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Anatomy of the Eye.. and How to Draw It

Mar 9, 2011 Drawing

What is more alluring than the eyes? For many portrait artists, it’s the eye that is the main attraction, the feature that drives us to draw portraits at all. There is the intricacy of the structure to master, and then there’s the challenge of capturing something as elusive as emotion.

I’ve talked about drawing eyes before. I’ve covered tips for drawing eyes, as well as done a full tutorial on drawing and shading the eye.

Today, I am going to take a more general approach on how to draw the eye from a knowledge of basic anatomy. An awareness of the structure of the human eye will help you in achieving a realistic likeness in your portraits no matter what your reference image is like.

1. The Tear Duct

Often over-looked, this tiny little apparatus is essential! While the outside corner of the eye is pointed, the inside corner forms a little round nub. Next to the tear duct, before the white of the eye, there can often be seen several tiny folds of skin. Of course, if your portrait is quite small, you won’t need to worry about these details.

2. The Iris

This is the exciting part of the eye. The coloured area, it is actually a muscle that relaxes and contracts in order to allow certain amounts of light to pass through your pupil. When drawing the iris, you need to take into consideration the colour of the eye. Blue eyes will be shaded lighter, brown eyes shaded darker. Don’t forget to add some detail in the form of striated, radiating patterns. Also, the outer edge of the iris is often darker than the rest.

3. The Eyelid Crease

Often, all we see of the eyelid when the eyes are open is the crease above the eye. Sometimes, we see the entire crease and sometimes the fold overlaps the outer edge of the eye. These details are a huge part of creating emotion and individuality in your eyes. Although we see the crease as a line, don’t forget to add some shading to create a short, but smooth transition to the lighter areas of the lid.

4. The Eyebrow

This is another key element for showing expression. In general, men tend to have thicker, straighter brows that are lower (closer to the eyes). Women’s brows are thinner, more arched and placed higher on the face. Check out my eyebrow tutorial for more details on how to achieve the right texture.

5. The Whites of the Eyes

Scientifically known as the sclera (my day job keeps me refreshed on grade eight biology terms) the whites of the eyes are not actually white! Like any three-dimensional object, the whites of the eyes vary in value. Under the eye-lid, the eyeball is a sphere and should be shaded accordingly. The whites are often darker in the corners of the eye, lightening towards the middle. They are also darker right under the upper eyelid, as the eyelashes cast a shadow.

6.  The Lashline

The lashline, or the edge of the eyelids, define the shape of the eye. In general, the eye is widest where the iris is. When drawing the lash line, your technique depends on the size of your drawing. For very small portraits, a slight darkening of the upper lash line is sufficient. For larger portraits, you will want to draw the individual eye lashes. To do this, use short, quick, curved pencil strokes. Start at the eyelid and pull away, creating a tapered line that mimics lashes.

7. The Highlight

This is the point of the eyeball where the light is hitting it directly. Because the eye is wet and shiny, the highlight is often quite hard-edged. The shape depends on the type of light source. For example, light from a window will create a square highlight. This part of the eye should be significantly lighter than the rest of the eye, pure white if possible. The highlight gives your eyes sparkle and makes your portrait come to life. Even if your reference doesn’t have one, add it in!

8. The Pupil

One of few objects in nature that is perfectly round and symmetrical, the pupil is the actual hole in your eye that allows light to enter. If you want the eyes to be the focus of your portrait, make the pupils the darkest value. Also check out this post by portrait artist Gwen Seemel where she explains that larger pupils are more attractive.

Tags: better drawings, draw eyes, drawing tips

Drawing the Human Figure – An Introduction

Sep 22, 2010 Drawing

The human figure is perhaps one of the oldest and most classical art subjects, dating from prehistoric times.

Why are we, as humans, so interested in representing ourselves in art? Maybe it’s a narcissistic interest in looking at ourselves, maybe it’s the challenge of rendering the beauty of our form and maybe it’s a fascination with the intricacies of our bodies. Either way, the human figure as art subject is a lasting and persistent subject, bound to be around for many more years.

Figure drawing can be applied to many areas of art from portraits to cartoons and can be done in any media and style imaginable. The most widely known figure drawings are probably those by da Vinci, delicately rendered and exquisite in detail.

When you’re first learning, it’s a good idea to draw very simple poses. This lets you get comfortable with basic proportions. No matter what size a person is, their body usually follows basic proportion rules. As you get comfortable with the figure, you can try more complex poses that incorporate foreshortening.

When drawing the human figure, it’s really important (especially at the beginning) to use a reference. The figure is an extremely complex, intricate shape and a close observation to details is necessary. You can use photos or one of those wooden dolls (though I wouldn’t recommend it), but the best reference is a real person. The dolls are kind of cool looking, but are so unlike a human body that they are, in my opinion, pretty much useless.

You can take many approaches to figure drawing. One way is to look at the overall shape of the body. Drawing a basic outline of the entire body gives you a frame of reference in which to work. Another way is to focus on the light and dark shapes. Whatever approach you take, it’s always helpful to have a firm understanding of anatomy. Knowledge of the bones and muscles can help you draw figures more accurately especially as you draw more complicated poses.

Figure drawing, life drawing in particular, is a staple of the visual arts. Even if figures are not your subject of choice, drawing the figure is a worthwhile practice. It’s an exercise in observation and a great way to challenge yourself.

On the Web

Figure drawing resources on the internet.

More info on the history of figure drawing.

Tags: better drawings, figure drawing

Learn to Draw Hands the Easy Way

Sep 5, 2010 Drawing

How many times have you seen a beautiful figure drawings and the arms end in stumps?

Drawing hands is tricky, but ignoring them won’t make them go away!

The problem most people have with drawing hands is that they try to draw what they think a hand looks like instead of drawing what they see.

It’s all in the fingers: we think of fingers as being cylindrical. This is not the case! When we draw fingers that are cylinders, we end up with pudgy, sausage-like appendages.

Fingers are not round!

When you draw hands, you need to think of planes: flat areas that meet at angles. The backs of your hands are planes, and your fingers are made up of planes that meet to form cubes. Yes, cubes!

So how can we learn to draw hands the easy way? By using your own as an example.

Take a washable marker and outline the planes on each finger. Also outline the circle shapes made by the joints where the fingers meet the hand, and the fleshy pads on the palm. Now you have a reference that reflects the basic shapes a hand is made up of.

Using yourself as a reference, draw the hand in several different poses. You can even try holding different objects. First, focus on the outline of the cube shapes. Once you’re comfortable with drawing these shapes, start to shade them. Remember to shade each finger as a cube, not as a cylinder.

From here, you can begin to develop your drawing into a more detailed, realistic rendition of a hand.

The most important thing to remember when drawing hands is to look for the planes. Hands are not round, they are actually quite angular.

After using practicing this technique with your own hands, you will be able to identify the planes and shapes in other hands that you want to draw. If you ever come across a particularly tricky pose, you can always recreate it using your own hand with the lines drawn on it.

Happy drawing!

Tags: better drawings, draw hands

In the Background – What to Put Behind Portrait Drawings

May 26, 2010 Drawing

Once you get a handle on how to draw portraits, it’s time to start thinking about the backgrounds of your drawings.

When you’re just starting to learn how to draw, backgrounds can be overwhelming and just plain annoying. As you start to develop your techniques, you begin to see the importance of considering what is behind your portrait.

Using seven examples of my own portraits, here are some options for portrait backgrounds.

1. White

This is the most obvious and the most easiest, but it isn’t always the most effective. The problem with a white background is that the white of the paper remains on the same “plane” as the white highlights on your figure. This means that the background and the foreground merge, and your subject doesn’t pop forward.

2. Shaded

With this portrait, I opted to shade the entire background in a mid-tone gray. By doing this, I pushed the background back, letting the subject come forward. The dog’s face pops on the darker background and it looks more three-dimensional.

3. Gradient

This is another way to dress-up the shaded background. You can manipulate the background in a way that suggests a light source, that emphasizes your subject, and creates direction and focus. Here, the highlight is behind the subject’s head, drawing the focus there.

4. Simple

In this portrait, I’ve taken the natural background and simplified it. Behind the subject was the beach, ocean and horizon. I’ve simplified it so that it’s easier and quicker to draw, but is still recognizable to the client who knows what it is. It adds a little extra interest to the portrait without taking away from the subject.

5. Blurry

This type of background is similar to the previous one, but it creates more of an atmospheric setting. Here the background refers to nature, trees, and foliage. To create this effect, shade the whole background and then pick up random highlights with a kneaded eraser. Then go back in with your pencil and darken some areas. The key is to make the patterns of light and dark unpredictable.

6. Realistic

Using a realistic background is a good way to communicate something about your subject or their personality. In this portrait, my client asked me to draw a wheat field in the background to relate to her dad’s life as a farmer. When drawing a realistic background, remember that you will have to simplify the details to a certain extent. Here, the wheat gets less distinct as it gets farther away, creating a sense of distance and depth.

7. Montage

This type of background is gives you some freedom to play with the elements of your portrait and create meaning in a more creative way. In this portrait, I’ve used the image of a medal that the subject won at a marathon. Although the medal is much bigger compared to the figure than it would be in real life, it becomes a part of the overall composition and adds context to the portrait.

Each of these techniques serves a purpose and will suit some portraits better than others. Whatever you do, don’t forget to consider your background. Your drawing is your whole page and you need to think about how best to use it!

Don’t be afraid of backgrounds, jump in and experiment!

Tags: backgrounds, better drawings, composition, drawing tips, portraits

The Best Way to Approach Portrait Drawings

Apr 1, 2010 Drawing

You’re sitting at your table with a clean, fresh piece of drawing paper in front of you. You draw your grid (or not) and then you outline the features of your portrait.

Now what?

All that white staring back at you can be intimidating!

 There are probably as many ways to start a portrait drawing as there are people who draw them. I’ve narrowed them down to two basic approaches: the all-over approach and the wallpaper approach.

The question is, which approach is best?

The Wallpaper Approach

When papering a wall, you start on one side and work your way methodically across. When you draw this way, it’s much the same; you start on one side of the page and complete the drawing in sections as you move across. Brian Duey demonstrates this in his portrait drawing tutorial.

While this approach almost ensures that you won’t drag your hand through your work, it can be difficult to create smooth transitions between the areas you’re working on. You also have to be spot-on with your values as you work.

The All-Over Approach

This approach takes the entire page into consideration. Each layer of graphite is built up gradually across the whole portrait. My portrait tutorial is a good example of this.

Drawing this way lets you respond to the portrait as a whole piece, rather than just rendering each area as you see it, but you need to be careful where you rest your hand. 

My Verdict

You can probably guess where I stand on this, since I used my own tutorial as an example! I am a fan of the all-over approach, and let me tell you why:

 By working on one area in isolation, you can lose sight of the drawing as a whole. This approach lets you evaluate shapes and tones and values in relation to each other. It’s not the darkness of a shadow that creates depth, but the comparison of the dark areas to the lighter ones.

It also gives you the chance to exercise your artistic license. It’s up to you to determine how faithful you will be to your reference photo, and it’s easier to make these decisions as you draw. When you use the wallpaper approach, you can end up blindly re-creating the photo without consideration for the final art piece.

Another advantage of this approach is that you are able to correct mistakes easily. If during the first stages of shading, you realize that your eyes don’t line up properly, it’s easy to erase it. With the wallpaper approach, your line drawing needs to be exact, because once everything is fully rendered, it will be very difficult to go back!

Conclusion

All in all, I find that the all-over approach helps to keep the bigger picture in mind. It’s a more fluid and responsive process, more flexible and easier to change.

That being said, you need to discover which approach is best for you. Brian Duey is obviously a very accomplished portrait artist and the wallpaper approach appears to be working for him!

Tags: art tips, better drawings, drawing tips, portraits