For a serious looking anime character you can draw the eyes vertically narrower with the top eyelids and eyebrows lowering down towards the middle of the face. If you want a character have crazy or scared looking eyes draw them wide open with small irises and small pupils. Leave white space between the irises and the eyelids/eyelashes.
Method 3 Method 3 of 4: Sketching a Male Anime Eye Download Article
Beginner Guide to Drawing Anime & Manga
Method 4 of 4: Drawing Different Eye Expressions Download Article
Place the top lash-line about halfway between the top and bottom of the head. The upper and lower lash lines should form a roughly triangular shape...
Peak the eyebrows in the middle to give the eyes a sad look. If you like, you can draw a small crease next to the inner end of each eyebrow for a l...
Anime is a shortened form of the English word “animation.” The term anime is used in Japan to distinguish animated cartoons from illustrated cartoo...
Learn more... One of the most recognizable features of anime is the eyes. They’re big, they’re expressive, and they’re often exaggerated to show emotion. Anime eyes are only made up of a few basic shapes and they don’t have a lot of detail, so they’re actually pretty simple to draw.
First, draw a downward curving line for the upper lash line. Add a curved tail at one end (draw it on the end that's going to be the outer corner of the eye), going down and back toward the other end of the line, so the upper lash line is C-shaped.
Make the top and bottom of the oval overlap with the lash lines so the top and bottom are hidden. Make the width at the widest part of the oval the same as the length of the lower lash line. This will be the iris of the eye. ...
Variation: You can draw a bigger pupil if you want the eye to look bigger and wider. Just make the oval about 1/2 the size of the iris (instead of 1/4th) and overlap it with both of the small circles you drew before. The circles should be in front of the oval. ...
A basic understanding of the anatomy of the eye. Knowing common elements that make most eyes look like anime eyes. A step-by-step approach to drawing anime eyes while implementing these common elements. A quick note, before going further, I will use the term anime to mean both anime and manga for simplicity.
Degrees of realism and stylization. In anime and manga, eyes are drawn in various degrees of stylization. Human anatomy in anime is stylized often to the point of being unrealistic, yet still very recognizable as the anime counterpart of the real world person the artwork is describing. This is an important point.
A drop shadow from the upper eyelid covers the iris and the sclera one third or sometimes half of the way down. (Confused about what iris and sclera are? Scroll up to the anatomy section of this article, or click here to be taken there).
Upper eyelid crease. – The upper eyelid crease is a horizontal indent formed above the upper eyelid that appears in some people. Notably, it is prominently indicated in most anime eye drawings, and stylized into a curved line. It helps situate the anime eye drawing so it is a good idea to take notice of it.
– the iris is a ring shaped membrane, with an adjustable circular opening (pupil) in the center. The iris is what people talk about when they talk about eye color. (Some people confuse it with the pupil, so here is a tip to remember it better: eye color = iris color)
Highlights from at least 2 light sources. White or bright circles or ovals appearing in stylized anime eyes are representative of highlights on the surface of the eye. Note here that usually one highlight is dominant and is depicted larger, and the second subordinate and depicted smaller.
Fortunately, we all have a stylizer machine called the brain! In anime, there is a spectrum of on one end, very large anime looking eyes, and some on the other end, that are pretty realistic with some stylization flare. I tend to like something in the middle, although a lot depends on the artwork itself.
Before you start drawing and designing anime-style eyes, it is essential to learn the basic shapes of real eyes. This will make the stylization process much easier.
Have a look at the image below to see the difference between real eye proportions and anime-style proportions.
Since there are so many types and shapes when it comes to anime eyes, first you need to think about what kind of eyes you want to create.
This is a good way to approach the exaggerated version of anime eyes. Starting from some elongated shapes, add the necessary gray tones to create depth, always keeping the highlights and the structures that are most interesting to you in mind. See that in steps 1 and 2, I’ve only sketched the basic structure of the eye.
Here you can see the results from using different colors and blending modes. I used the Overlay mode for purple, Vivid Light for yellow, and Pin Light for the blue tones and the pink details. They blend great with the grey layer.
In real life and in the manga/anime world, eyes are one of the most important features to express emotion. Remember that a series of facial muscles tighten or relax, depending on the expression you want to achieve. Let’s take a look at the eyelids, the inner eye, and the eyebrows.
Here is a character illustration with anime eyes. Note how the colors and shapes work together.