...::: Small World :::...

Ok, so anime eyes aren't that difficult because they're very simplified. Wrong! The simpler they are, the more difficult they become, since their simplicity is the key to a character's facial expression. If you move an eyebrow down a little, you can get a frown. If you move it up, you get a puzzled expression. Tip #1: always think what you want your character's face to say before you vector the eyes.

Let's begin the vectoring process. First step is to choose an image, preferably one where the eyes are clearly visible. I chose this one and enlarged it by 200% (Image -> Image Size; make sure the Constrain Proportions box is ticked and set the units to 'percent' if you have 'pixels'). I cropped the eye out to make it more visible. It'll be easier if you magnify this image to 300%, the lines will be more delicate and accurate.

With the Eyedropper Tool (press I to select or choose from the tool pallette), pick a color you want for the eye outline and eyelashes (I picked #000000 to make it very visible but it is highly recommended you avoid black and white in order to blend the colors better). Select the Pen Tool and 'Shape Layers' option (see Pen Tool options guide). Click on the outer border of the eye outline and you'll notice a shape layer appear. Continue making anchor points along the line and remember to close the path (click again on the first anchor point). Don't worry if the paths don't follow the actual contour, we'll fix that later. For easy locating purposes, name this layer "eye outline". I have this:

Seems that "later" is now! :) Let's make the oultine look more like an eye! Get the Convert Point Tool (right-click on the Pen Tool in the Tools pallette and select the last tool) and click on one of the anchor points. You'll see some empty little squares appear where your anchor points are. Click on one of these and drag towards the left. Now you'll have two arrows. Click on the tip of one and drag it until the line overlaps your eye outline. Do this for every anchor point.
Tips: if you can't see the eye outline, change the opacity of the layer until it becomes visible. Create a new layer between the Background and "eye outline" ones and fill it with white to see your vectoring better.

Now do this for the entire eye outline. To work on the same shape layer, select the "Add to shape area" option (tool scheme).

Next we color the eye. The first will be the white parts. Pick a color (I picked #ffffff for extra clarity) and repeat the steps for the outline, naming the layer "white parts". Remember to place this layer below the "eye outline" one. You may want to create a different colored layer above the "white parts" one to see the white parts better (the color I used is #a4b26e). Pick your basic iris color and repeat the previous steps.

And here you have your basic anime eye! However, if you feel like it needs tweaking, you can go ahead and modify it to your heart's content.

I played with it a bit and here's what I got. I used only shape layers to get this result but you can use raster layers and filters as well. Have fun vectoring eyes! ^_^

This tutorial was written by Olivia. No part may be reproduced without the author's approval. The picture used is from Sailor Moon and is © respective owners.