How to Draw an Eye from the Side

Continuing and expanding on the topic of creating realistic portraits, here we will look at how to draw an eye from the side and explain the basic principles of this angle.

As we’ve mentioned many times before, drawing the human figure and its individual parts from different angles and positions is a fundamental skill for any artist.

Previously, we showed you how to draw eyes, explained the structure and construction of this part of the face, and demonstrated how to create convincing volume in a drawing.

Now, we’ll focus on how to draw an eye from the side. In this tutorial, we’ll explain how to create a sense of volume from this angle and highlight the most important aspects to consider when making your side-view eye drawing look realistic.

We also have a separate guide on the basic anatomy of the eye. You can read it before starting this tutorial to better understand exactly what you are drawing.

How to draw an eye from the side step by step

Step 1: Draw the front edge of the eye

The eye is a sphere, a perfectly round form viewed from any angle. Keeping this in mind, sketch the front surface of the eye. Use long, smooth lines, as in the sphere drawing tutorial.

Step 2: Sketch the placement of the eyelids

Lightly sketch the contours of the upper and lower eyelids. Pay attention to their placement and how far they extend forward relative to the eyeball. This will help create volume and position the eyelids correctly.

Step 3: Draw the cornea and front of the eyelids

The cornea is not flat; it is convex and creates additional volume. Indicate this form with smooth lines extending beyond the contour of the eyeball. Then mark the front planes of the upper and lower eyelids.

Step 4: Draw the edges of the eyelids in detail

Using the previously drawn guidelines, refine the outlines of the upper and lower eyelids with smoother, cleaner lines, keeping in mind that they wrap around the eyeball. The principles of artistic vision are especially important here: think of the eyeball and eyelids as three-dimensional forms, and visualize the shapes beneath the surface.

Step 5: Detail the eyelids and add folds

Refine the eyelid outlines with smoother, cleaner lines, keeping in mind that they extend beyond the contour of the eyeball. As you draw these forms, remember the spherical shape beneath them and add the main eyelid folds.

Step 6: Draw the pupil and iris

Draw the outline of the iris, separating it from the sclera. Then draw the pupil, placing it on the surface of the eyeball rather than on the cornea. The iris and pupil should follow the curvature of the eyeball and lie in the same plane.

Step 7: Clean the eye drawing

Carefully erase all construction lines and make sure the forms are correct. Check how convincing the eye drawing looks and whether any elements stand out unnaturally from the overall structure.

Step 8: Add tone to the pupil and iris

First, fill the pupil with a dark tone using light horizontal hatching, making it slightly lighter at the bottom. Then shade the iris with a slightly lighter tone, using the same hatching direction and leaving the lower part lighter to create a highlight.

Step 9: Draw hatching on the eye drawing

Indicate the shadow shapes according to the direction of the light, then carefully add hatching to build the shadows. Apply the strokes along the forms to emphasize volume. Remember that the eyeball is spherical and the eyelids wrap around it like curved forms.

Step 10: Check and finalize the drawing

Review the entire drawing, taking the tones and shading into account. Unify all the forms so that nothing stands out unnecessarily, and make sure the tonal relationships and overall eye drawing look natural.

The eye is a very complex form and one of the first parts of the human face that attracts attention. The ability to draw eyes correctly is one of the most important skills in portrait drawing.

For this reason, we have tried to break down the process of drawing eyes from different angles as clearly as possible.

Drawing this part of the face from the side involves many additional nuances that should be considered carefully.

First, remember that the eye is a sphere – a three-dimensional form. The eyelids create additional volume that surrounds the eyeball and forms its recognizable shape.

Keep these ideas in mind whenever you draw eyes from the side or any other angle.

Another important point is that the cornea is a separate curved form that sits over the eyeball and creates its characteristic profile, while the pupil does not lie on the surface of the cornea but inside the eye, on the eyeball itself.

Keeping this in mind, practice drawing eyes from the side while slightly changing the viewing angle. Draw both eyes with pupils and without them to better understand the overall structure and individual forms.

Eyelashes are another important element that we intentionally did not include in the main tutorial, but you can add them yourself.

It is also important to practice drawing eyes in context. After learning to draw an eye from the side separately, draw it on a human face in profile.

Try changing the facial features, the degree of eye openness, and the direction of the gaze. This additional practice will significantly improve your ability to draw the eye and construct portraits.

Drawing eyes is a versatile skill, so it is important to master every angle. In addition to the side view, be sure to learn how to draw eyes from the front to build confidence in frontal portrait drawing.

Also learn how to draw eyes in three-quarter view, one of the most commonly used angles in portrait drawing.