Photorealism Challenge: Eye

[T Paul]

In this challenge you can use photos for reference, but none can be used for the actual image. Be sure to include your steps, as this will be a great way to pick up some new techniques.

Challenge:
Create a photorealistic eye. If you need some tips there are some great tutorials out on the web as well as on this site.

Eye tutorials

Iris

When you've got your entry, just reply to this thread. Attach your file to your post (no URLs, please). Don't forget to include an excellent description on how you did it.

As always, this Challenge doesn't expire, ever.

[Punch]

Hi...

I used the texture map tute. I added a few things on my own. Then I googled to find an appropriate image. I used it to airbrush the skin and lids etc. It's not really finished but...

I don't know how useful the tute was as I could never remember all those steps and even a set of actions would be terribly confusing. It took about an hour for the eyeball itself.

Cheers... Kent

[T Paul]

Wow Kent! I love all the detail: shadows, glossiness, eyelashes, depth, and the colorful iris! You just need some blood vessels showing in the whites and some skin texture and you would have everything. My favorite part is how much depth you created. The eye looks like it is truly sitting under the lids. In fact, I keep waiting for it to blink

Excellent results! Also kudos for being the first to tackle this challenge!!

~T

[Punch]

T...

Thank you for your comments. I took your suggestions to heart.

Added noise to skin, gausian blurred. Added some blood vessels to whites. In addition I dodged the lashes a bit and added a hint of eybrow.

Great way to spend a relaxing afternoon.

Kent

PS... Almost spent a few minutes to make it wink at you but...

[T Paul]

Excellent retouch Kent! You should be real pleased with your results. I like the eyebrow (it helps frame the eye), but I don't think it would be that close to the eye. Also you might burn those eye lashes to darken them up just a tad.

~T

[W. Rose]

Hi Kent,
Very interesting results you have there, i like it.

Wayne

[Xaran]

Did this using the tutorial here, need to practice more to get it right though.

http://div.dyndns.org/EK/tutorial/eye/

Christine

[T Paul]

Christine I like your results, you should be pleased! The eye has a soft painterly feel to it. One suggestion try adding some eye lashes; I believe creating them will add a big impact to your eye. By the way, the eyebrow looks great. Love all the little strokes.

Nicely done!

Other Suggetions:

Try experimenting with the burn tool to add a some darker shadows and add depth to your eye.

Try sharpening the iris and pupil to help them stand out.

~T

[Dreamypix]

I know this is an old post but I thought I would give the eye a try...

I really can't explain how I did it, except for lots of layers and BLEND BLEND BLEND...with the smudge tool.. I really was trying to get a highlight on eye part itself so I lassoed the parts individually, copied the part (like the pupil) so that it would be on a seperate layer and ran it through the Plastic Wrap to give it a highlights/wet look. I also ran the eyebrow (copied onto it's own layer of course) through an emboss filter and then changed it to an overlay. I hope that all makes sense! It's really hard to describe! Of course I used the burn/dodge tool ALOT to give it depth. I don't know if it's noticable but I did use the texturizer to give the skin a texture.

Does anyone have any suggestions to make this eye seem more real?

TIA,

Amber

[philbach]

Well one thing that I noticed, Amber is that the pupil is not exactly centered in the Iris. Centering perfectly would help I believe.

[T Paul]

Looks like I missed this one, sorry for the delayed response.

First off, nice work Amber and kudos for trying this challenge.

Nice shading on the skin and excellent work on adding depth to the whites of the eye. The shadows really give the eye realism and superb work with the reds of the eye muscle.

How to make it look more real…
Phil is spot on about centering the pupil.

Eye lashes tend to be very difficult to master. Your first problem is that you have too many. Also eye lashes usually sweep down then up and out from the eye, but yours are all sweeping to the side. This is hard to explain and will be easier to view. For a great reference source look at some magazines ads of models or perform a Google search for “eye”. You can also view stock photography web sites and look at their images for some ideas. Also try reducing the number of lashes (especially on the bottom lid) and darken the ones you leave behind. By studying eyes you will get a good feel on how lashes look and see that the lashes usually aren’t so numerous especially on the lower lid.

I realize you used the emboss filter and perhaps plastic wrap to add thickness to your eyebrows and help them standout, but it really doesn’t look realistic. Try filling in the basic shape of the eyebrow with a low opacity brown. On a new layer, using a small brush set to fade add strokes for the eyebrow hairs. You can experiment with different colors to help add depth as well as adding a slight drop shadow or using the burn tool to add some darker areas.

Finally brighten the catch light (white shine on the eye) up a bit, right now it is too subtle.

Here is a tutorial you might find useful:
Moonsphere.com Eye Tutorial

[Rob S.]

OK, no one said it had to be a human eye, right? I mean there was no fine print anywhere, was there?
OK, I'm a coward, I admit it. I didn't think I could pull off doing a human eye, as I'm not an artist. And, I always loved that scene in "Jurassic park" where the T-Rex was looking through the window of the jeep, soooo... this is what I came up with.
The eye itself was done traditionally. I darkened the perimeter to give it some depth. I did the socket and surrounding tissue on four separate layers, so I could play with blending color, shadow and texture. The texture was done with the Stained Glass filter (And an annoying filter it is too! It'd be nice if you could control it more, but I'm not using CS...maybe you can now.)
Then I merged the skin layers, duped THAT layer and did a Craquelure on it, blurred it a bit and knocked down the opacity.
That's about it.

[Dreamypix]

Thanks for the helpful advice TPaul! Heeeey...is that your tutorial on making eyes? If so, that is soooo awesome. I'm jealous! Thanks for the link and now I def see where I can improve! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

[T Paul]

Rob,

There was no fine print and kudos for stretching your imagination…very creative idea going with the T-Rex. The stain glass filter may be a pain, but it produced a wonderful reptile skin texture. The eye itself looks a little tame for a T-Rex though. Try changing the pupil from round to more of a sharp oval. Now I personally haven’t seen a T-Rex, but the oval pupil might create a fiercer look. For examples, do a Google search for “Reptile Eye”. I’ve attached a few I found.

[T Paul]

Originally Posted by Dreamypix

Thanks for the helpful advice TPaul! Heeeey...is that your tutorial on making eyes? If so, that is soooo awesome. I'm jealous! Thanks for the link and now I def see where I can improve! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

Dreampix,

You are most welcome and no it's not my tutorial, but it is an excellent one to learn from!!

[Shalford]

Another part of this wonderful site i've just found!!

Thought i'd submit this!

Just a black and white one. (seems to be easier!!)

I sketched this from a photo using PhotoshopCS.

It is mostly done using the paint brush.

Eye lashes and eye brows I find easiest using the smudge tool set to finger painting, about 95% strength. Just pull out from a dark area.

Dodging and burning here and there!
Noise added - blurred slightly then removed from the white of the eye.

I would appreciate any comments how to refine it.

[T Paul]

Excellent work Steve! I really like the black & white tone and charcoal texture. The eye is wonderfully detailed, and quite the piece of art! Eyelashes can be very difficult to master, but you had no problem creating them! However, something seems odd. Perhaps it’s the pupil. That’s probably because when I look at photographs of eyes the pupils are larger due to the lighting or flash. For grins, try enlarging the pupil just a bit and see what you think.

A few other things to consider:

The line around the eye area is a bit strong, like some serious eye liner was used. As a result those delicate eyelashes really get lost. You might want to thin out the thick black lines as well as try developing some gradual differences in shading to help the shadow areas stand out from the lines of the eyelid.

The white area directly under the pupil is a bit strong too. It really draws too much attention to it. Try adding some shading here to reduce the size of it.

Overall, superb work!

~T

[Shalford]

TPaul - Thanks for the feedback

I have taken onboard your comments, I will submit the alterations and look forward to your expert eye looking over it again.

[Shalford]

T Paul

OK here's MK ll.

I found it harder to alter than doing the original.

I studied the eye balls of photgraphs, especially lighting reflections.

What with tennis finals, Formula 1 and Live8 it was somewhat hard to concentrate, but this is what I came up with.

Look forward to your comments.

[T Paul]

Wow Steve! I wonder what kind of work you do without distractions (wink).

This is a huge improvement and that’s saying a lot considering your first attempt was quite good. This eye looks much more natural. The pupil blends perfectly into the iris, and I just love the glossiness you have achieved. I almost want to wait to see if it winks. I like how in this version the eyelashes don’t get overpowered by the eye lines and how you can see the corner eye muscle. My only suggestion is to thicken up the eyebrow a bit with some more hair. Excellent work, and once again...WOW!




~T

[Shalford]

T Paul

Many thanks for the comments.

I agree with your comments about the eyebrow.

One day I'll alter it again ...

Meantime, I've had time to concentrate a bit - so here's 1 in colour.

Just noticed "No URL's" sorry. I've deleted the original site URL.

I know that your really busy right now with the contests, so I'll leave you in
peace to answer all the contest forum queries.

I've learnt a lot from you casting your expert eye.

Many thanks,

Regards