Look at a dozen tutorial books from the nineties and you'll see the same tired trope: two curved lines and a slanted flick. It’s lazy. Honestly, it’s also inaccurate. If you’re trying to master drawings of asian eyes, the first thing you have to do is unlearn the "almond shape" cliché that art teachers have been reciting for decades. Real anatomy is way more interesting than a simplified symbol.
Asian eyes aren't a monolith. That's the big secret. You've got people from Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, and Indonesia, all with vastly different orbital structures. When you sit down to draw, you're not just drawing "an eye"—you're mapping out how skin, fat, and bone interact in a specific way.
Most people mess up the inner corner. They think the tear duct—the caruncle—is always visible. In many East Asian faces, it’s not. There is a specific fold of skin called the epicanthic fold that covers that inner corner. If you draw a standard Western "V" shape for the tear duct, the drawing immediately loses its authenticity. It looks like a Caucasian eye with a tilt. That’s the "uncanny valley" of portraiture that we want to avoid.
The Epicanthic Fold and the Monolid Myth
Let's talk about the "monolid." It’s a term people throw around like it’s the only type of Asian eye out there, but that’s just not true. A monolid, or single eyelid, occurs when there is no visible crease between the eyelash line and the brow. But here’s the kicker: many Asian people have a "tapered crease" or a "parallel crease."
A tapered crease starts tucked into the epicanthic fold and then widens as it moves toward the outer corner of the eye. It’s subtle. If you draw it too heavy, it looks like a double eyelid. If you omit it entirely, you might be missing the specific likeness of your subject.
Why does this happen? It’s basically about fat distribution. The orbital septum in many East Asian individuals is positioned lower, which allows pre-aponeurotic fat to descend further down toward the lash line. This creates a puffier appearance in the upper lid. When you’re doing drawings of asian eyes, you shouldn't just draw a line for the lid; you should be shading the volume of that fat pad.
I remember watching a masterclass by Stan Prokopenko, a well-known anatomy expert. He emphasizes that the eye is a ball sitting in a socket. With Asian features, that ball is often more "padded." Think of it like a pillowcase that’s stuffed a bit more firmly. The skin is tighter over the volume, which changes how light hits the surface. You get softer highlights and less of a deep "hollow" in the eye socket.
📖 Related: Act Like an Angel Dress Like Crazy: The Secret Psychology of High-Contrast Style
Stop Slanting Everything
If I see one more tutorial that tells people to just "angle the eyes upward," I’m going to lose it. The tilt of the eye—the palpebral fissure—varies wildly. Yes, some individuals have a positive canthal tilt (where the outer corner is higher than the inner corner), but many have a neutral or even a negative tilt.
- The Medial Canthus: This is the inner corner. It’s often lower and more rounded.
- The Lateral Canthus: This is the outer corner. It can be sharp, rounded, or tucked.
The "slant" is often an illusion created by the epicanthic fold pulling the skin. If you look at the actual skull, the bony orbits of an Asian person aren't necessarily "slanted." It’s the soft tissue. If you focus only on the tilt, you end up with a caricature. Instead, look at the apex of the curves.
On a typical Western eye, the highest point of the upper lid is often toward the center. In many Asian eyes, the apex of the upper lid is shifted closer to the nose. This creates a beautiful, distinct "wedge" shape that is much more prominent than the standard "football" shape taught in beginner classes.
The Under-Eye Area: The Aegyo-Sal
In Western beauty standards, we often try to hide "bags" under the eyes. In many East Asian cultures, particularly Korea, there’s a feature called aegyo-sal. This isn't a dark circle or a sign of exhaustion. It’s a roll of fat right under the lower lashes that makes a person look younger and more cheerful.
When you're working on drawings of asian eyes, including this little roll of skin can add a huge amount of realism. It’s a soft, horizontal protrusion. If you shade it correctly—using a soft core shadow and a tiny highlight—the eye suddenly pops. It looks "alive." Without it, the lower lid can look flat and lifeless.
Materials and Technique
Don't use a sharp HB pencil for everything. It’s too scratchy. Asian eyelashes are often straighter and point slightly downward or forward rather than curling aggressively upward. If you draw thick, curly "Disney" lashes on an Asian eye, it looks fake.
👉 See also: 61 Fahrenheit to Celsius: Why This Specific Number Matters More Than You Think
Use a 2B or 4B for the lashes. Draw them as quick, sharp strokes that originate from under the lid margin. Since many Asian people have dark, thick hair, the contrast between the iris and the sclera (the white of the eye) is very high. But don't make the sclera pure white. Nothing in nature is pure white. Use a light grey to show the roundness of the eyeball.
- Map the bony landmarks. Feel your own brow bone. Notice where it ends.
- Locate the caruncle. Is it hidden by a fold? If so, don't draw it.
- Find the apex. Where is the highest point of the lid? Mark it.
- Observe the lash direction. Are they pointing down? Don't force a curl that isn't there.
- Shade the volume. Focus on the "puffiness" of the upper and lower lids.
Misconceptions in Digital Art
Digital artists often fall into the trap of using "eye stamps" or brushes. These are almost always modeled after Caucasian features. If you’re painting digitally, avoid using a standard "crease" brush. Instead, use a soft airbrush to build up the forms of the eyelid.
The skin tone around the eyes also tends to have more warmth—yellows and oranges—rather than the pinker tones seen in Fair Northern European skin. This affects how you shadow the area. Use a burnt sienna or a deep ochre for the shadows in the folds rather than a flat grey. It keeps the skin looking vibrant and healthy.
Why This Matters for Character Design
If you’re a concept artist or an illustrator, getting this right is about respect and quality. We've moved past the era where every character looks like a reskinned version of the same base model. Look at the work of artists like Loish or Bobby Chiu. They understand that character comes from the specific, tiny details of the face.
When you get the anatomy of Asian eyes right, you're telling a story. You're showing that you've actually looked at a human being. You’re moving away from "default" settings and into the realm of real portraiture. It’s harder, sure. It requires more observation. But the result is a drawing that actually breathes.
Honestly, the best way to get better at this is to stop looking at drawings and start looking at photos. Go to a site like Pinterest or Unsplash. Search for "Korean street style" or "Vietnamese portraits." Zoom in. Look at how the skin folds. Look at how the light catches the moisture on the lower lid. You’ll see things that no textbook ever mentioned.
✨ Don't miss: 5 feet 8 inches in cm: Why This Specific Height Tricky to Calculate Exactly
Practical Steps for Your Next Sketch
Start your next session by drawing five different sets of eyes from five different Asian nationalities. Don't worry about the rest of the face. Just the eyes.
Notice the differences. A Japanese subject might have a different lid structure than someone from the Philippines. One might have a very prominent epicanthic fold, while the other has a clear double eyelid. By forcing yourself to see these variations, you break the "symbol" in your brain. You stop drawing what you think an eye looks like and start drawing what is actually there.
Focus on the "transition" areas. The space between the bridge of the nose and the inner eye is crucial. In many Asian faces, this area is smoother and less recessed. If you draw a deep, dark shadow there, you’re creating a high nasal bridge that might not exist, which completely changes the ethnic look of the portrait. Keep it soft. Keep it subtle.
Precision comes from patience. Take your time with the lower lash line. It’s often thicker and more defined than you think. And remember, the iris is rarely a perfect circle; it’s usually partially covered by the upper lid. This "compression" is what gives eyes their expression.
Go grab a 2B pencil. Find a high-resolution reference. Avoid the "slanted line" trap. Just draw the shapes as they appear, one fold at a time. That's how you master it.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Study the Epicanthic Fold: Specifically research the four types (Inversus, Tarsalis, Palpebralis, and Supraciliaris) to understand how skin overlaps the tear duct.
- Practice "Form over Line": Instead of drawing a line for the eyelid crease, try to define it using only shading and value transitions.
- Reference Real Models: Use diverse photography from sources like The World Face project to see the actual variety in Asian orbital structures across different regions.