How to Paint Eyes Using Shadows and Light that Bring Your Painting to Life

How to Paint Eyes Using Shadows and Light that Bring Your Painting to Life

As you learn how to paint eyes you should know that you will encounter shadows and light in all portrait paintings. Getting the correct shadow areas and light or highlighted areas will bring your portraits to life.

Shadows in the Eye

An example of shadow in the eye would be something like this; even though you know that an iris is blue, shadows may prevent the blues from showing up. The iris appears partly blue and partly black. Parts of the iris may be as dark as the pupil. Even though your brain tells you that the iris is blue, you need to ignore your brain and follow your eyes. If the iris is as dark as the pupil, paint it that way. Keeping the dark areas dark will make the iris look more lifelike and will enhance the shadow appearance.

Shadows that appear on the eyeball are just as important as on the colored part of the eye. The inner and outer portions of the "white" of the eye are often darker than the inner portion. Sometimes because they are recessed, they are in shadow. Create shadows on the eyeball by using a grayed version of the white eyeball color.

Light or highlighted areas of the eyes.

One of the most important areas of the eyes for light is the catch-light or highlight on the pupil. I usually add a touch of bright white on the area where the pupil meets the iris. This gives the indication of reflection or moisture. Sometimes it's very effective to add some bright areas of color to the iris of the eye as well. As you are creating the color variations of the iris, don't be afraid to put in a few very bright spots. As always, really study your model and see where the brightest areas are.

This article was originally published on Ezinearticles as How to Paint Eyes - Using Shadows and Light to Bring Your Painting to Life

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