Before we start,
I'd like to say, I am a novice at this, and as such, this tutorial can
certainly be improved on. My weakness is shading and highlighting,
but the more you practice the better it gets. This tutorial is a
starting point, providing the basics so you can play around with it and
have some fun!
Step 1:
Open new canvas, 300 x 300,
white background, 72dpi. Create a new layer and fill with a skin
tone colour, such as E6BEB8. Create a new layer. Using a
slightly darker colour than first (e.g. CFA499) draw a basic eye shape,
remembering the tear duct area. Gaussian Blur between 1 and 2.
Step 2:
Create new Layer
between the skin later and the eye outline layer. Fill the eye area
with white using a brush
Click on layer
styles and click on pattern overlay. Find pattern called strings,
opacity 5%, scale 95 or 100. This gives a subtle effect to the white
of the eye.
Step 3:
Create a new
layer. Use the same colour as eye outline and shade in tear duct
area at 50% opacity. Creat a new layer and draw in socket line using
same colour and Gaussian Blur at 2. (You can also experiment using
liquify, soft pressure of around 25, brush at about 15).
Step 4a:
Create a new layer. Using the elliptical marqee, ensure feather set
at 0, use shift key to constrain to perfect circle and draw a circle in
the middle of the eye area, almost but not quite touching the top of the
eye and the bottom of the eye. Now change feather setting to 2 and
go to Edit/Stroke and select a colour such as 7C5A55, set at 2 pixels, and
outside checked. Now you want to select an eye colour. This
example used 2F55CB set at 80%, select fill tool and fill the highlight
area with the colour. Ctrl+d to deselect.
Step 4b:
Reselect the elliptical marque and again using shift to constrain to
perfect circle, you now want to draw a smaller circle in the centre of the
eye for the pupil. When you have done this fill with black. Ctrl+D
to deselect.
Step 5:
Now go to Filter/Render/Lens Flare. Set at 105 and 75%. You
can now use a soft brush with a light opacity white to draw in other
highlights to the eyeball if you wish. For this tutorial I just
added another lens flare at 25% on a different part of the iris/pupil.
Step 6:
Create a New Layer and call it Eyebrow. This example used the colour
886B66 and a Size 13 feathered brush to draw in the eyebrow shape.
You can do a Gaussian Blur at 2 at this stage if you wish, I didn't.
Go to Filter/Noise, Gaussian, Monochromatic and set at 4.
Step 7: Liquifying the Brow
Go to Image/Liquify. Set brush size at 20, pressure 30, Smooth and
stroke over the eyebrow. CLick ok and tidy up your brow using eraser.
Repeat liquify and erase once more.
Here is an example of a finished eyebrow.
Step 8:
Now we need to start making highlights and shadows
around the eye area. Create a new layer.
I used a brush size of 20, feathery, 10% opacity to
highlight under the brow area. You can use your eraser to tidy up
the highlight. You also need some highlighting under the eye.
Again I used a reasonable sized brush. Angle your brush as you work with
the highlight area under the eye. You can blur the highlights at a low
Gausian blur of 1 or 2. I set my layer opacity at 80%.
Step 9:
Working on lowlights/shadow. Create a new layer.
Select a colour such as C68f86. Set opacity of brush at 20% and
apply once or twice to the socket area. Gaussian Blur @ 2 and use
eraser to tidy edges. You then want to enhance/darken the socket
line and around the eye. You also want to give the cheek area some
colour, using a complimentary colour, using either the airbrush or a large
(150) size feathery brush.
Step 10:
Now for something a little bit tricky - Eyelashes!!!
Create a new layer (I did the top and bottom lashes on separate layers).
Use a colour similar to the brow colour (in this example 886B66) and
select a 1 pixel brush set at 50% opacity and draw in the lashes.
Once satisfied with your lashes, apply a drop shadow in the layer style at
75%.
