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Description
This is primarily for a friend and learning artist: [link] . I had some difficulty explaining to him the reason the eyes in his one picture were angled slightly wrong, and he came up with the opposite way to fix it then he should have. Realizing words weren't going to work, I quick sketched up this handy-dandy reference to help him out. I hope he finds it useful, as well as anyone else who may find use from it.

On with the show:

Fig 1: This is just a head on of the basic face. I left out the sides or anything, as human or furry, the elements are the same. As labeled (1) is the center-line vertically. (1a) is where the center-line ends at the bottom edge of the head (Give or take). (2) is the horizontal center-line and the line that determines where the eyes will be on the face. Eyes may be slightly above or below this line, but the bottom edge of the eyes are referenced to this line. (3) is the mouth line, which is half-way between the chin and the eye-line. (4) is the nose line, which is halfway between the mouth line and the eye-line. (5) is the lower lid of the eye. This is usually roughly either on, or slightly above or below the center-line. (6) is the upper eyelid. (7) is the eyebrow. 5,6, and 7 are always referenced, even when not drawn, when drawing the eye.

Fig 2: The eyes will follow that horizontal center-line. If the head is angled down, so too will the eyes. If the head is angled up, so too will the eyes. These are the only times you see the lower lid of the eye curve or angle, save for the following exception....

Fig 3: The exception being a "happy" expression. This expression is difficult without the mouth, but the raise of the mouth's corners causes the cheek muscles to lift, which bunch under the eye, causing them to arc upwards slightly. However, similar muscles can be in effect in cases of extreme sadness, so the arced eye isn't a universal clue unless done stylistically as can be seen in some Japanese Manga.

Fig 4: For an angry expression, the muscles in the center of the forehead push downwards (shown by the arrow) in the center, between the eyes. This causes wrinkles to form between the eyes, and the eye to arc downward in the center, while raising upwards to the sides. Notice the pupils for the eyes fill most of the remaining space, and look larger as part of the expression.

Fig 5 (Accidentally unlabeled): For a fearful expression, the muscle that pushed downwards in the previous figure is pulled upwards sharply. This causes the eyebrows and eyes to arc upwards at the center of the face, and droop down on the sides. Also notice the pupils look smaller then normal. This is to give the maximum amount of "white" around the eye. The more of the "whites of the eyes" show, the more scared the character tends to look. The balance can be experimented with, but generally you want to use a smaller pupil combined with exaggerated levels of "arch" in the eyebrows and eyelids for maximum effect.

Fig 6: Sorrow is much like fear in many respects. However the primary difference is how widely the eye is open. Most of the time someone who is upset or sad will be on the verge of, if not actually, tearing up. This reflexively causes the eyes to squeeze together to push the excess tears out of the eyes. As a note, tears generally come from the corners of the eyes, NOT along the middle.

Fig 7: Just an outline of eyes I've used in various pictures in the past. The eye I currently use in most of my art is the center of the 2nd row. The 2 on the bottom row I have used in my comic. The upper right is close to how I do the eyes for Birdo and the Hissi. Please note that while the eye can be closed (right side, 2nd row for example) it does not HAVE to be. Also drawing the upper edge of the eyelid, as I did there, is not necessary but can add a feminine touch to the eye. Further it can be used to replace eyebrows in MOST conditions (I've found one always needs eyebrows for angry. I don't know why.....).

That's it. I hope it's of some help.

Description
This is primarily for a friend and learning artist: [link] . I had some difficulty explaining to him the reason the eyes in his one picture were angled slightly wrong, and he came up with the opposite way to fix it then he should have. Realizing words weren't going to work, I quick sketched up this handy-dandy reference to help him out. I hope he finds it useful, as well as anyone else who may find use from it.

On with the show:

Fig 1: This is just a head on of the basic face. I left out the sides or anything, as human or furry, the elements are the same. As labeled (1) is the center-line vertically. (1a) is where the center-line ends at the bottom edge of the head (Give or take). (2) is the horizontal center-line and the line that determines where the eyes will be on the face. Eyes may be slightly above or below this line, but the bottom edge of the eyes are referenced to this line. (3) is the mouth line, which is half-way between the chin and the eye-line. (4) is the nose line, which is halfway between the mouth line and the eye-line. (5) is the lower lid of the eye. This is usually roughly either on, or slightly above or below the center-line. (6) is the upper eyelid. (7) is the eyebrow. 5,6, and 7 are always referenced, even when not drawn, when drawing the eye.

Fig 2: The eyes will follow that horizontal center-line. If the head is angled down, so too will the eyes. If the head is angled up, so too will the eyes. These are the only times you see the lower lid of the eye curve or angle, save for the following exception....

Fig 3: The exception being a "happy" expression. This expression is difficult without the mouth, but the raise of the mouth's corners causes the cheek muscles to lift, which bunch under the eye, causing them to arc upwards slightly. However, similar muscles can be in effect in cases of extreme sadness, so the arced eye isn't a universal clue unless done stylistically as can be seen in some Japanese Manga.

Fig 4: For an angry expression, the muscles in the center of the forehead push downwards (shown by the arrow) in the center, between the eyes. This causes wrinkles to form between the eyes, and the eye to arc downward in the center, while raising upwards to the sides. Notice the pupils for the eyes fill most of the remaining space, and look larger as part of the expression.

Fig 5 (Accidentally unlabeled): For a fearful expression, the muscle that pushed downwards in the previous figure is pulled upwards sharply. This causes the eyebrows and eyes to arc upwards at the center of the face, and droop down on the sides. Also notice the pupils look smaller then normal. This is to give the maximum amount of "white" around the eye. The more of the "whites of the eyes" show, the more scared the character tends to look. The balance can be experimented with, but generally you want to use a smaller pupil combined with exaggerated levels of "arch" in the eyebrows and eyelids for maximum effect.

Fig 6: Sorrow is much like fear in many respects. However the primary difference is how widely the eye is open. Most of the time someone who is upset or sad will be on the verge of, if not actually, tearing up. This reflexively causes the eyes to squeeze together to push the excess tears out of the eyes. As a note, tears generally come from the corners of the eyes, NOT along the middle.

Fig 7: Just an outline of eyes I've used in various pictures in the past. The eye I currently use in most of my art is the center of the 2nd row. The 2 on the bottom row I have used in my comic. The upper right is close to how I do the eyes for Birdo and the Hissi. Please note that while the eye can be closed (right side, 2nd row for example) it does not HAVE to be. Also drawing the upper edge of the eyelid, as I did there, is not necessary but can add a feminine touch to the eye. Further it can be used to replace eyebrows in MOST conditions (I've found one always needs eyebrows for angry. I don't know why.....).

That's it. I hope it's of some help.