How to Color Anime Eyes, a Copic Tutorial

One of the things that make anime stamps so appealing is their large, soulful eyes. When InStyle Stamps was preparing to release our line of Anime stamps back in January, I browsed the web and looked at tons of anime images to determine just the right way to color the eyes to show them to their best advantage. I made a little tutorial for our design team, which I am now going to share with you.

For my tutorial, I printed off a card front sized version of the digi image, Lizzie, from InStyle Stamps. (Note Lizzie is also available in red rubber for those of you who haven't jumped on the digital bandwagon.)


Step One
When coloring in the face, leave a white area around the eye going from the tip of the eyelash to the line under the eye as shown. In my sample, E00 is used to color in the face.


Step Two
The eyes are going to be colored in layers. Pick 3 shades of marker, a dark, a medium, and a light. I used my darkest blue, BG05 to lay down my first ring of color.


Step Three
Now add in a second layer of color in a lighter shade than the first, in this case BG01. Go over the BG05 color layer with the BG01 marker to start blending the two colors together. Notice that while there is some definite blending where they overlap, each color is still distinct.



Step Four
Add in your lightest color, BG000 in the sample, for your third layer of color. You will again go over the previous layers of color to blend. Leave a small area at the bottom of the eye uncolored. This adds depth by showing where the light is hitting the eye.


Step Five
Add a layer of the lightest color, in this case BG000, to the ring at the top of the eye where light is being reflected.



Finished Eye



See how easy it is to get a fabulous looking eye? Now what are you waiting for, whip out those Copics, and get coloring!