One of the most important parts of any portrait is the eyes. If they are not painted well and convey emotion it can ruin the whole image. With the following series of images I will show how I paint an eye with soft pastel on rough asphalt.
Step 1. Draw your eye in a light blue. (avoid using white or black) This should just be a contour drawing.
Step 2. Color in the white of the eye with a midtone gray chalk, Iris in olive green, and pupil in black. These should be applied in thin consistant layers and rubbed in so that the surface is covered.
Step 3. Now add a brick red to the inner and outer edge of the eye and also the eye lids. This will add a bit more depth and realism to your eye. Outline lash line with dark brown.
Step 4. Begin to apply skin tone on the eye lids. You will layer this over the red you applied in step 3. To create the illusion of light reflecting on the eye, apply a yellow ochre to the left side gradually fading to the olive green. Using a white, bring up the highlight on the white of the eye. You want to begin at the iris and fade your way out to the gray before reaching the red in the corner.
Step 5. On the bottom right, add pale blue and brick red to the upper right. Now your iris should gradate from yellow-green-blue-green-red. Blend lightly with your fingers and reapply each given color by lightly scummbling over surface a second time. With black pastel outline your lash line and iris. This line should be soft but clear so you can blend over it with your finger to soften slightly. Around the iris, blend the black outline inward toward pupil. You can now add small white highlights on the eyeball; one over the yellow ocher, one small dot in the pupil, and one slightly larger dot on the right side between the red and blue.
Step 6. The flesh surrounding the eye can now be painted in working your way out from the center.
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