Portrait Painting in Acrylics - Painting the Eyes

Portrait Painting in Acrylics

painting the eyes

Painting the Eyes

The eyes are the most important detail of a portrait and it is essential that you paint them first. They are the focal point of the face and the feature that brings life to the image. If, at the outset, you can suggest that look of vitality that the eyes bring to a portrait, you will establish a strong foundation for the work, which in turn, will give you the confidence to tackle the other features of the face.

All the fine details of our portrait were painted using sizes 1, 0 and 00 sable brushes.

balance between the eyes

The Balance between the Eyes

The overall balance between the eyes is a key element in achieving a likeness. You should build up the painting of both eyes at the same time in order to capture the balance between them. This essential relationship is far more difficult to achieve if you bring one eye to completion and then start on the other.

elements of the eye

The Elements of the Eye

There are a few key elements that you need to capture in painting an eye: the solidity of the eyeball and surrounding eyelids, the luminosity of the iris, the depth of the pupil, and the reflected highlight on the surface of the eye.

The three images above illustrate the painting of the eye at different stages:

1. The image on the left illustrates the initial underpainting of the eye in flat colours.

2. The middle image shows the first layers of dark and light colours which establish the solidity of the eyeball and eyelids:

The White of the Eye : a dark grey glaze is mixed from scarlet red, yellow medium azo and phthalocyanine blue and lightened with opaque titanium white. This is then applied in graduated layers to render the tone for the white of the eye. Note how the upper eyelid casts a strong shadow across the eye while the lower eyelid registers a weaker one. These shadows create the illusion that eyeball is resting comfortably in its socket.

The Iris : glazes of burnt sienna and titanium white are combined to suggest the refracted light of the brown iris. A little prussian blue is added to darken the burnt sienna around the outer edge of the iris.

The Pupil : ivory black with a hint of prussian blue is applied as the main colour of the pupil. A grey glaze, mixed with titanium white for its opaque qualities, conveys depth through the suggestion of a reflected image.

The Reflected Highlight : the glint of light on the eye is built up with layers of thinly mixed titanium white.

The Eyelids : the initial tone and form of the eyelids is sketched with strokes of a burnt sienna glaze.

3. The image on the right depicts the eye as it appears in the finished portrait, after some adjustments and refinements are made to the basic tones and colours.

Our lesson on pencil portraits
should help you with drawing the eye.

Follow the progress of our Portrait
1. Drawing the Portrait	2. Painting the Background
3. Painting the Eyes	4. Painting the Skin
5. Painting the Hair	6. Painting the Shirt and Waistcoat
7. Painting the Jacket	8. Framing the Portrait
9. Materials for Acrylic Painting	10. Basic Illustrated Version


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