The Gradient Eyes Technique

Take advantage of Flash’s color mixing tools and its ability to animate color changes to simulate character eyeballs in flash.

Jeepers Creepers, where’d ya’ gradient eyes.

Step 1: Draw your characters eye socket and surrounding areas the usual way. Do not worry about drawing pupils or  iris’, just fill in the eye socket itself with a solid color of your choice. The color you chose to fill the eye socket is of no consequence at this time. In this example I have chosen a shade of green.

Create a new layer and select the eye socket from the layer below and copy and paste it in place onto the layer above. This way we have a clear separation between the eye socket and the characters other facial features.

Step 2: Open the color mixer and set it to Radial Gradient.

You need a minimum of 8 color markers along the slider for a decent looking eye ball. For explanation purposes i will number these markers from left to right.

The first two makers (1 and 2) represent the pupil. They should be the same color. The distance between the two markers establishes the size of the pupil.

Markers 3 and 4 establish the color of the iris. I used the color blue in this example.

Marker number 5 is used to create an outline around the iris. This marker should be packed tightly between Marker 4 and 6.

Markers 6 and 7 will establish the pure white area of the eye.

The final maker, number 8, will represent the area of the eye ball that turns int flesh. Place this marker all the way at the end so that the area marker 7 and marker 8 is a gradual change from white to flesh.

Step 3: With the new gradient color now created, you may now simply paint the eyeball into the socket. Where you click on the socket shape will determine the position of the eye.

For additional control over the placement, shape, and direction your characters eyeball. You may use the fill transform tool for an incredible array of options.