How to Draw Eyes Step by Step

by easydrawingtips

This tutorial shows how to draw a realistic pair of eyes in twelve steps and provides detailed pencil line drawing and shading examples.

The tutorial goes from basic construction lines to a finished pencil shaded drawing. The examples are of female eyes, but you can use all of the same steps and principles for drawing male eyes as well.

As the examples are done in pencil, it’s recommended that you do the tutorial in pencil as well. It may also be helpful (while not required) to have a kneaded eraser. Be sure to keep your lines very light for the initial line-drawing. The examples are done with a darker stroke just so that they are easier for you to see.

Supplies Needed for Drawing this Pair of Eyes

Regular Pencils: An HB pencil for the initial line drawing and 2B to 8B (softer) pencils for the shading.
White Paper: Almost any drawing or standard printer paper is fine.
Eraser: A kneaded eraser is highly recommended for easy, precision adjustment to the shading.

Step 1 – Draw an Outline of the Eyes

Begin this step by making a few simple lines to act as guides. First, draw a vertical line through the middle of your drawing area to help you ensure that the eyes are properly centered. Next, draw a pair of lines to set the angle of each eye. In this case, the eyes are angled slightly downwards towards their inner ends.

For examples of other eye types, see:

How to Draw Different Eye Types Step by Step

Based on the lines from the previous step, draw the eyes as shown above. However, before doing so, take a look at the explanation of their spacing below.

Space out the eyes so that there is the width of another eye in between them (including the tear duct area). However, don’t draw the tear ducts at this stage; simply estimate their width.

When you are done with this step, erase the angled lines from Step 1.

Step 2 – Draw the Eyebrows

Begin by drawing a pair of lines for each eyebrow to indicate the widths and angles of their largest sections.

For drawing different types of eyebrows, see:

How to Draw Eyebrows Step by Step

Onto the previous sets of lines, add the inner and outer sides of the eyebrows. Usually, the outer parts of eyebrows will bend in the opposite direction of their main sections. Eyebrows also tend to have rounded inner ends and pointed outer ends. Take this into account when drawing.

You can erase the center line once done with this step.

Step 3 – Draw the Irises

Inside the outlines of the eyes, draw circular irises. In this case, they are just slightly covered by the upper and lower eyelids.

Step 4 – Draw the Nose Bridge & Tear Duct Areas

Draw a pair of lightly curved, inward-angled lines running down from the eyebrows to indicate the bridge of the nose. Next, add the tear duct areas to each eye’s inner corner to each eye’s inner corner (as was mentioned earlier).

Step 5 – Draw the Eyelids

Around the outline of each eye, add the eyelids. These consist of three main parts: the upper eyelids, the lower eyelids, and the edges of the lower eyelids (that define the eyelid margins). You can define these with a curved line (as shown in the example).

Step 6 – Draw the Pupils & Finish the Line Drawing

Finish the line drawing by first adding a pupil inside each eye. Next, inside each pupil, indicate a small highlight area (light reflecting from the smooth surface of the eyes).

Please note that the location of the highlights and their shapes can change based on the light source and position of the viewer in relation to the eyes.

Step 7 – Add Basic Shading to the Pupils & Eyebrows

In this example, the eyes have fairly generic shading with most of the light coming from above. You can expect these types of lighting conditions in a well-lit room or outside during the daytime.

First, shade the pupils with a solid, dark gray. Next, shade the eyebrows with a much lighter tone.

Keep this shading lighter than what you want to have in the finished drawing, as more layers will be added on top in later steps.

Step 8 – Shade the Irises

Shade the irises by making strokes that radiate out from the pupils (as shown in the example). Next, add a dark-to-light gradient running down from their upper ends.

Again, keep this shading lighter than what you wish to have in the finalized drawing. The goal is to first establish the placement of the main light and dark areas. You can then add in darker and smoother shading in new layers.

Step 9 – Add the Eyebrow Hairs

Begin adding the effect of individual eyebrow hairs by making multiple short strokes along each eyebrow. Make these in the direction of the hair growth. Also note that this step is just their initial layer and more will be added on top.

Step 10 – Shade the Eyelids

Shade the eyelids and the areas surrounding the eyes. Do this with a series of crosshatch strokes where you first add one layer and then a second layer that intersects with the first set.

For more on different stroke type, see:

Shading Techniques and Stroke Types Drawing Tutorial

Once again, keep this layer of shading lighter than what you want to have in the final drawing.

Distribute the shading as follows:

Above the Eyelids: Make the shading above the upper eyelids lighter as it moves toward the eyebrows.
Upper Eyelids: Make the shading on the upper eyelids lighter towards their middles.
Eyelid Margins: Add short gradients running from the outer corners of the eyes along the eyelid margins (the areas above the edges of the lower eyelids).
Lower Eyelids: Add gradients running from the outer corners of the lower eyelids that dissipate close to their middles.

When you are finished with the above, also add dark strips running along the bottoms of the upper eyelids (where the eyelashes will be). These should be darker near the middle and lighter as they go out to the sides, curving upward past the outer corners of the eyes.

Step 11 – Shade the Whites of the Eyes & Refine the Drawing

Shade the whites of the eyes darker around the edges, gradually making the shading lighter towards the irises.

Once done, you can then refine the shading of the entire drawing by adding more layers of strokes to bring it closer to the desired intensity.

If any of the outlines are overly visible, lighten them with the eraser. A kneaded eraser can be very helpful for doing so as you can constantly mold it to have a precise, pointy tip. If you don’t have one, simply use the corners of a regular eraser.

Step 12 – Finish the Eyes Drawing

Refine the drawing and add some of the smaller details as follows:

Eyelids: Smooth out the shading of the eyelids and the areas around eyes until you bring it to the level that you want to have in the finished drawing.
Eyebrows: Add more strokes into the eyebrows. Make some of these thicker or darker and others thinner or lighter. This will help create natural-looking hairs.
Irises: Smooth out the shading around the outer edges of the irises and add some dark patches into them to create the iris freckles.
Eyelashes: Finish the drawing by adding the eyelashes. Make them thicker on the upper eyelids and more sparse on the lower eyelids. Draw each eyelash by pressing fairly hard on the pencil and then quickly pulling it away from the paper as you go. This should make them thicker toward the base and lighter/narrower toward the tips.

Conclusion

This tutorial shows how to draw and pencil-shade a female pair of eyes. It first illustrates how to proportion and create the line drawing and then demonstrates how to gradually build up the shading in several layers.

A well-structured line drawing is very important, as it’s the foundation for your shading. Applying the shading in several layers is very important as well. This gives you time to gradually bring up the dark areas and avoid mistakes, such as no longer having enough value to create a proper light/dark contrast.

Finally, keep in mind that creating a realistic drawing of a pair of eyes can be a challenge even for experienced artists. Do not get discouraged if things don’t come out right even if you follow all of the recommendations. Getting things to look right can take time and practice.

For more similar tutorials, see: