22 Eye Drawing Tutorials and References

Learn how to draw eyes with these eye drawing tutorials and references.

I've rounded up 18 eye drawing sketch ideas for you to use for inspiration.

*I've included a FREE Artist Study printable at the bottom of this post!

You may be wondering why you should even sketch in the first place.

Have you ever heard someone say that when you're writing a first draft, you shouldn't worry about spelling and grammar errors?

That the first draft is just for getting your thoughts out?

The same concept applies to sketching.

Sketching your ideas is the first step in the design process, and is something that every artist should do.

When you sketch, it doesn't have to be perfect. The purpose of your sketches is to get your ideas out quickly.

Don't worry about erasing, or trying to make sure that everything is just right.

Your main focus should be getting your ideas out uninterrupted.

Eye Drawing Tutorials and Ideas

Check out these eye drawing tutorials and references sure to inspire you and help you with your art.

Choosing Your Pencils

Before you begin your drawing, it's important that you choose the right pencil.

If you're new to sketching and aren't sure what pencil grade to start with, I recommend starting your sketch with a pencil on the H scale.

You can finish off your drawing with a darker pencil grade, such as a pencil on the B scale.

Eyes Step-by-Step

I love this tutorial because it shows you how to you easily draw eye step-by-step.

This is a great reference to use if you're learning how to draw eyes.

Credit: anta_drawing

Don't Blend with Your Fingers

Once it's time to blend, try not to blend with your fingers.

When you blend with your fingers, the oils from your skin will transfer to the paper and may affect the look of your drawing.

I recommend blending stumps for blending your work.

Credit: lofberg.art

Sketching Eyes

Here's another great tutorial that shows you how to draw eyes in steps.

This sketch may seem a bit advanced for beginners, but if you're willing to take the time, you can totally draw these eyes.

Credit: eizeru_artz

Eyes Are Not Perfectly Symmetrical

On a typical adult face, you'll notice that the eyes are in the middle of the face.

Additionally, you'll see that the pupils are sitting on a vertical middle line.

From the front view, our eyes are one eye apart.

Keeping these things in mind, you'll see why eyes can be used to measure face proportions.

When drawing eyes, don't worry about making them perfectly symmetrical. As humans, our faces are not perfectly balanced.

Credit: marvene_studio

Practice Sketching Daily

If you want to get better at sketching, the best thing you can do is practice daily.

I recommend setting aside an hour every day to sketch. Don't worry about your work being perfect. It will get better naturally the more you practice.

Credit: asty_cozy

Use a Blending Stump

It can be difficult to get a good blend with pencils. However, you can create a smooth bleeding effect by using a blending stump.

Blending stumps are great for smudging graphite and charcoal.

Step-by-Step with Instructions

What I like about this tutorial is that it's not only pictures, but written instructions telling you how to draw the eye. This is so helpful.

Credit: danilowl

Play Around With the Placement

Our eyes have a wide variety of shapes. Remember, the eyes should not be perfectly symmetrical.

Play around with the shape and placement of the eye and pupils, or the eyelashes and eyebrows.

If you're drawing someone older, keep in mind that our eyes get droopier as we age, and we have more wrinkles.

Credit: weheartit

Credit: weheartit

Try Not to Smudge

If you can, avoid smudging your drawing. You can place a piece of paper underneath your hand to minimize how much your hand smudges your drawing.

This will help ensure you have a clean looking drawing once it's complete.

Remember, you can use smudging to your advantage to smooth out your shading.

Anime Eye Drawing

If you're drawing anime style eyes, you should find this quick visual tutorial really helpful. I love how simple it is to draw these eyes.

Credit: weheartit

Think About What You Need

Simple eyes will work great for animations. Close-ups on eyes may require you to add more detail.

It's good to think about these things as you go into drawing the eyes.

I advise you not to spend too much time on this so that you can give other parts of the body attention as well.

However, if you're drawing an emotional picture, it's understandable to give special attention to the eyes.

Credit: weheartit

Eye Movement

What I love about this sketch is how it shows you how to draw eyes that are looking in different directions.

This is a great visual tutorial that's easy to understand.

Credit: weheartit

Practice Blind Contour Drawing

Blind contour drawing is the practice of drawing the contour of a subject without looking down at the paper.

Blind contour drawing is helpful because it trains the eyes and hand to work as a team.

It always helps the artist see all the details of the subject.

Credit: weheartit

Coloring the Eyes

When coloring the eyes, you'll want to consider the lighting and the overall style you're going for.

If you make the white part of the eye darker, it'll make the highlights stand out.

Play around with different color accents and drawing softer or harder edges for the iris of the eye.

Credit: weheartit

Credit: weheartit

Eye, Nose, Lip Tutorial

If you need practice drawing more than just the eyes, you'll love this simple tutorial for drawing the eyes, nose, and lips.

I love how the elements come together to form the face at the bottom.

Credit: weheartit

Add Color

Adding color to your drawing can be a great way to make your drawing stand out.

You can use colored pencils, pastels, or even watercolor paint to add some color to your drawing.

Credit: Bunnyify

Draw Your Own Eyes

A great way to practice drawing realistic eyes is to draw your own eyes.

Take a picture of your eye up close and draw what you see.

Pay attention to your eye's shape, the placement of your pupil, the shape of your eyelashes, etc.

Credit: weheartit

45 Minute Tutorial

Artists have told me that this took a lot longer than 45 minutes.

Even so, they still really enjoyed following the reference.

So while this may take you longer than 45 minutes, I still think you'll enjoy drawing this eye.

Credit: niftyartistry

Use the Grid Method

The grid method involves drawing a grid over your reference photo and then lightlhy drawing the grid on your drawing paper to scale.

The grid method will help with the placement of your drawing. It will give you a reference point between the photo and your canvas.

Credit: kakoiisya

Be Light With Your Pencil

Even though the pupil is the eye's dark area, don't press down too hard on this part of the eye.

If you need to do any erasing, it'll be a bit more difficult if you've been heavy-handed in this area.

Be light with your pencil in this area, and use a blending stick when needed.

Credit: thedrawingsource

Credit: weheartit

Cartoon Eyes

This tutorial shows you how to draw cartoon style eyes in four easy steps.

I've followed this tutorial and had so much fun drawing these eyes. I think you'll enjoy drawing these eyes too.

Credit: weheartit

Credit: leemarej

Eye Expressions

I love the different expressions being made with these eye drawings.

Not only that, but this is great to use if you're practicing drawing eyebrows too.

Credit: unknown

I hope you were able to find some inspiration with the tutorials and references in this post.

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Bonus Free Printable

Study your favorite artists with this free Artist Study printable. Click the image to download.

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