Trick needed: Focusing eyes in self-portrait

[Sunrise]

Hello all,

I'm working on a self-portrait at the moment, drawn using a mirror, and came across a little problem that I thought people must have come up with a better solution for than the trial-and-error approach I used to fix it.

When drawing the left eye from the mirror, both my eyes will be focused on the reflection of my left eye in the mirror. When I then switch to drawing the right eye, of necessity my eyes will then be focused on the reflection of my right eye in the mirror...hence, in the process, the focus/direction of my eyes shifts and the two eyes will not appear to be aligned as, when they were drawn, they were looking at different objects

Now, I managed to fix the issue by just shifting one of the pupils a bit until it looked okay, which worked, but I thought there must some kind of "scientific" method to solving this issue. Alas, I did not find any revelations on the internet even though this must be a common problem.

Any ideas, anyone?

[The Prime]

The only thing I could suggest is looking into a camera lense and taking a photograph. Use this image as reference, purely for the orientation of the eyes.

It's not scientific, but I suppose art isn't a science.

[Kage]

Yeah, I'd say the same thing. Take a picture straight on, and use that as reference

If you are looking straight on at something though, your eyes should be focused straight on, so be in the middle of the eye.

Your eyes though when looking at something closer, will naturally move closer together, making you look slightly cross eyed if the object is close enough, so don't fall into this trap when taking a picture.

You want to be taking a picture from like a metre away, so your eyes are looking slightly into the distance, so are parallel to each other

[Sunrise]

Hmm, I still think there must be some more elegant solution...somehow I don't think that the old masters used the trial and error approach, and it seems even less likely they used a camera....

[NinthJake]

Can't you look at the eye you just drew for reference? I mean they should be pretty much the same anyway.

[Kage]

Well, either way, if you are looking straight at something, the eyes will be facing straight forwards, centered, unless you are cross eyed, etc

[Perversonality]

Originally Posted by Sunrise

somehow I don't think that the old masters used the trial and error approach, and it seems even less likely they used a camera....

They used models so they had a direct reference!

If you want to get scientific about things then you can work things out by using circles triangles. Draw an accurate overhead view of the subject's head (outline only but include correctly positioned circles for the eyes) and then draw the focal point. Draw lines from the focal point to the where the iris would be in the eyes and then turn the eye circles into spheres. Transpose the spheres from a top view to a front view and that should give you the pupil positions from the front

[The Prime]

Originally Posted by Sunrise

Hmm, I still think there must be some more elegant solution...somehow I don't think that the old masters used the trial and error approach, and it seems even less likely they used a camera....

If Davinci could have had a camera, he would have used it.