ArtistsNetwork.com 31
Blue-RibbonBlueprint
Everyeyeyoupaintordrawcanstartthesameway:
1.Drawa trapezoidwheretheeyesocketwillgo.
2.Insidethetrapezoid,drawa circlefortheeyesocket.
3.Inthecenterofthecircle,drawtwoconcentriccircles—
likethebull’s-eyeofa target.
FindtheLight
Drawa smallarrowneartheeyethatshowsthedirectionof
thelight.Thiscuewillremindyoutoincorporatetheshadow
shapesandhighlights,createdbyyourlightsource,onthe
surfaceandadjacentareasoftheeye.
Puta LidonIt
●Putonetriangleabovetheeyeandanotherbelowit.Voilà!
Youhavetheupperandlowereyelids.
●Paintordrawtheshadowedsideoftheeyelidfirst(top
andbottom)andthenthelightside,sothattheupperand
lowerlidsmatch.
●Istherea highlightontheinnerrimoftheeyelidorthe
innertearduct?Youcanuseyourlidcolorforthese.
●Addthesmallestdabofwhitetogivetheillusionof
moistureonthelowerlidwhereit meetstheiris.
EyebrowsandLashes
Color:Forbotheyebrowsandeyelashes,useonetotwo
shadesdarkerthanthemid-toneforblond,lightbrown-,and
red-headedmodels.Useonetotwoshadeslighterfordark
brown-andblack-hairedmodels.
Stroke:Usea quick,surestrokefor
paintingtheeyebrow.Addlashes
with quick, tapering strokes.
They grow irregularly, so fight
the urge to depict them in an
orderly row.
Motion: Stroke up and out to
give the eyebrow a believable
shape and form.
SlimtheShadows
Reducingthelengthanddarknessoftheshadowsinthe
socketmakestheeyelooklivelierandlesstired.Yourmodel
willthankyou!
Curves,CreasesandHollows
●Theeyeneverstandsalone,andthecheekboneandbrow
ridgelendthemselvestoitsshape.Tocapturea likeness,
notehowtheseformscurveandslant.
●Thecreasedemarkingwheretheupperlidfoldsis
distinctive.Doesyourmodelhavea sharpcreaseora
moreshadowedexpansecreatedbya browbonesitting
higherontheface?
●Forprofileviews,notehowfarbacktheeyesitsfromthe
bridgeofthenose.
Oh,SoSoftly
Strong,unbrokenlinesarealmostnevernecessaryto
depictfacialfeatures.Useshadingandhatchingwitha light
touch.Featherpaintedtransitionsand
edgestosoftentheoverall
appearanceoftheeye.
EyeballExam
●Lookcloselyattheiris
andyou’llseepatterns
emerge,oftendependingon
theeye’scolor.Sometimesthese
looklikemosaictilesofvaryingcolor;
sometimestheyresemblea starburst.
●Whentheeyelooksstraightatyou,theirisandpupilare
perfectcircles.Theybecomenarrowellipseswhentheeye
isturnedtotheside,upordown.
●Thepupilisperfectlycenteredintheiris—always!
●Theeyeballisrarelypurewhite.Tintit witha bitofpale
blueoryellow.Youcanlightenit upwitha bitofskintone
coloraswell.
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An Eye for Art
Trythesetipsfordepictinganexpressivepairoffacialfeatures.
—COURTNEYJORDAN
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ALOHA_17/GETTY IMA
GES; GEOR
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GES;
OLENA KAIDASH/GETTY IMAGES
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