Introduction

Eyes are the first thing you look at in a character illustration, let’s make them pop!

 

In this tutorial, I will show you how to go from flat colours to two different styles of sparkly eyes using only Clip Studio Paint’s standard tools. We will learn which blending modes make a drawing shine and how to create depth in the simplest way.

 

Remember: there is no need to be perfect. Just enjoy the process!

Preparation and Tools

We will use standard tools found in CSP, no fancy materials needed here!

 

Line Art: G-Pen

Colouring & Shading: Round Mixing Brush (used for shading everything, unless specified), Soft Airbrush

Decoration: Sparkle, Dotted Line, Star

Style A: Regular Sparkly Eyes

I will show you step by step how to colour beautiful, simple sparkly eyes. It is quick and easy, so pay attention!

Step 1: Base Color and First Shadow

1. Fill the Base: Choose your base colour and fill in the line art.

2. First Shadow: Select a slightly darker colour. Shade around the edge of the iris. Make the shading thicker on top and thinner near the bottom.

3. The Pupil: Add a circle in the centre, slightly smaller than you want the actual pupil to be.

 

 

Step 2: Second shadow. Depth

Now we need the “darkest” colour to add contrast.

 

1. Define the Pupil: Use your darkest shadow colour to outline the pupil you drew in the previous step.

2. Upper Arc: Draw a line following the upper curve of the iris under the eyelashes.

3. Soft Gradient: Use the Soft Airbrush to lightly shade the very top of the eye.

Step 3: Primary Reflections

Let’s add the light!

 

Dark Highlights: Using your darkest highlight colour, draw rounded shapes at the bottom of the iris.

Cool Reflections: Create a New Layer. Pick a vibrant, cool primary colour (I recommend blue). Draw similar shapes at the top of the iris.

Blending Mode: Change this layer's Blending Mode to Add. Lower the opacity to approx. 50%.

Step 4: The Glow Effect (Pro Tip!)

To finish, we will make the eyes look alive and glowy.

 

1. Core Highlight: Choose your lightest highlight colour. Colour a small spot inside the shapes at the bottom of the iris.

2. Sparkles: On a new layer, draw one big white reflection at the top. Use the Sparkle decoration brush to add surrounding sparkles.

3. Glow Effect: Duplicate the sparkle layer. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and blur it slightly. Set this blurred layer to Add (Glow).

Style B: Colourful Starry Eyes

Let's take these sparkly eyes to the next level in 3 steps, creating a universe inside our character’s eyes!

Note: Start from the Step 3 in the previous section (after drawing the darkest highlights).

Step 1: The Third Shadow

We need an even darker shadow to make the sparkles stand out.

 

Using a darker colour and the Soft Airbrush, colour inside the pupil and over the interior shadows.

 

The eye looks quite dark now, ready for the bright stars!

Step 2: Reflections. Blending Mode Party!

We will use multiple layers to create complex reflections. For each layer, set the Mode to Add and Opacity to 40-60%.

 

Layer A: Draw a large blue sparkle shape inside the pupil.

Layer B: Draw a pink oval near the top edge of the pupil. Use the Soft Airbrush to erase the bottom of the oval and fade it out.

Layer C: Use the Dotted Line decoration brush (in pink and blue) along the edges of the pupil. Fade it out just like we did in Layer B.

Layer D: Draw two big blue shapes on the top part of the pupil.

Step 3: Final highlights

1. On a new layer, use the Star and Sparkle decoration brushes to add white stars. Use fewer stars than sparkles.

2. Set this layer to Glow Dodge at 70% opacity. Duplicate the layer twice and blur one copy slightly using Gaussian Blur.

3. Take the unblurred copy and move it above your line art layer. Set it to Normal. This makes the sparkles look like they are escaping the character's eyes!

Final words

And that's it! Whether you want a simple shine or a complex galaxy, CSP can help you achieve it.

 

I hope this tutorial helps you create captivating eyes! If you found it helpful, I would love if you could leave a like and share.

 

Show me how your eyes turned out!