its ciliary edge it has a cartilaginous base. Accordingly, when drawing an eye, you should not depict the eyelids as having no volume.

Fourthly and lastly. The line of the eyes, its position is absolutely individual for all people. The inner corner of the eye is not always located lower than the outer corner. It may be completely the opposite, or the corners may be at the same level.

So, a start has been made. To all of the above, we can add that the lacrimal glands always keep our eyes moist, shiny, and alive. We must remember to emphasize this when depicting a living person, and omit it when drawing sculptures.

Something like this. Let's continue. As already mentioned, the eye is a ball. Let's build on this and build it on the sheet.

Let's imagine our eye in the form of an orange. The orange peel is the eyelids. If you cut the peel into the shape of an orange slice, you get an analogy to the structure of the eye. The peel is the thickness of the eyelids with their curve, and the fruit itself is the eyeball. There is only one more detail - the cornea. The transparent membrane that contains the iris and pupil. Look at the picture above - a third of the cornea is under the upper eyelid. Therefore, the central part of the edge of the upper eyelid will protrude slightly forward. The lower eyelid barely touches the cornea, or does not touch it at all and remains at the same level.

Meanwhile, this is not all; in the outline of the eye there is also a large number of features. Including the brow ridges, protrusions, eyebrows, glabella, its shape. Each element needs to be paid attention to. It is necessary to carefully monitor the relief of the eye, taking into account future reductions.

Here again we cannot do without enumeration.

It is necessary to determine and mark the line(s) of the brow ridges. Horizontally, it runs downwards, obliquely in the outer edge of the orbital socket, while moving backwards, leaving the border of the transition of planes in the area of the temporal part. You need to remember and pay attention to the protrusions located on the glabella and in the eyebrow area. These protrusions also need to be outlined, because in plastic surgery of the eye shape, in addition to the eye itself, the supraorbital and superciliary arches play a large role.

After marking the brow ridges, you can try to determine the cut lines of the eyes. The bridge of the nose is located above the lacrimal tubercles, at the level of the upper eyelids or slightly above, but not below.

Starting with the line of the eye incision, guide yourself along the bridge of the nose, placing the tear ducts on this line, and placing the corners of the eyes near it, or just above/slightly below the tear tubercles.

Having outlined the shape of the eye, determine the fit of the eyeball and pupil. After determining the size and shape of the eyeball, you can draw the eyelids. The eyelid should fit the shape of the eyeball, while taking into account the thickness of the eyelids themselves and the nature of the bend. Remember - you need to show the thickness of the eyelid in perspective reduction

Fourth.

The nature of the eye shape. Its shape, like the shape of other elements, strongly depends on nationality and individual characteristics person. And yet, the eyes have a common structure for all. See the picture above. When depicting the eye in a linear diagram, it is clear that when viewed from the front, the eye looks like a parallelogram; in profile, the eye has triangular shape, and in the three-quarter position - a rectangular trapezoid.

In a linear form, the wider the eye section, the more distal the corners of the eyes are located relative to each other, thereby widening the eyelids. Picture above.

The teardrop is shaped like a head and plays an important role in plasticity. Its tip is directed not along the eye line, but slightly downward. At the same time, it forms a barely noticeable angle in the upper part, moving to the upper corner of the bend of the eyelids. The lower part of the lacrimal tubercle is directed almost horizontally, forming an even less noticeable angle, then smoothly bending upward towards the outer corner of the eye.

You also cannot help but notice the difference in size. The upper half is noticeably larger than the lower - because the upper eyelid has a greater curve than the lower.

As a practice, I suggest you copy the two drawings above. They represent the eyes of the plaster head of David. A simple, non-living form. Laconic and dry, which is easy to understand and quite simple to depict.

When drawing the eye, make sure that its surface should be inclined relative to the vertical - the upper eyelid and the central part of the cornea protrude forward, while the lower edge of the cornea and the lower eyelid are deeper.

When drawing eyelids, the upper one should be highlighted, the lower one should be lightly outlined.

It is very useful to better understand the structure and shape of the eye to draw with a living model. For example, looking in the mirror, draw your own eyes. Try to build on the shape of the eyeball and cornea, rather than sketching the visible surface.

From words to deeds. Try copying the following pictures. They will help you understand how to draw the human eye correctly.

Your hand needs to feel everything on its own. The eye, turning in space, tends to contract. Accordingly, we can train according to the following scheme: we draw a schematic diagram of the eye. We choose a random point of view and try to draw what we get. That is, a prospective reduction.

That's all. When copying, try to make the eyes emotional and alive. When painting the entire head of a person, his portrait, you will have to convey the mood of the eyes, drawing them taking into account the environment and lighting. Many times the eyes will appear dead and blurry. Well, nothing - experience and more experience. Over time you will be able to draw eyes better.

Side view

Front. Despite the fact that the drawing is very drawn, it is convenient to copy it

A softer option

So you learned how to draw eyes, I hope it was interesting and informative. Now you can pay attention to the lesson “” - it is just as interesting and exciting. Share the lesson on in social networks and show your results to your friends.