C  A  D  O  G  A  N    A  R  T

     F A C I A L  F E A T U R E S  2   The Eyes

fig 1.

The full eye shape is a ball situated in the orbital cavities of the skull. It is held in place by muscles and ligaments. the coloured ball in the centre of the eyeball is called the iris. In the centre of the iris is the pupil which is an aperture that lets light through to the back of the eye. it changes size according the the light conditions.
Because it is moist, the eyeball reflects light and appears as a sparkle light situated on or around the pupil.

fig 2.

The formation of the eyelid obscures two-thirds of the actual eyeball. The thickness of the eyelids obscures the top and bottom of the iris. The whole iris is seen when there is a surprised expression and alternatively the iris is more obscured with  a  smiling expression.
The thickness of the top eyelid casts a shadow on the the top of the eyeball and iris.
The small pocket in the corner of the eye called the tear duct is pink in colour and is at a slightly lower angle than the outside corner of the eye.

fig 4.

fig 4.

The full side profile eye is V shaped. The iris appears much slimmer and is always tucked under the eyelid. If the iris protrudes too far then the model will appear to have an overactive thyroid! In this profile, the tear duct may just be visible.

Pointers

The 'whites' of the eyes are never white but a blue/grey colour. the lightest eye white is seen in children.
The sparkle light in the eye is very small. It will look unreal if too large.
Keep lines around the eyes (or any other facial feature) light and broken especially the line of the lower lid.
Make sure the eyebrows are not too high above the eye.
Finally, leave out the eyelashes unless they are apparent. If they are then make them uneven and kept to the minimum.