Decorative Painting: 51 Tips for Painting Eyes (Part 3)

Here is how you do put in the lines:


39. Put a speck of black in the center of the point where you are going to put the pupil. Use this speck as a center reference. Make a light and dark wash using the dark color of your iris color. Exp. if you used lt. blue for your iris, make these lines with a navy or similar dark blue.

From your dot of black draw straight lines of varying lengths out toward the outside edge of your iris. Keep your lines thin. Turn your piece as you are doing this. Vary the light/darkness of color you are using. Every now and then bring your line to touch the outside edge of the iris. (Think of the spokes of a old covered wagon but with more spokes :o) Make sure these lines extend past the point of however large you are going to make your pupil or you'll just cover them up with the pupil.

Let dry

Now go to the outside edge and do the same thing going toward the center but don't make these lines as long. To make it easier do a bumpy outline and pull your lines inward toward the center point from this bumpy outline. Just do a small section at a time, you don't want to give your paint time to dry. You do not pull the lines as far as you did the first time. Just squiggle your bumpy line and pull in with a little ragged motion. It's OK if you cover up some of the previous lines. Make sure your lines are straight. If you make a
wobbly line, clean it up immediately.

The outside edge of the iris is just a tad darker, to outline the outside edge add just a tad of black to your iris color, make a med. wash, then outline. This will also clean up the edge from the above process. If you are not happy with this line and it's a bit raggedy, you can pull some little lines from this darker color just as you did previously.

This process is a little more time consuming than some directions I've read for doing eyes, but believe me, you can come out with a really beautiful eye.

Shadows:

40. Shadows can go 1/4, 1/3 or 1/2 across the width of the eye. You make them narrow on the points increasing the width as you go across the eye. Sort of like a modified "S" stroke.

41. You can make shadows out of a generic thinned down black but a prettier shadow is made using the iris color first then going back over that with a VERY thin float of black.

42. You do not have to float the shadow. You can just paint a thin wash across the eye. You can leave the edge of your shadow sharp or feather it to make it soft.

Eyelashes:

43. Lashes on men/boys are shorter/stubbier than the lashes for girls/women. In reality men can have beautiful long lashes but this method gives a masculine look.

44. A good place to check out styles of lashes is your local store that sells false eyelashes. lol It will give you a idea on shapes, lengths, thickness etc.

45. This is a little hard to explain but follow the curve of the upper lid as the angle for the curve in your lashes. It might help to hold a piece of paper at a pleasing angle and lightly pencil in the spot and angle of your lashes, leave a small space in-between your marks, you can fill those spots in later. Vary the lengths.

46. The longest lashes are on the outside corner of the lid. Curve the lashes out but straighten them somewhat as you bring them toward the center. The lashes immediately over the iris are slightly curved but almost pointing straight up. (I sure hope that makes sense.)

47. You do not want the bottom lashes to overpower the upper lashes. Use a slightly lighter and thinner color. Make shorter and sparser lashes, curve each side gently toward the center.

48. Use your skin tone color to clean up and thin out your lashes if necessary. This is the reason you put in your eyes before shading the skin.

49. Add a light float of iris color right over your eyelashes. This will act as eye shadow plus help set off the eyes.

50. You can also add a very, very light thin float of the iris color over the bottom lashes.

51. To represent the thickness of the bottom lid, you can put in a thin line of a pinkish red color then outline it with a darker tone of the skin color. Gently shadow beneath this.