Digital-tutors: Creating Realistic Eyes in Photoshop and Maya

In this series of lessons, we will learn how to texture and render realistic eyes using Photoshop and Maya. When trying to create highly realistic, lifelike characters, the importance of the eyes is often understated. In fact, the eyes are one of the most important aspects to consider when creating characters that truly look and feel alive.

During this course, we will learn how to create highly realistic eye textures from scratch using Photoshop, and in a way that gives us a high degree of flexibility and control over the textures' color variations and other details. Once the texturing has been completed, we will jump into Maya, where we will discuss shading and rendering techniques that can give the eye a highly realistic final look. Along the way we will be exploring many additional tips, tricks, and workflows that you will be able to use both in Photoshop and in Maya to help create more believable, realistic eyes for your characters.


Lesson Outline (13 lessons)

1. Introduction and Project Overview
2. Creating UV snapshot for the eyes within Maya
3. Starting the iris shape in Photoshop
4. Building the first layer of iris fibers within Photoshop
5. Painting additional iris details within Photoshop
6. Altering coloration of various iris layers
7. Viewing initial eye texture within Maya
8. Painting eye veins within Photoshop
9. Finalizing eye texture within Photoshop
10. Creating a realistic eye material within Maya
11. Giving the eye a wet appearance in Maya
12. Simulating wet tissue in the corner of the eye
13. Making final alterations to our scene within Maya