How to Paint Eyes - The Biggest Mistake Artists Make

[@epm6694]

Hi Alex! Again, I love your videos. The one-on-one via Patreon was awesome. I feel like I learned a wealth of instruction in a single meeting. I sincerely appreciate the time and energy you invested. Can’t wait til the next video… Racquel

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you very much Raquel!

[@oakwood7730]

Your model deserves much praise for being the "perfect" art model. Very Well Done!

[@KenFullman]

At 1:55 I thought we were looking at an oil painting until she blinked. Absolutely stunning.

[@tabbi888]

my eyes are about 4mm different in hight when you look at the corners of the eyes. if I was to paint a self portrait it wouldn't look like me if I didn't offset them, and although more attractive probably definitely not accurate. My eyebrows sit at different heights too. Having an uneven face is extremely common to varying degrees and personally I wonder if these old masters didn't make a mistake but portrayed it actually accurately. As with me if you were to correct this it actually takes away from the likeness.

[@watLegends]

Exactly!

[@JudeandherPencil]

That’s what I was thinking… I think accuracy is more important than symmetry 🤔

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

What if the person is moving the whole time?

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

But I bet the middle of your mouth lines up directly under the bridge of your nose when viewed from the front and your eyes are still approx half way down between the top and bottom of your head? It still helps to know where these centrelines are and their angle, you can deviate from them. Also, your eyes probably aren't as crooked as some people paint them?

[@Foxglove963]

@@JudeandherPencil There is symmetry, albeit with subtle differences which you can discover.

[@shobestudiosartphotography2972]

Hey Alex.. I really appreciate your style of narration that helps describe to the viewers what you are focused on as you lay down your brush strokes. For myself, it helps to align my understanding of your perspective and it will be put into use on developing methods for my own paintings. I feel it''s not only important to understand how to paint... it is also important to learn how and why to see, think and feel through the process. THANK YOU!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you for watching! I'm glad you find my videos helpful.

[@kilgoretrout2046]

The eyes are the window to the soul... so best to get them right! Thank you for the well articulated instruction

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@fremberg]

Hats off to Rosey for being so patient and still. 😊 The lighting is perfect and the model has very refined features. That is important. Thank you for this lesson.

[@press1776]

Great video.. I must say I would not be able to paint her . She is absolutely stunning to look at .. You are a great teacher. Love your videos..

[@johnhunter1653]

The best eye painting instruction I have ever seen……………wonderful I thoroughly recommend it. John R Hunter

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you very much John!

[@soumyajitchoudhury9641]

Always love the way you explain so lucidly. And you are one of the best alla prima artists I came accross in YT. Regards

[@WMatthewRogers]

Beautiful painting of a beautiful model. The way you used color to achieve the end result is amazing to me. That alone is such excellent instruction. Thank you for your insightful and precise explanations. You truly are an exceptional portrait painter.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you very much Walter!

[@carlosreira2189]

I like the way the artist reduced contrast, for example the shadow along the nose, and reduced the fullness of the jaw, maintaining the bow of the lips to give her a Renaissance look. Very cool. He also toned down the eyebrows somewhat and increased their distance above the eye. All this is good, and historical, even if he doesn't know he's doing it!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Carlos! The shadows and the eyebrows are actually lighter when you see them with the naked eye, the camera makes them appear darker. If I made the distance between the eyes and the eyebrows too great that wasn't intentional, I did so by mistake.

[@carlosreira2189]

@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Oh, thanks for the reply. You bring up another point that artists might not appreciate-- no camera lens is yet as sophisticated as the human eye, and the camera tends to increase the contrast of values. You however, have a very good eye. I hope you keep up some of those "mistakes" which are actually very beautiful bits of artistic license. Some things I've noticed from studying master paintings (Google Art Project is a great resource). Shadows under the chin were very much toned down, even neglected, even in baroque lighting, though the typical ruff hid them a lot of the time. Sargent was not one to tone down a nostril generally, though typically this was done too, often painted very reddish. Eyebrows were often super sophisticated bits of brush magic. Even with your mid century illustrators, eyebrows zigged and zagged with much more life than life. Keep up the good work and keep the videos coming. They're some of the best on KZbin.

[@EugenTumarkin]

It is masterpiece of a young master. fresh, characteristic, the eyes are wetty, great.

[@rhondaporro877]

WOW!!! I AM TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY BY THE INCREDIBLE CONTENT OF THIS VIDEO!! THANK YOU FOR MAKING UNDERSTANDING THIS TOPIC CRYSTAL CLEAR TO ME. BRAVO!!! I HAVE NEVER USED OILS( I OWN ZERO ) OR ACRYLICS ( I HAVE THEM ). I HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF GRAPHITE & A BIT OF CHARCOL DRAWING, ALSO, COLORED PENCILS, WATERCOLOR PENCILS, PASTELS AND WATERCOLOR PAINT. THIS VIDEO HAD ME ABSOLUTELY, AND TOTALLY MEZMERIZED 100% + + ! THANKS SO MUCH!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Rhonda! Very glad you liked it.

[@englemanart]

What a wonderful treat! Thanks.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Grayson!

[@laurencepaganelli6380]

This is straight forward good information.no tricks.no gimmicks.thank you for this tutorial.i have made the mistakes mentioned in the video.hard learned lessons.tthanks for sharing.

[@boltneck1705]

Bravisimo Maestro! You've captured her perfectly! You have my utmost respect, and much can be learned here!

[@Onthebeaches45]

I think you're an excellent teacher and the quality of your art is a delight to see emerge. These are the only art videos on KZbin I've been able to keep watching. Thank you.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you very much!

[@annemullenniex8755]

Beautiful and very helpful. Thank you.

[@simoncrump9106]

So very useful! So many landmarks you pointed out that I recognised but have never realised the significance of until now. Thank you Alex, for such an informative video. Simon

[@ideasareLIMITLESS]

Absolutely fantastic explanation / teaching here..really learnt a lot in this one video. You are a born teacher because you explain WHY you do everything too.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! I'm glad you found this helpful.

[@koralove.designs]

Beautiful! Thank you.

[@richmoab]

Great to see you're making new videos.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you!

[@ElianaLemosArt]

So wonderful! Both technique and teaching, thank you for sharing.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Eliana! Glad you liked it.

[@alexkocharov4292]

I got a pleasure by watching and understanding the details of not simple concepts of drawing portrait.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Alex!

[@themysteriousdomainmoviepalace]

Very helpful. Thank you! Good model too. She sat so still.

[@Greenmanfromspace]

Great tutorial, fascinating how it comes together.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Martin!

[@burtvincent1278]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@Ztandard32]

Thank you. That was very helpful. Good to see you back again.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Garin!

[@lisengel2498]

Very beautifull classical portrait painting ❤❤❤

[@annamariavonschalien9346]

I so enjoy your videos you talk so clearly about what you are doing and how to think when painting. Thank you so much for sharing ❤️

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@vocalpro]

Mind blowing. I'm not an artist but that was fascinating watching her come to life on the canvas

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it.

[@Galaka100]

Nicely done.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Gary!

[@bobymox]

Just great!!

[@humanityone1644]

Very insightful Alex. Such clear explanation. Thank you.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful.

[@Sailfire1]

Truly a great tutorial, Alex. Thank you. Also, what a great model. Sometimes it was only when she blinked - so still.

[@galleterryn]

thank you for this fluent demo + explanation. You are a talented teacher.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful.

[@nvandenhurk]

Thank you Alex for this excellent instruction of painting the eyes. I have learned al lot of it in looking to the alignment of the features

[@kathleensullivan9014]

Absolutely excellent instruction and video

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you kathleen!

[@themanyone]

If it doesn't click right away, take heart, and don't worry. Ability can improve subconsciously over time. It was a pleasant surprise to discover a natural talent for painting that was not there a few years ago. Information is picked up and stored somewhere. Coming back to videos like this helps to pin labels on the workflow that would be difficult to describe otherwise. To see what improved and what has not. And what to do about it. Good video.

[@e.conboy4286]

Thank you. This is so helpful.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful.

[@MrAcdc2323]

Great video. I tried this today with a portrait drawing today and it really helped with the proportions

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! Glad it helped.

[@jsasop9070]

Beautiful portrait and a very good and informative video 👌👌 thanks a lot for sharing 🙏🙏

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! So glad this was helpful.

[@viswanathanmuthurangam2759]

Very excellent painting and good teaching

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you very much!

[@sandrapowers6099]

You really explain your steps so clearly and easy to understand. Thank you so much for this lesson.🥰

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you very much Sandra! Glad it was helpful.

[@mimithompson3049]

Excellent. Excellent. Excellent! Best tutorial I've watched so far and I've been at this for years. Something about the way you explain is very simple and very accurate.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you very much Mimi! Glad it was helpful.

[@richardlewis595]

Excellent demonstration.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Richard!

[@cathyserafinowicz6374]

Beautiful painting and tutorial.Thanks for sharing.❤️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Cathy!

[@rosey_ie]

Good to see you back! Thanks for the informative video 🙌🏻

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Rosey! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@davidthomspson9771]

Whoa...you just cleared up a bunch of questions I had and mistakes I've made .Thank you

[@annnoyes6915]

Absolutely beautiful. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Ann!

[@Kiarasartt]

this was very helpful, i will use your tips in my next painting, thank you

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Kiara, glad it was helpful!

[@Kiarasartt]

@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting no problem! :)

[@macropsialberto]

Wonderful tutorial very clearly and personally, I´m beginning to understand the concept of the light in the painting. Thanks a lot. Greetings from Bogotá, Colombia!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Alberto! Glad this was helpful.

[@thejaben]

Fantastic painter.

[@marthadickinson649]

amazing demonstration,I paint portraits and pretty much do ok,this demo was inspiring

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you martha!

[@audetreuille4252]

Excellent tutorial, so descriptive, thank you !

[@5809AUJG]

Thank you! Excellent instruction on the most difficult part of the human face from a master. Glad I found you!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful.

[@kathrynmcintosh8574]

Alec thank you so much for your sharing your knowledge. I wanted to become an artist when young, but my parents could afford to send me to art classes. Only recently due to disability I had to leave work. This left me time to focus on developing what was left, this happened to be my artistic desire. I’ve never had any formal training and it shows I’m afraid but I have sold a few amateurish attempts of mine through local exhibits.i was comforted to know the m8stakes I was making were the same as the masters. In my last portrait I had noticed the problem with the eyes but wasn’t sure how to prevent it from happening. Then I found your video! The mistakes I was making were the ones you described and Now I know ho to fix them. My next portrait will be much improved I’m certain.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Well done Kathy, that's great!

[@marlenemeek9030]

Absolutely top notch lesson! I can't thank you enough.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Glad you enjoyed it Marlene!

[@santos9419]

Gracias por la lección maestro

[@EasyZee69]

The interesting thing about eyes, nobody has symmetrical eyes. If you look closely at anyone, their right and left eye are quite different.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Yes, the eyes have a slightly different shape and different sizes, but for the vast majority of people they are still aligned with each other and parallel with the other features, particularly the irises and pupils. Look in a mirror and hold a pencil up to your brow bone, the irises and the corners of you mouth. I've a good mind, for my next video to take stills of all my recent models and draw lines on their face to prove this fact!

[@Grammyabigail]

Beautiful job. Thank you for sharing your skill and observation.

[@guapitatessa]

Wow! How I wish that I can paint portrait I hope I can learn someday. Your instruction is cleared

[@parisasun2541]

Absolutely excellent ! I’m subscribing. Finally a comprehensive tutorial. So good ! Thank you !! Mastery in painting AND teaching ! ❤️

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Parisa!

[@kunos7821]

Thank you so much for your wonderful teaching

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful.

[@viswanathanmuthurangam2759]

Very excellent painting and you teach very well thank s

[@harrypalmer3481]

Excellent, generous, lesson. Very enjoyable as well as informative to watch. Thank you.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Harry. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@es1653]

A wonderful teachable moment. I learned a lot. Thank you for your generous sharing of knowledge.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

My pleasure! I'm glad it was helpful.

[@shahzadqurashi7728]

Amazing lesson , brilliant

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Shahzad!

[@olegprovochevitch8851]

Alex, a terrific painting! It looks more like Rosie than Rosie herself!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Oleg!

[@youbuddha1]

Blimey that is magical ! Great lesson ,amazing portrait

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Nicky!

[@jeffhreid]

Great tips as to alignment and keying the value of the white of the eye off the local fleshtone. Good video

[@MissErinChase]

Wow--that was amazing to watch! You're SO TALENTED!!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Erin!

[@dianenovetsky9685]

Absolutely terrific lesson!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Diane!

[@williameldridge5991]

Truly inspiring.

[@coralieceredig-evans670]

fantastic lesson, thank you Alex.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Coralie!

[@jonroads8281]

Absolutely brilliant video as always mate, looking forward to getting onto this part of the course!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Jon! Glad you liked it.

[@eternalthoughts-wu5lo]

Alex ji...wonderful demo...

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you

[@martymiller9514]

The accuracy remains throughout as the progression ensues from general to specific. Fascinating to watch as everything seems to suddenly sharpen up.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Marty!

[@stephanyfaycohen3842]

Many thanks for an excellent demonstration video.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

My pleasure Stephany, glad it was helpful.

[@ASMRA33]

That's the thing about the human face...rarely; in fact hardly ever are faces anatomically correct. Even the most symmetrical looking faces aren't symmetrical. Your work is so incredibly beautiful! Thank You for sharing with us all!

[@hallymariah45]

SO talented!!!!

[@deannastomer7145]

Fabulous, your observations really help.us to understand your thinking processes!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Dianna, glad it was helpful!

[@DerekSiddle]

great video as always. thank you

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thanks!

[@RatherBeSailing]

Excellent tutorial

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank You Lleanna!

[@jayasreenair]

Excellent tutorial👍

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you jayasree!

[@lisengel2498]

Thank you very much for sharing your way of observing and painting the eyes of a model as accurate as possible. It’s very inspiring to Watch your painting process. To me movements of the face are the very focus of catching the vibrational energy of a moment - and all persons and moments vibrate with a very different Life energy and rhythm of the Living now - but of course that may take the portrait into a more abstract- expressive style 😊🎵💜🎶

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Liz!

[@richardstiers9010]

This is BEYOND amazing!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Richard!

[@AvalonDreamz]

Just amazing. I love to watch artists paint portraits. It's always like magic watching these marks made turn into a face.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@tomwaldenofficial]

beautiful work - thanks for filming and posting - much appreciated.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Tom! Glad you liked it.

[@richardrodriguez-lj1uf]

That was very helpful, thank you

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Richard! Glad it was helpful.

[@rajunarkar]

Thank you bro. God bless you 🙌

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you!

[@cherylnathanodette]

A super video think they covered this at school but been a long time since I was at school so this was perfect, many thanks you captured this lovely model perfectly.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Cheryl! Glad you liked it.

[@joannschoenleber813]

Fantastic!! Thanks maestro!! You’re such a awesome instructor. Sooo helpful and easy to follow 🙏 Thanks Alex

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Joan!

[@paulwillner202]

Thank you Alex for sharing your gift with us. ⬆️

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

You're welcome Paul. Glad my videos are helpful.

[@RicktheRecorder]

Cracking tutorial, though you got thoroughly confused between left and right!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Rick.

[@areyouearthing]

Beautiful portrait!

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you!

[@louisesrensen5529]

Thank you for sharing. It was very informative.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Louise! Glad it was helpful.

[@jeanniecampbell1374]

wow you are so talented ..thank you.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you Jeanie!

[@debiallen4053]

Wow! Fabulous! I am so amazed.

[@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting]

Thank you!

[@Pterodactyl_Bret]

Thanks for the video. I've never sketched out the straight lines for the eyes, eyebrows and mouth, twice, like this. I like the idea, its a good reference to begin with and easy to repeat after its painted over. The way I do it; there's less unity because there is no unifying color underneath the detail. I end up unifying with top, translucent, layers of color. My way works, but I'm going to try it different on my next portrait.