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Eyes: part 2

Cartoon and comic eyes are based around "real" eyes. However, comic eyes are based on geometric shapes and vary a great deal. Whatever style you decide to draw it, you can always break down the shape of the eye (and most anatomy) into basic shapes. That's why it's so important that you really practice the basics. Because as long as you can draw basic shapes you can draw the structure of the eye. the rest will come with practice.
To the right I have a series of eyes that I loosly based around some basic shapes. You can see how to more "complex" eyes were formed on the basis of these shapes.

Manga and Comic eyes vary a tremandous deal in style. Some are incredibly simple and sleak like the eye on the far left, while others are dramatic and beautiful like the example in the middle and any of the many combinations of the two such as the one on the far right.

Shine is very important to the eye. why? because it makes the eye look alive. Real eyes, as you know, are wet so they shine often. so when an eye is draw without any type of "gloss" they tend to look dead. Not all shine has to be as dramatic as we typically see in manga and anime, it can be much more subtle. Shine is also far from being random. It's dependant apon a light source. In the first example the shine seems random because we haven't established a light source. However, when we look at the second example we have an established light source. As you can see the shine is a reflection of that source. When the eyes are looking away from the light source (such as the last example) the light source stays in place. Eye is what's moving, not the source of light. So the shine stays relavant to the light at all times.

Blinking and Closing of the eyes are important to how the eye lid appears. When an eye is open and relaxed (normal position) a slight bit of the lid can be seen. How much an eye lid is pronounced depends a lot of nationality. Generally, people of European decent have looser skin around the eye, making the eye lid more apparent. People of asian decent have tighter skin around the eyes making the lid barely pronounced. Of course those are both very general statements so not everyone fits perfectly into them.
When the eye is partially closed (like when it's looking down, squinting, or halfway into a blink) the pupil and iris doen't stay centered, they actually look slightly down (center). When they stay centered it gives the eye a very dazed look (center/top). Again how much the eye is pronounced depends a lot on nationality as well as personal style. So you can draw it with the lid pronounced or just indicated.

One feature of the eye that we can't underestimate is the eyebrow. The eyebrow reienforces the emotion behind the eyes. You can make expression more dramatic and more fluid by drawing it as a single line. You can't always use the single line approach for eyebrows, but for dramatic expression it sure comes in handy.

I Bet by this point you're wondering when I'm going to take you step by step on how to draw eyes.... Yay! We're finally at that point! Once you understand how the works it'll become easier for you to draw it. This is a quick and easy way to layout and refine the eyes.

Start by quickly sketching the generally shape of the eye.

Next we sketch in where the iris is going to be, keep in mind where the eye is going to be looking. I'll show you how to make the eyes even when we get more indepth into the face.

Now sketch in where the pupil and shine are going to be. Don't forget about light sources. This is a good point to be thinking about the eyelid as well.

Next we'll blacken the iris and begin to form the upper and lower parts of the eye. By now the lid should be in place.

and now the final stage, this is when you would add in finishing touches.

Notice that I didn't draw in any details until AFTER I had the gesture of the eye layed out. Always make sure you gesture before you detail.

Now on to the Next Lesson!