Santa Eyes

[Irish]

Someone PMed me and asked how I did Santa eyes so it seemed easiest to post it here.

carve1.jpg
The eyes and eye lids set below the cheek and brow ridge. If you gently lay a ruler against your face over the center of the eye the ruler will touch both of these areas but not the eye. So I start by carving the entire eye area below the cheek depth. I mark my upper eye lid and use the v-gouge to carve along the bottom line of this area. Next, I drop the lower section of the eye so that that area is below the depth of the upper eye lid. The lower lid lays deeper than the upper lid.

carve2.jpg
I v-gouge in the top line of the lower lid next. Notice that the lower eye lid is shorter and thinner than the upper lid.

carve3.jpg
The eye ball lies inside of these two eye lids ... it lies deeper than the eye lids so I carve the eye ball down. Keep the eye ball slightly round so that it tucks into the corners near the nose and along the temples. My piece is sort of small so I used my fine u-gouge (veining tool). In the carving steps this is probably the most important step as the eye lids must look as though they can close over the eye ball.

carve 4.jpg
Here's the face carving completed.

Susan

[Irish]

eyes1.jpg
I have two coats of a base skin color applied. Because I am not going to stain this practice sample I used very thinned burnt umber to shadow the eye lids, along the nose, and under the lower lip. I have also used white to highlight the brow ridge, center point of each eye lid, the nose, cheeks and mustache.

The eye ball has two coats of creamy white ... not bright white ... applied. When that dried I thinned burnt umber and washed a thin coat to the top 1/3 of the eye ball. In the painting steps this is probably the most important. The eye is not white, it's off white and too bright a white paint can give your face a startled look. The entire eye structure is always in shadow. The brow ridge over hangs the eye lids and the upper eye lid over hangs the eye ball. That little bit of brown shadow tucks the eye ball into the eye lid area.

eyes2.jpg
The only time you see the entire iris (colored area) of the eye is when someone is in shock!!!! So 99.9% of the time some part of the iris is covered by the eye lids. If the top part of the iris is covered your face looks straight at you. If the lower section is covered he is looking down.

I have used a medium blue for the iris and I have pulled a burnt umber line under the edge of the upper eye lid.

eyes3.jpg
I've added a shadow of darker blue to the iris along the upper eye lid. Even if your Santa's eyes are very small a little line of darker iris color makes the eye more real.

eyes4.jpg
Because my eyes are large compared to a Santa carving I have added a few lines of dark blue radiating into the center of the iris. I would not bother with this set of a Santa statue ...

Susan

[Irish]

eyes5.jpg
The end of a large brush handle dipped into your paint makes a perfect circle when just lightly touched to your carving. Pock around your brush kit and try several handles as you probably have a variety of possible circle sizes. A little sand paper used on the brush handle can enlarge the circle it makes.

The eye now has a nice circle of black for the pupil, a smaller circle of medium gray at the bottom of the center of the pupil and a white highlight. On small eyes I would not bother with the gray highlight...


eyes6.jpg
I have added a black line along the upper eye lid. If this was Mrs. Clause I would add a few fine eye lashes on the outside of the eye lid. The bottom eye lid is not outlined.

eyes7.jpg
Because my eyes are fairly large I have added a thin line of black along the sides of the pupil ... don't completely encircle the pupil.

eyes8.jpg
I've added the blush to the cheeks and the tip of the nose. There is also blush along the side of the nose near the eye corners and on the bottom side of the brow ridge - just above the upper eye lids. He's ready for staining.

Susan

[Irish]

As always ...Talking ... if you have other ideas, techniques, or comments please feel free to share them!

Susan

[GaryMc]

Wow Susan, I feel like I just went to art school! Thank you for the tutorial, it is the best one I have ever seen on eyes!
GaryMc

[squbrigg]

Great tutorial Susan, thank you. I have saved the series of pictures for a full study. I appreciate you taking the time to share it with us, not everyone would. I was trying to figure out how to paint the eyes on a new dragon cane that I have been asked to carve, so now I know. Thanks,

Bob

[Colin-Partridge]

Susan you are an inspiration and a gem. That is one of the best tutorials I have ever seen I hope you dont mind I have copied it for reference absolutly wonderful. Thank you for sharing that it is people like you and the rest on this message board that give us all so much help. Just to take the time out of your busy schedule to do that is impressive. Thanks again I know you have now improved my carvings I am sure you have improved a lot of peoples carvings.
ColinThumbs Up Idea

[Greyhair]

Thanks
This was a lot of work and it was incredibly valuable. I could extol your virtues forever for this piece.
Do you use the same technique of smaller pieces?

[Irish]

Hey Guys! Thank you ... see my ears turning red from blushing ...

Of course you are welcome to copy this as it was posted so you can use it! I learned how to do eyes many years ago while working on porcelin dolls. And I realize how many years ago that was because I can't remember how to spell porcelin any more ... sigh ... senior moment there! And after a crazy week in the studio it was a fun and relaxing practice piece to do.

Greyhair, I do have a Santa on the table. He's a 2" x 2" x 12" basswood block inspired by Goody's gracious thread on his palunioa santa blanks. When I get to the painting stage I'll post him for you. The changes in the eyes are very minor. And they are mostly done with a 00# liner brush that has about three hairs to it.

Susan

Ah Geez! Can't spell palownia-palunioa-that Chinese wood this morning either. Think I had better stick to carving this morning since my hands don't have to spell, only follow the pencil tracing lines ... Sigh!!!

[Irish]

I added my staining this morning. It's a mixture of about half and half of burnt umber and white oil paints thinned slightly with turp. I did not stain the eyes ... instead I used a soft brush to bring the stain up to the edges of the eye lids but not on the eye ball area itself. I want shadowed eyes not dirty eyes.

I lost my blush with the staining. It just over powered the pale peach color so I picked up a little of the same color in oils and patted the blush back into place.

Susan