The Eye

In this task, you’re going to make an eye out of… circles.

Circles?

Yes. Circles.

Start with two circles, look at the shape where they overlap, and something surprising begins to appear.

“Eye see,” giggled Smudge.

Biscuit rolled his eyes at the terrible joke.

Let’s see if they’ve spotted something interesting.

Draw Your Guide Line

Use your ruler to draw a light vertical line down the page.

This is your guide line. It helps your circles sit neatly on the page.

Draw the First Circle

Place the compass point on the guide line nearer the bottom.

Draw a circle.

Draw the Second Circle

Place the compass point where the first circle crosses the guide line at the top.

Draw a second circle using the same compass width.

The almond shape where the two circles overlap is called a Vesica Piscis.

Draw the Centre Line

Find the two points where the circles cross on the left and right sides.

Use your ruler to draw a horizontal line through those two points.

Where the two guide lines cross, you’ve found the centre of the eye.

Draw the Iris

Place the compass point where the vertical and horizontal guide lines cross.

Adjust the compass so the pencil reaches the bottom edge of the Vesica Piscis.

Draw a smaller circle.

Draw the Pupil

Keep the compass point at the centre of the eye.

Make the compass width even smaller, then draw one more circle.

Take It In

Pause for a moment and look at what you've made.

You can erase the construction lines you no longer need, or leave them faintly visible to show how you built the eye.

You started with two circles.

Now there's an eye looking back at you.

If your eye looks a little wonky, good news: that’s exactly what practice is for. Check out the tool tips and try again.

Smudge calls it “an eye for detail.”

Colour the iris, add patterns, use the outer circles, or turn it into the eye of a creature nobody has seen before.

It could belong to a dragon, an owl, a giant, a robot, or something entirely of your own invention.