The Complete Guide on How to Draw Anime Eyes
What’s the one thing that stands out the most in anime characters?
The eyes…right?
They are quite expressive, and they draw people in.
Today you’re going to learn how to draw anime eyes step by step. We’ll go over the process you need to follow when drawing anime eyes for both male and female characters.
How to Draw Anime Girl Eyes
Although all anime characters have big eyes, female characters tend to have wider eyes. Their lashes are thicker and longer as well.
- First, you’ll need to sketch the outer shape of the eye. To draw the upper eyelid, sketch a line that curves downward. The length of the line will influence how wide the eyes will be. Make sure the line is thick in the middle.
- For the lower eyelid, draw a horizontal line (under the upper eyelid) that has a curve at the end. The line should be at the center of the upper eyelid and about half its length.
We need a wide gap between the two eyelids to give the female character bigger eyes. This gap should be about two-thirds the length of the upper eyelid.
- Draw the iris. To do this, you’ll need to draw an oval shape from the center of the upper eyelid to the bottom eyelid.
- Next, sketch the pupil inside the iris. This step is quite simple since you’ll draw a smaller shape of the iris.
- Light reflects off the eye. That’s why we’re going to sketch the primary and secondary reflection in this step by using two small circles. The circles should be on opposite sides of the iris.
Draw a big circle at the top of the iris to indicate the main reflection area. The second circle indicates where light bounces off the eye, so it is smaller and located at the bottom. Keep in mind that the location of the circles depends on the source of the light in your drawing.
- We’re now going to add some eyelashes to the eyes. These eyelashes should be at the inner and outer corners of the eye.
Draw three thick upward curving tails on both ends of the upper eyelid. And some tiny lashes for the bottom.
- Shade or color the eye, and you’re done.
Use Painter as Your Anime Drawing Software
How to Draw Anime Boy Eyes
Male anime eyes are narrow and have an angular shape.
- Draw a thick horizontal line with a slight curve in the middle for the upper eyelid. Make sure the line is also curved on both ends.
- Do the same for the lower eyelid using a shorter line. Leave a gap that’s about half the length of the upper lid.
- For the male iris, we’re going to use a semi-circle from the center of the top eyelid to the bottom.
- Afterward, sketch the pupil by drawing a small circle in the center of the iris.
- Remember to account for the reflection of light as we did earlier, by drawing two circles at the top and bottom of the iris. The top circle should be slightly bigger.
- Shade the pupil and color the eye. Now you’ve finished drawing the male character’s eyes.
Once you get the hang of the basics, you’ll soon be able to experiment with different expressions and bring out all kinds of emotions in your anime characters.
