The eyes are the most important part of any wildlife painting. In my opinion you must dedicate the most time to the eyes. Painting the eyes bright and full of life can turn a good painting into a fantastic one that captivates and draws in the viewer. The secret to painting realistic eyes are the subtle details that most of us don’t even see. By utilising these and putting them all together it make such a big difference to the final appearance of your painting. Tricks for painting A Realistic Tiger’s Eye • Tone your surface with watered down brown paint • Roughly block in the dark lines with black paint • Block in very dark base colours with burnt umber and black • Add a line of saturated burnt umber between areas where black and white fur meet • Various mixes of white, black and yellow ochre for the white fur • Leave gaps between your light fur to add layering and depth • Add shadows to the iris when dry using thinned down paint • Add some blue to the reflections to give the impression of the sky.
Before I start I study my reference material closely, I look at the shadows and highlights I look at the shapes and structures of the eye and most importantly I look at the edges specifically whether they are hard of soft. Most beginners draw with thick dark lines, giving everything a hard edge even in places there isn’t one. By softening up some of the edges in places and getting rid of those sharp hard lines it can add more depth and realism to your work. So visualising where these are is key.
Hi guys, in this video I'm going to show you my process for painting a tiger's eye using
acrylic paint. If you like it, please make sure to like the video and subscribe.
I start by applying a thin wash of burnt umber paint mixed with water for a base tone. I've used
graphite pencil to draw out the shape of the eye first. Next, I begin to draw out the dark lines
of the eye using black paint. I don't mind using the black straight out of the tube at this stage
I'm using an average sized round brush. I'm not looking for details but I want enough control
to add the darks where I want them to be. Next, I block in the darkest colours of the eye using a
mix of black, raw umber and yellow ochre. I paint the entire iris this colour as it will act as a
base layer for the rest of the painting. Next, I block in the brown fur around the eye. Again,
I'm just using the round brush because I'm not aiming for any detail. I'm using a mix of burnt
umber and black for this part. I use less water as I want the paint to be less transparent and
more opaque. Wherever there's going to be white fur next to black fur, I want to transition the
two by adding a line of saturated colour. In this case, I'm using burnt umber. I feel this adds to
the realism of the eye and gives it more depth and more natural looking fur. Next, I'm blocking in
the darker white areas above and below the eye. For this stage, I use a mix of black, yellow ochre
and white. I want a dark yellowy grey to act as the base layer for the white fur that I'll paint
later. Move on to blocking in some rough stripes above the eye using black paint. I'm not focusing
on details, just blocking in the basic shapes. Sometimes, I use my finger to wipe away the paint
and blend it in when I use too much. Next, I brighten up the iris using layers of burnt umber
and yellow ochre. Here, I'm just trying to establish a base for the colours and hues that I will work on
top of later. I use blue mixed with the yellow and brown to add some green tones, then build up more
details using a small detail brush. It's at this stage that I go on to refine the shape of the eye
slightly, adding the black and grey highlights of the eye socket. Next, I begin to paint the skin
underneath the eye. This is an area of the tiger with no fur and it has an almost leathery appearance.
I'm using mixes of blue, black and white using a small detail brush to add the bumps and pores
found on that section of the eye. I add a touch more white for each subsequent layer, making sure
never to go past a dark to mid-grey. I don't want it to appear too light. I use watered down black
paint to glaze some of the darker lines and shadows over the rest of the eye. Again, I use
the detail brush as I want to be as accurate as possible. I move on to the white fur underneath
the eye. I switch brushes and now I'm using a small angled brush. I'm using the same mix of
yellow ochre, burnt umber and black, but I've now added some white so that I can paint the lighter
fur. Notice how I'm leaving gaps between some of the strands to let some of the darker layers show
through. This is really important when aiming for realistic fur. Sometimes I can cover up this base
layer with my lighter marks, but it's a really easy fix. I just add some dark marks back in with
the detail brush. I repeat this whole process, gradually getting lighter with each layer,
building up the fur, making sure to leave those gaps for the darker layers. I keep on adding more
and more white until I get to my lightest layer. This is where I use the detail brush to add the
finest hairs. It's important to note that I never use pure white. This final layer is actually a
I then glaze some burnt umber over the edge of the fur,
using very watered down paint to add that saturated transition point that I mentioned earlier.
To add to the realism, I like to paint back in some of the darker lines again,
making sure to overlap the whiter fur and give the appearance of multiple layers.
I use a small detail brush to do this. Sometimes the lighter fur gets dulled down when I do this
step, so I just add a few more lighter strands once the dark layer has dried.
I move back to the iris now. I actually think this is the most important part of the painting.
If you can get the eyes bright and full of life, it can really add something special to your work.
I build up the colours in the eyes using various glazes of yellow ochre,
burnt umber and burnt sienna. The bottom of the iris is brighter as this is where the light usually
hits. At least, that's where it was hitting on my reference photo. The top part of the eye is
darker as this is where the shadow cast by the brow would be. Before I move on, I thought I
would mention that this piece is part of a commissioned set of paintings that I'm working on,
and the reference for this particular piece was very kindly provided by an American photographer
called Michelle Cobble. Make sure when you're painting from reference, you're either using
your own photos, royalty free photos, or you've asked the photographer for permission to use their
work. Anyway, back to the painting. I'm just building up the colours and the tones using a
small detail brush. I work in lines to give the impression of the structure of the iris.
I'm not being hyper-realistic and painting everything, I'm just trying to give the
impression of the tiny details. Now I move on to the white fur above the eye. I start by painting
some black lines in the direction I want the fur to go. I then apply some hairs using the same
angled brush and yellowy grey paint as before, making sure to leave some of those dark layers
showing through. I repeat this process, adding slightly more white to my paint mix each time
to add the lighter fur. For the final touches to the eye, I use a thin wash of raw umber to
add the shadow underneath, cast onto the iris by the brown. It is very important that you think
about light and shadow when you're painting eyes to make them look as realistic as possible.
Next, I'm adding the regions of highlights. These are the reflections seen in the eye.
I start with a mid-grey that is about the same tone as the light parts of the eye.
I add a bit of white to this to create slightly lighter spots, and a slight blue glaze to give
the impression of the sky being reflected in parts of the eye. I do a few final touch-ups,
glazing some shadows around the eye, and then I'm ready to call it finished.
Here's the finished eye. As I said, it's part of a much larger painting, so quite a lot of
this eye will be painted over with snow. I'm working on another video that will show the
process of the entire painting. I hope you found this video helpful, and the techniques
I used here can be used when painting other animal eyes, or using oil paints. If you wait
long enough for the layers to dry properly, you should have no problem using the same techniques
using oils. If you enjoyed the video, please make sure to give it a like. As always, thank
you so much for watching, and remember to subscribe to Studio Wildlife for more wildlife art tips.
