How to Draw Anime Eyes

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Anime eyes are big, expressive, and exaggerated. They’re actually fairly simple to draw since they’re just made up of a few basic shapes. The exact shapes and sizes are different depending on whether you’re drawing male or female eyes, but the process is similar for both. Once you’re comfortable drawing a basic anime eye, you can make adjustments depending on the expression you want to convey, like happiness, sadness, anger, or surprise.

Things You Should Know

Draw a downward curving line to make the upper eyelid.
Below that, draw a horizontal line that curves up at the ends to make the lower eyelid.
Draw an oval between the two lines for the iris. Sketch 2 circles inside the iris so it looks like light is reflecting off the eye.
Add a smaller oval inside the iris to make the pupil.

Female Anime Eye

Draw a downward curving line for the upper eyelid. Make the length of the line as wide as you want the eye to be. Make the line thick near the middle, and then have it get gradually thinner the closer it gets to the ends.

Sketch a horizontal line that curves up at the ends for the lower eyelid. Place this line underneath the upper eyelid so there’s a gap between them that’s about ⅔ the length of the upper eyelid. Make this line about ½ the length of the upper eyelid, and center it underneath the upper eyelid. Female anime eyes are usually rounder and wider than male anime eyes. The further apart you place the upper and lower eyelids, the wider the eye will be.

Draw a partial oval coming down off of the upper eyelid for the iris. Center the oval underneath the upper eyelid, and draw it so the top ⅕ of the oval is missing since that part of the iris is blocked by the eyelid. Leave a gap between the bottom of the oval and the lower eyelid that’s about ¼ the length of the lower eyelid.

Add 2 circles inside of the iris to show light reflecting off of the eye. Place the circles on opposite sides of the iris, and make one of them twice as big as the other one. Make the biggest circle about ⅕ the size of the iris. The exact placement of the circles will depend on where the light is shining in your drawing. If you want the light source to be on the left in your drawing, draw the big circle on the left side of the iris and the small circle on the right. If the light is on the right, swap the circles. For lighting that’s above the eye, draw the big circle at the top of the iris and the small circle at the bottom. Do the opposite for lighting that’s below the eye.

Sketch an oval in the center of the iris for the pupil and fill it in. Make this oval about half the height and half the width of the iris. Don’t draw the parts that overlap with the circles you drew for the glare. Those parts of the pupil will be covered. After you draw the pupil, shade it in with your pencil so it’s as dark as you can get it.Tip: You can use a pen or marker to make the pupil even darker. It should be the darkest part of the eye.

Draw 3 thick tails at the end of the upper eyelid for the eyelashes. Starting at the right end of the upper eyelid, draw a thick, upward-curving tail that tapers out at the end. Make the tail about ⅕ the length of the upper eyelid. Then, draw another tail that’s the same length directly to the left of the first one. Repeat one more time so you have 3 tails in total. Thick, distinct eyelashes are one of the defining characteristics of female anime eyes.

Shade or color in the iris. If you’re shading the iris in with your pencil, make sure it’s lighter than the pupil. Leave the 2 circles white. If you’re coloring in your drawing, choose an eye color, like blue, green, or brown, and shade the iris in using that color. You can use colored pencil, crayon, marker, or even paint to fill in the iris.

Male Anime Eye

Draw a horizontal line with a slight curve for the upper eyelid. Make this line as wide as you want the eye to be. Have the ends curve down slightly and draw a slight curve in the middle. Go over the line a few times with your pencil to make it thicker.Did you know? Male anime eyes generally aren’t as round and exaggerated as female anime eyes. They have a more narrow, angular shape.

Sketch a shorter horizontal line that curves up at the ends for the lower eyelid. Draw this line underneath the upper eyelid, and leave a gap between the two that’s half the length of the upper eyelid. Make this line ½ the length of the first line you drew, and center it underneath the upper eyelid.

Draw a semicircle coming off the bottom of the upper eyelid for the iris. Center the semicircle and make the width the same length as the lower eyelid. Draw it so the top ¼ of the circle is missing since that part of the iris is blocked by the upper eyelid. Have the bottom of the semicircle just touch the lower eyelid.

Add 2 circles inside the iris to show the glare. Make one circle twice the size of the other one, and place the circles on opposite sides of the iris. You’ll need to decide where the light is shining in your drawing to determine exactly where the circles should go in the iris. If the light is to the left of the eye, draw the big circle on the left side of the iris and the small circle on the right. If the light is to the right, do the opposite. For lighting that’s above the eye, draw the big circle at the top of the iris and the small circle at the bottom. Swap the circles if the light is underneath the eye.

Sketch a circle in the center of the iris for the pupil and shade it in. Make it half the height and half the width of the iris. Don’t draw the sections that overlap with the circles you drew inside of the iris. Shade in the pupil as dark as you can using your pencil, a pen, or a marker.

Fill in the iris. You can shade in the iris using your pencil. Just make sure it’s lighter than the pupil. Or, you can choose an eye color and color in the iris instead. If you want to color in the iris, use colored pencil, crayon, marker, or paint.

Different Eye Expressions

Narrow the eyes and curve the lower eyelids down to show sadness. Draw the lower eyelids higher than you normally would so the bottom ⅕ of the pupils are covered by them. Instead of curving the ends of the lower eyelids up like you would for a blank expression, curve them down. This will give the eyes a sad look, almost like your character is about to cry.

Widen the eyes to create a look of surprise. Draw the upper eyelids higher and the lower eyelids lower than normal so there are gaps between both the tops and bottoms of the pupils and the eyelids. This will make it look like your anime character is opening their eyes wide in shock. The wider you make the eyes, the more surprised your character will look. Drawing the eyebrow high can also help the character look shocked/scared/surprised.

Slope the upper eyelids down to create an angry expression. Starting at the outer corners of the eyes, draw the upper eyelids like you normally would, but draw a steep downward slope once you get to the inner half of each eyelid. It will look like your character is furrowing their eyebrows because they're angry. The steeper you make the slope, the angrier your anime character will look.

Draw the eyes closed to show happiness. To draw the eyes closed, just draw the upper eyelids like you normally would—a downward curving line for female anime eyes or a horizontal line with a slight curve for male anime eyes. Don’t draw the iris, pupil, or lower eyelid. Drawing the eyes like this will make it look like your character is closing their eyes and smiling because they’re joyful.