Choosing an Eye Design for your OC!

Some people say eyes are the window to the soul! And with character design, that doesn’t just have to be a saying! The eyes of your OC can tell the audience a lot about their personality, and what kind of character they might be! So what can eyes say about an OC? And how do you design eyes? Let’s talk about it!

Types of eye shapes!

The first thing you can consider is the shape of your OC’s eyes! The shape of your OC’s eye might tell the audience the most about them. Some shapes will feel more lively and energetic, while others might seem more tired or grumpy. Just like with the rest of your character, shape language can play a big part in eye shapes too! Different eye shapes can say a lot about your OC, and it can work for both more realistic art styles and more stylized ones! You’ll want to consider things like your OC’s personality and character when deciding on an eye shape!

Some eye shapes you can start thinking about are round eyes, droopy eyes, rectangular eyes, and sharp eyes! These aren’t all the eye shapes available to use, but these are definitely some eye shapes you can consider using for your OCs! These eye shapes alone can really add some personality to a character! So what are these different eye types? Let’s take a look at them!

Round eyes

Round eyes are eyes that are, well, round! They might be more circle or oval shaped. Big, round eyes will give your OC a youthful or energetic feel! Characters with rounder eyes are often more innocent or friendly. They might be lively and hyper! This could be used for more childish OCs, or characters who are more helpful and kind to the people around them! 

Droopy eyes

Droopy eyes can often be similar to round eyes! While they are similar, they often have more of a downturn towards the outer corners of the eyes. Eyes that lean towards a droopy shape can have an extra tired or relaxed look to them. OC’s with droopy eyes might have a sad demeanor…or maybe they’re just sleep deprived! Droopy eyes could be used for OCs with a chill personality, or characters that have a more melancholy personality. 

Sharp eyes

Sharp eyes are more angular! They often look more rhombus-shaped or something similar. Sharper eyes can often feel sly or annoyed! Characters with sharp eyes might be interpreted as mean or they might seem like they’re up to something. Sharp eyes could be used for OCs who are very easily irritated, or for more villainous OCs! (Sharp eyes are also my personal favorite to use! But shh…don’t tell anyone…) 

Rectangle eyes

Rectangle eyes are similar to sharp eyes, but more square and rectangle-shaped than rhombus-shaped. Rectangle eyes can be closer to a balance between other eye shapes. Characters with rectangle eyes might be more neutral, or they might be more reliable!

These are just a few different eye shapes, and they’re not hard and fast rules! The size of your OC’s eyes can also play a part in how they might be perceived. Big rectangle eyes might feel youthful like round eyes, and small droopy eyes might look even more tired! It’s all about experimenting, and finding what your personal preferences for design choices are!

If you wanted to, you could even give a character an eye shape opposite to their personality, and use that to your advantage to trick your audience with it! A character with round eyes could be the twist villain of the story, or an OC with sharp eyes could actually be the most friendly and helpful in the group! It all depends on your character and the story you want to tell! Here are some questions to get you thinking about what eye shape your OC could have:

• Is the OC more friendly, or more hostile?
• Are they more lively or more unenthusiastic?
• Are they a hero, or a villain?
• Should they have a more misleading eye shape?

Eye shapes are a fun way to add personality to your OCs design! But you’ll also want to consider your personal artstyle. Eye shapes can apply to both, but if your style leans more towards semi-realism, the eye shape differences might be more subtle and follow the guidelines of a more realistic eye shape. If your style is more cartoony, you could really exaggerate the shapes of your OCs eyes! More cartoony eyes can be less eye-shaped, and be closer to a shape than an eye!

If you need more inspiration or references for different eye shapes, try looking at characters of your favorite pieces of media or your favorite artists! What kind of eye shapes do the characters have? Is the art style closer to realism, or more cartoony? How does that change how eye shapes are used?  What does the characters’ eye shapes seem to say about them? Does it fit the characters, or is it more misleading? 

One good example of using eye shapes would be Knick’s OC Elowyn! Elowyn has round eyes that gives her an energetic and lively look!

Another good example of eye shapes would be Mirkat’s OC Moth! Moth’s eyes are much sharper, and they give her a cold and mean look!

Experimenting with the iris!

You can also play around with the shape of your OC’s irises! This can be fun if your style is more stylized, or if you have OCs that aren’t human! While a lot of people stick to a normal and more natural circle iris, you don’t have to! You can do just about any shape you want, and use it to tell the audience something important about your OC in a more obvious and noticeable way!

The irises could show off your OC’s key personality traits, their favorite things, or maybe even a secret they might be hiding from the other characters in the story! You can mix and match as well, and an OC could have two different irises! It’s all up to you. Anything you want can be an iris shape if you really want it to be! The iris could be a normal shape like a square, but it could also be something more unique or strange like a spiral or lightning bolt! 

The iris shape could be something that’s associated with your OC, or hint at something about them! It could be an object related to their hobbies, or a shape related to one of their key personality traits. Maybe an OC doesn’t have an iris to begin with! No iris or pupil at all could come across more ghostly or mythical, and could add an eerie look to your OC!

You can also combine iris shapes and eye shapes to tell the audience something about your OC! Something like round eyes with heart-shaped irises could make an OC look extra friendly, while sharp eyes and something like skull irises could make them seem extra dangerous! It’s all up to you on what you want to do. Here’s some ideas to get your creativity flowing:

• An angel OC with heart irises
• A ghost OC with skull shaped irises
• An OC with mind-control powers that has spiral irises
• An plant-lover OC with flower shaped irises

Experimenting with iris shapes can be a fun way to add some extra pizzazz to your OC! Maybe you have a space OC hiding out on earth. You could give them a star-shaped iris that hints at that! What about a kind and loving OC? Maybe they have heart-shaped irises to show that personality trait about them. Or a cloud-loving character could have cloud shaped irises!

A good example of unique iris shapes would be Sun’s OC Occasus! Occasus’ irises are rectangle-shaped, which adds to their mystical and powerful look!

Another good example of unique iris shapes would be Tonbokurosu’s OC Benji! Benji has heart-shaped irises, that give him a compassionate and warm look!

Highlights and extra details!

Another way you can give your OC unique eyes is by the highlights and other small details in their eyes! If you want to say something about your character in a more subtle way, you could try different kinds of highlights instead of a different iris shape! Using highlights or other small details instead could be perfect for if an OC has a well-kept secret, or if you're hinting towards something in the future.

Just like with irises, you can do any shapes you want for the highlights, whether it be normal shapes or something more unique. For example, if you wanted to hint at an OC having a secret crush, you could make the highlights heart shaped to subtly show that! Or you could have various different shapes of highlights too! 

How much highlights you use can say something about your character as well! Using more highlights will make your OC’s eyes look extra sparkly, and can make them seem more bright and cheerful. On the other hand, using less or even no highlights at all can make an OC feel more lifeless and cold. It’s up to you what you choose to do!

Highlights aren’t the only details you can use for eyes! You can use other details as well. Eye makeup, glowing effects, and other small details can really add to your OC’s eyes and make them more interesting! Here are some ideas to think about:

• Sharp eyeliner for a sassy OC
• Glowing eyes for a powerful OC
• Star-shaped highlights for a mythical OC
• No highlights for an evil OC

With using small details like highlights, you can create a really cool and unique look for your OC’s eyes! Do you have an OC with an extravagant personality? They could have crazy eyeliner or bright eyeshadow! What about an OC that can read minds? Maybe their eyes glow to reflect that. Or maybe you have an OC who’s lost their motivation to be heroic. You could give them eyes that don’t have any highlights at all! Try mixing and matching, and see what you come up with!

Choosing an eye design for your OC can make your OC stand out and make them feel more unique! Experiment with eye shapes, irises, and other details to see what you can tell the audience about your OC through the eyes!