To learn how to draw anime eyes, start with a thick, curved upper lash line and tuck a big, tall oval iris under it. Add the pupil with two round highlights, a short lower lash line, a lid crease with a few lashes, and finish with thin eyebrows and a ring inside the iris.
Anime eyes are bigger and simpler than real eyes: a bold top line, a huge iris and bright highlights do most of the work. This beginner guide draws a pair of eyes in six steps. The free PDF has the step sheet, a tracing page, a practice grid and a coloring page.
What’s in the free PDF
- Step-by-step sheet with 6 numbered steps; new lines are black, earlier lines are grey
- Tracing page with a large anime eyes in light grey to trace over
- Practice sheet with a small reference and two boxes with a light grid
- Coloring page with the finished anime eyes in bold outlines
How to draw anime eyes step by step
- Upper lash line. For each eye, draw a thick, curved line, like a flat arch that is a little heavier at the outer end. Leave space between the two eyes for the nose.
- Iris. Under each lash line, draw a big, tall oval. Its top touches the lash line, so the line hides the very top of the iris.
- Pupil and highlights. Draw a smaller oval for the pupil inside the iris, then a big round highlight at the top and a small one at the bottom. Do not draw the pupil line inside the highlights.
- Lower lash line. Under each iris, draw a short, slightly curved line. It is much thinner and shorter than the top line.
- Crease and lashes. Above each eye, draw a thin curved line for the lid crease, and three short lashes at the outer corner.
- Brows and iris ring. Draw a thin arched eyebrow above each eye and a second oval inside the iris, around the pupil.
Mirror the right eye from the left one: draw one step on the left eye, then the same step on the right eye, so the pair stays even.
Anime eyes drawing: common mistakes and fixes
- The iris floats. Tuck the top of the iris right under the lash line.
- The highlights are colored in. Keep both highlights white; they make the eye look shiny.
- The eyes are too close. Leave about one eye width between them.
- The lower line is too heavy. Keep it short and thin, or the eye looks tired.
Trace, practice, then color
Trace it first
If drawing freehand feels hard, start with the tracing page. Go over the grey lines with a pencil, pressing lightly, and you learn the shapes and their order without worrying about mistakes. Then try again on the practice sheet.
Practice on the grid
The practice sheet has a small finished anime eyes for reference and two boxes with a faint grid. Count how many squares wide and tall the reference is, then draw your anime eyes the same way. The grid keeps the parts the right size next to each other.
Color the finished drawing
Color the iris in two shades: darker at the top under the lash line and lighter at the bottom. Fill the pupil dark, leave the highlights white and color the lash lines black or dark brown.
Anime eye drawing tips
- Make the eyes bigger and rounder for a cute, young character, or narrower for a cool, older one.
- Change the eyebrows to change the mood: raised for surprised, angled down for angry.
- Practice one eye at a time on the grid before drawing the pair.
- Try different iris colors with colored pencils: blue, green, violet or gold.
Download the pages one by one
Prefer a single page? Click a link to open the full-size image, then print it or save it. The PDF with all pages and a cover is in the download box.
- How to draw anime eyes: step-by-step sheet (PNG)
- Anime Eyes tracing page (PNG)
- Anime Eyes practice sheet with grid (PNG)
- Anime Eyes coloring page (PNG)
More face drawing: how to draw a realistic eye and how to draw lips. For cute characters, see kawaii drawings and 90 cute drawings.
FAQ
What is the easiest way to draw anime eyes?
Draw a thick curved lash line, a big tall oval iris under it, a pupil and two white highlights. Those four parts already look like an anime eye.
How do you draw anime eye highlights?
Draw one big round highlight at the top of the iris and one small one at the bottom. Leave them white and stop the pupil line at their edges.
How do you draw anime eyes for beginners?
Start with the tracing page to learn the shapes, then draw one eye on the practice grid before trying a pair.
How do you draw male anime eyes?
Use the same steps but make the eye narrower and the iris smaller, use fewer lashes and a straighter, thicker eyebrow.
