WHAT IS ANIME? And why does everyone give a flying toot about ANIME EYES?! WHY. Just kidding. Anime is my jam and I'm going to teach you something about it. Also teach you how to paint an iris that looks like an actual iris.
What is the difference between realistic eyes and anime eyes?
If you watch the video above, you will note that there are several! Let’s go over some in brief:
anime eyes tend to be bigger, whether horizontally or vertically, and overall take up more head space
realistic eyes have very unpredictable reflections (if any), whereas anime eyes will usually have a consistent eye light (or ‘reflection’)
Realistic eyes have individual eye lashes detailed
Realistic eyes have circular iris and circular pupil
Anime eyes have a variety of iris and pupil shapes, but often are oval
anime eyes are simplified and less detailed in regards to lashes and iris
on the other hand, anime eyes tend to have more exaggerated highlights and shadows on the iris
Unfortunately when I was younger, just drawing an ‘anime style’ eye would have people looking over my shoulder and accusing me of drawing Sailor Moon! Nothing against Sailor Moon — I quite enjoyed Sailor Moon! But it was annoying that I was always accused of drawing ‘that’ instead of people just respecting that I was exploring a style and learning. But many people are not artists or creatives, or don’t quite understand this idea of feeling something non-tangible out in this way. Don’t take it personally if someone does this and it discourages you or bothers you. Just keep going and keep drawing.
Eye style is quite unique to specific genres of anime and manga — even specific time periods! If you compare anime eyes from the 1980’s to the anime eyes of the 2020’s, you will see a marked difference.
And I am just realizing that 1980 - 2020 is 40 years. Oh my god. That’s like half a century. Heck.
With that in mind, has the style of realistic eyes changed very much? No! That is because realism is based on what exists, and anime style is an interpretation of that — a style. Styles can be in and out of vogue, fashionable and unfashionable. Old and new. Remember that when you are drawing your anime stylized eyes — there are many styles to think about and there is no singular style that you need to adhere to. There are many! You can even put a star in the iris and it would be totally cool and modern.
Certain styles do tend to be favored by particular genres, though. Shoujo and Shounen series will often have very distinct and recognizable styles compared to, say, a more mature Seinen series. But don’t let that be a rule that restricts you. Do what you want. Just know that you might have expectations from your audience based on the style you are using.
Anime Iris vs Realistic Iris… what’s the difference?
As noted above, when it comes to the iris, the key differences between how to draw a realistic eye VS how to draw a stylized anime eye is in the shape. And the color! And the highlights/shadows.
You will note that an anime eye, though sometimes round, will actually often be oval. The pupil could be round, or oval, or even a slit like a snake eye. The reflections tend to be hard edged and white, and very predictable and ever-present. Colours are also much more creative — purple eyes, gold eyes, red eyes… all of these iris colors are prevalent in anime and hardly ever occur in real life (if at all).
Hopefully the above video explains everything you need to know, to be introduced to the idea of how these things differ. For more, check me out on YouTube + don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE and turn on POST NOTIFICATIONS!