Anime eyes are ane of the nearly definitive characteristics of the anime and manga drawing style. Depending on the artist and the type of character that is portrayed at that place are almost countless variations.

This tutorial focuses on some of the more mutual types of anime and manga eyes and looks at some potential reasons as to why they are drawn the way they are.

You can too look at the How to Draw Anime Eyes and Eye Expressions tutorial on this site for some more detailed instructions.

Styles of Anime & Manga Eyes

Three different types of anime eyes
Different types of anime optics

Nigh anime and manga eyes are drawn in a fairly simplified way where a lot of the details are omitted.

One good guess as to why this is would be that artists have to draw many frames of blitheness or panels of a manga. Having to depict detailed realistic eyes every time would be far likewise time consuming.

Big eyes are also easier to see in small drawings inside a manga which in plough makes it easier to convey a characters emotional state.

Drawing Anime & Manga Eyes

Anime optics tend to consist of minimal parts such as the top and bottom centre lashes, iris and pupil.

Instead of drawing individual eye lashes anime heart lashes are often drawn as one whole shape or with simply a hint of a few lashes (depending on the style).

Y'all may notice that anime eyes are often fatigued vertically stretched. One proficient reason for this might exist that if you draw large eyes and draw a round realistic iris/pupil you lot will stop up with a lot of space between the top, bottom or both parts of the eye. This space tin can requite a grapheme a scared or crazy look.

Alternatively if you were to draw a circular iris that is large plenty not to cover this infinite and so it would fill up almost the entire heart and would again await quite odd.

By stretching the iris and pupil artists are able to depict large eyes and notwithstanding make a character retain a normal eye expression. You can also run into this in other styles outside of anime and manga.

Cartoon Semi-Realistic Anime & Manga Eyes

Realistic anime eyes
Semi-realistic anime optics

This style portrays the optics in a semi-realistic fashion.

For this style draw round irises/pupils and depict the eyes a lot closer in proportion to real eyes (though nevertheless larger).

Drawing Regular Anime & Manga Optics

Anime eyes
Normal anime eyes

The most common style of anime eyes.

In this style draw the eyes significantly larger than real eyes. You can give only a hint of the eyelashes.

Drawing Highly Stylized or Chibi Anime & Manga Optics

Chibi anime eyes
Chibi anime optics

The characters that are drawn in this style are often know every bit "chibi". These have tiny bodies and huge heads with behemothic optics that can cover nigh of the head. The well-nigh mutual example of these would be in video games (especially old and retro styled games).

In this manner draw huge optics in relation to the residual of the character. Draw near every part of the eyes vertically stretched (the reflection can be only about any shape). Most of the details of the eyes when drawing in this style can exist omitted. Y'all can even avoid drawing the bottom eyelashes.

Decision

Please proceed in mind that the to a higher place advice is just bones guidelines. You lot can mix and match elements from dissimilar styles add together or remove details, gradients, reflections, etc… Try different things and see what works and what doesn't.

You may as well want to cheque out How to Draw Anime Eyes From Unlike Angles  and How to Draw Anime and Manga Eyes to Show Personality tutorials.

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