Painting eyes 👀 in watercolor. How to paint realistic eyes 🎨 #watercolorpainting, by Vacabalo on YouTube. 1 min 25 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 25 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Draw the eye lightly in pencil: an almond outline, a circle for the iris that touches the top and bottom lid, a smaller pupil, the lid crease and the brow line.
Mark the highlight with a light pencil circle and plan to leave that spot as bare paper. Watercolor white paint will not look as bright.
Wet the iris area with clean water, then drop in your base color, letting it pool. Leave the pupil and highlight untouched and let it dry fully.
Paint a darker ring around the outer edge of the iris while the base is still slightly damp, so the two colors blend softly.
Fill the pupil with your darkest mix and soften its edge slightly. Keep the highlight dry and white the whole time.
Add a few short radial strokes inside the iris in a darker or warmer tone, then a soft shadow under the upper lid across the top of the eyeball.
Wash warm skin tones around the eye: yellow ochre and burnt sienna for the lid, a cooler shadow in the crease and under the lower lash line.
Paint the upper lash line with a thin dark mix, then draw individual lashes with a rigger brush, starting thick at the lid and flicking outward.
Add the lower lashes more sparsely, a light shadow on the white of the eye near the corners, and a soft brow. Let everything dry before you judge it.
Tips and common mistakes
Let each layer dry completely before adding the next, or the colors turn muddy and the iris loses its shape.
Protect the highlight from the first wash onward; once paint touches it, the eye stops looking wet and glossy.
Test your iris colors on scrap paper first, since watercolor dries lighter than it looks when wet.
Use a light touch with the pencil so the sketch lines do not show through thin washes.
Questions
How do I get the white shine in the eye?
Leave that small circle as bare paper from the start and paint around it. You can add a tiny dot of opaque white gouache at the very end if you accidentally cover it.
Which colors should I use for a brown or blue eye?
For blue, start with ultramarine and a little burnt sienna at the rim. For brown, layer burnt sienna and yellow ochre, then darken the outer edge with a brown-blue mix.
Why does my painted eye look flat?
It usually lacks a dark pupil, a crisp highlight and a shadow under the upper lid. Strong contrast between those three areas gives the eyeball its round look.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
