Today, I want to show you how to draw a horse’s eye. We’ll use the same portrait I’ve been demonstrating in this series, but we’ll take a closeup look at the eye.
Links to each of the previous posts are listed at the end of this post.
How to Draw a Horse’s Eye
Before we begin, this portrait is on white Clairefontaine Pastelmat. I started with an umber underdrawing using a combination of Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor Verithin pencils.
Then I glazed the first round of color over the underdrawing using only Verithin pencils. After finishing the first round of color glazing, I switched to Polychromos pencils for the second round of color glazing.
I worked on the Polychromos color glaze as I worked on the eye, so you will see changes in the area around the eye, as well.
This is the eye after the umber underdrawing and Verithin color glaze was finished.
Preparing to Draw
I started the Polychromos color glazes by taping three small sheets of glassine together to form an opening through which I could work. This mask helped prevent smearing of the Verithin glazes. It also helped me stay focused on the eye.
Step 1
I began adding color with Polychromos White, which I applied in the largest of the highlights in the eye.
Next, I glazed Light Cobalt Turquoise over all but the brightest area. I followed up with Sky Blue over most of the Light Cobalt Turquoise. With each color, I covered less of the highlight.
I also stroked a little Sky Blue along the back of the eyeball, where it picks up a little reflected light.
I used sharp pencils and light pressure for all of these colors. Since the area is so small and I needed good control, I used short directional strokes or scumbling strokes.
After that, I applied Black to the pupil, and to the eyeball immediately under the upper lid and immediately above the lower lid. I have a stylistic tendency to make eyes more open than they are in the reference photos, so I tried to be very careful in shaping the eye.
I also used Black to shape the corner of the eye. Then I applied Black around the outside of the eye using very short hatching strokes. There is black skin showing in the upper lid, at the front of the eye socket, and beneath the eye. It’s not a real dark black, so I didn’t draw solid color in any of these areas. I more or less just “touched” Black in those places.
Notice that I worked around the eyelashes with each color.
Step 2
I thought the eye looked a little too round, so I superimposed it over the reference photo, then sized it until the eyes lined up. Upon making the drawing transparent enough to see through, I discovered that the eyeball was correct but the lower lid wasn’t.
So my next job was correcting that.
I started with Cold Grey IV, which I stroked carefully along the part of the lower lid next to the eyeball. I used a firm stroke with medium-light pressure and a sharp pencil to carefully reshape that curve.
Then I did the same thing with Cold Grey III to reshape the side of the lid. Once again, I used a very sharp pencil and a firm stroke applied with medium-light pressure.
There is a highlight where the top of the rim transitions to the side. I drew that with White, using the same type of stroke and pressure.
Then I added the darker values toward the bottom of the gray skin with Cold Grey IV. In the darkest values at the corner of the eye, I added touches of Black.
Then, because the corner of the eye wasn’t quite right, I reshaped it with Black. This is a very small area, so I kept my pencils very sharp.
Around the outside of this area, where gray fades into the color of the hair, I used light pressure and hatching strokes. I started the strokes near the eye and stroked outward, into the hair. The strokes were short and straight, but also radiated outward.
After that, I stroked back into the gray with Cold Grey IV and Cold Grey III to soften the transition from gray to brown.
Step 3
The dark values in the eye didn’t look dark enough, so I layered Dark Indigo into them, working around the highlights and eyelashes, as well as the browns in the iris.
I then applied Black over all of the Dark Indigo except the area between the eyelashes, upper lid and highlight. There is a slightly lighter, blueish dark value there. I also adjusted and fine-tuned the blacks around the outer edges of the eyeball.
There is a very thin line of moisture connecting the lower rim and eyeball. I sharpened White to a very find point and sketched in that line, then cleaned it up as needed by stroking Black next to it.
I also brightened up parts of the highlight and added two other, smaller highlights around the larger highlight. One at the back of the larger highlight, the other near the center of and below the larger highlight.
I also added Cold Grey III around the gray area surrounding the eye, as well as the upper eyelid. In the darker values, I used Cold Grey IV, and I touched or stippled Black into the darkest values around the eye.
Step 4
Now I worked on the eye lashes. The first color I used was Brown Ochre, which I sharpened to a very sharp point, then stroked into the lash area. I stroked in the direction the lashes grew, starting at the lid and stroking outward.
Since there is no shadow line at the base of the lashes, I started each stroke in the gray area that is the upper lid.
Next, I did the same thing with Burnt Siena. I sharpened the pencil to a very sharp point, then used light pressure to stroke in the lashes.
But this time, I didn’t cover the entire area. There is a lighter portion toward the back of the eye. I didn’t use Burnt Siena there.
After that, I sharpened Black and stroked that into the lashes, but I stroked in the opposite direction, starting in the pupil and making a few strokes into the lashes. This was to break up the shape into groups of lashes, so I didn’t make very many marks.
Step 5
After that, I touched up the shadow below and in front of the corner of the eye with Black, and added a bit of pink with Light Flesh in the corner of the eye.
Then I began working into the hair and shapes around the eye.
Step 6
After this point, I worked mostly on the rest of the horse, but added touches of color and fine-tuning to the eye as the rest of the drawing progressed. Although I touched up the highlights and darkened the dark values, the biggest difference between this illustration and the previous one is the area around the eye. Working on those shapes, colors, and values makes the eye look more lively and alive.
How to Draw a Horse’s Eye
This portrait is only 8 x 10 inches in size, so the eye is very small.
Even so, adding the right amount of detail to the eye gives the portrait a lively look that would be difficult to achieve with a poorly drawn or half drawn eye.
On a larger portrait, I would draw more detail. On a smaller portrait, I would most likely have to draw less detail unless I used very hard, very sharp pencils, or used an accessory that I could brush on. Brush & Pencil’s Titanium White and Touch-Up Texture mixture is an example of such an accessory.
Regardless of the size of the portraits you like to draw, I hope you’ve found this tutorial showing you how to draw a horse’s eye helpful.
Previous Posts in This Series
Drawing a Digital Grid on a Reference Photo
Drawing a Horse with Verithin Glazing
Want to read more posts like this? Sign up for Carrie’s free weekly newsletter and be among the first to know when she publishes new articles.
