This tutorial on how to draw male eyes will teach you how to create a truly strong and compelling expression on your male portraits.

How to Draw Male Eyes: Introduction

Eyes are an important organ in the human body. They allow us to see objects around us. For an artist, it is essential to know how to draw eyes correctly. For example, to create realistic male portraits, it is necessary to know how to draw male eyes properly.

The eyes in this lesson will have a realistic appearance, but anyone, even a beginner, can draw them. This is possible because the tutorial follows a detailed yet simplified process, where each step introduces a small element. By the end, you will have a completed drawing of male eyes.

People have different eye shapes, iris colors, and other features. Keep this in mind as you follow the steps in this tutorial on drawing male eyes. You can adjust the details to achieve the desired final look.

Eyes are not only seen in the real world but also appear in cartoons and other types of art. To help master another style, I created an additional lesson on drawing male eyes in a cartoon style. This additional lesson is available at the end of the page.

Male Eyes Drawing Tutorial

Materials

Pencil
Paper
Eraser
Coloring supplies

Time needed: 30 minutes

How to Draw Male Eyes

Draw the guidelines for the male eyes.
Begin by drawing intersecting lines to create a guide for the placement of the male eyes. The horizontal lines determine the eye level, while the vertical line ensures symmetry between the eyes. Keep your guidelines light so they can be easily erased later.
Sketch the borders for the male eyes.
Draw vertical guidelines to mark the outer and inner edges of the male eyes. These lines help establish the width and spacing between the eyes. Ensure the distance between the eyes is roughly equal to the width of one eye for a realistic result.
Outline the male eyes shapes.
Sketch the almond-shaped outlines of the male eyes along the guidelines. Start from the inner corner, curve upwards for the upper lid, and then curve downward for the lower lid. Repeat for the second eye, keeping the shapes symmetrical. Pay attention to the proportions to achieve a realistic appearance.
Add the irises.
Draw a circle within each eye outline to represent the irises. Position the circles so they are centered between the inner and outer edges of the eyes, with the top and bottom parts slightly obscured by the eyelids. This creates a natural and realistic look for the male eyes.
Draw the pupils.
Inside each iris, sketch a smaller circle for the pupil. Center the pupils within the irises to give the male eyes a natural and realistic look. To add more realism, include a small highlight by drawing a tiny circle or oval overlapping the pupil.
Detail the eyelids.
Draw the upper and lower eyelid folds above and below the eye outlines. The upper eyelid fold should follow the curve of the top eyelid, slightly higher, while the lower eyelid fold is shorter and located close to the nose. Adjust the thickness and curvature of the lines to match the desired style or expression.
Sketch the eyebrows.
Now, draw the eyebrows above the eyes, following the natural curve of the brow ridge. Use curved or angular lines depending on the desired style, considering that male eyebrows are often thicker and less arched than female eyebrows. Ensure the eyebrows are symmetrical and aligned with the eyes.
Finalize and clean the drawing.
Erase all unnecessary guidelines and refine the outlines of the male eyes and eyebrows. Smooth out any rough lines, ensuring that all elements, including the eyelids, irises, pupils, and eyebrows, are well-defined. This step polishes your the male eyes drawing and prepares it for coloring or final adjustments.
Color the drawing of male eyes.
Color the irises, using a desired color. Darken the pupils, keeping the highlights untouched for a reflective appearance. Fill in the eyebrows with any natural hair color. Then, color the skin in any realistic or unrealistic color. To make the male eyes drawing look more realistic, you can add shadows and highlights.

Cartoon Male Eyes Drawing Tutorial

The first tutorial demonstrated how to draw realistic male eyes with detailed guidelines and realistic anatomical proportions, while the second tutorial simplifies the process, using cartoon-style features like exaggerated pupils, thick outlines, and prominent eyebrows.

The second tutorial also includes more stylized shapes, such as curved eyelashes and a rounded nose bridge, giving it a more animated and simplified appearance compared to the realistic approach in the first tutorial.

Begin by drawing two curved shapes for the upper outlines of the male eyes. Add rounded shapes below them to create the lower eye outlines, ensuring symmetry. Inside each eye, draw a large oval for the iris and a smaller circle for the pupil. Place tiny highlights within the pupils to enhance the cartoon effect.

Draw a wide curve connecting the bottom edges of the eyes to sketch a nose. Add subtle curves above each eye to define the upper eyelids, and draw the eyelashes as short lines. Above the eyelids, draw thick, arched cartoon eyebrows. Finish the drawing by coloring the irises, pupils, and eyebrows to complete the cartoon-style male eyes.

I remind you that for your convenience, I have created a PDF file in which you can see a short version of this tutorial.

Cartoon Male Eyes Worksheets

Conclusion

In this lesson, you learned how to draw male eyes in both realistic and cartoon styles. The realistic format focused on illustrating natural shapes and details, while the cartoon style simplified the process with exaggerated features and fewer details. These two approaches provide a strong foundation for drawing male eyes in various contexts, whether for realistic portraits or more stylized illustrations.

To further develop your skills, consider practicing more complex compositions. For example, drawing a face will help you understand the relationships between different facial features and refine your ability to depict proportions. Expanding beyond just the face, try to draw a person full-body to learn simplified anatomy. This progression will build your confidence and help you advance as an artist.