How to Draw Closed, Closing & Squinted Anime Eyes

This short tutorial explains how to draw closed, half-closed, and squinted anime and manga style eyes in the front view.

Anime eyes closing and squinting
Anime eyes closing and squinting

Before drawing closed or squinted anime eyes it’s a good idea to take a look at how eyes close in general.

How eyes close
How eyes close

When the eyes close in a relaxed state the top eyelid moves all the way down to the bottom eyelid with the bottom eyelid pretty much staying in place.

When the eyes squint the top and bottom eyelid move towards one another.

For drawing eyelashes:

How to Draw Anime Eyelashes Step by Step

Drawing Relaxed Closed Anime Eyes

 

Anime eyes closing
Anime eyes closing

As described above when drawing anime eyes closing in a relaxed state draw the top eyelid lower down but leave the bottom eyelid where it would normally be.

When drawing the eyes in a fully closed state draw the top eyelid where the bottom eyelid would be when the eyes are open.

Also draw the top eyelids curving in the opposite direction when the eyes are closed compared to when they are open.

Anime eyelid closing positions
Anime eyelid closing positions

In the above example you can see the positioning of the eyelids in relation to the iris as the eyes close.

Drawing Squinting Anime Eyes

Anime eyes squinting
Anime eyes squinting

When drawing squinting anime eyes draw the top eyelid lower down and draw the bottom eyelid higher up than normal.

You can draw the top eyelid slightly less curved and change the curve on the bottom eyelid to be in the same direction as the curve of the top eyelid.

For fully closed squinted eyes simply draw each eye as a single curve with a hint of eyelashes. Draw the curves around what would be the vertical middle area of the eyes if they were open.

Anime eyelid squinting positions
Anime eyelid squinting positions

Similar to the previous example in this one you can see the positioning of the eyelids in relation to the iris as the eyes squint.

Conclusion

This was a fairly short tutorial but hopefully it gave you a little more insight into drawing closed and squinted anime eyes.

For more on drawing anime and manga style eyes see: