Blinking eyes are a common and important part of many animations, whether it be for a character in a video game, an avatar in a virtual world, or a cartoon character on the big screen. There are various ways to create blinking eyes in Photoshop, but the most common and straightforward method is to use the ‘blink’ layer style.
First, open up your Photoshop project and create two new layers. One layer will be for the upper eyelid, and one layer will be for the lower eyelid. If you’re animating a character that has eyelashes, you may want to create separate layers for those as well.
Next, on the upper eyelid layer, draw a simple shape that covers the eye completely. Then, on the lower eyelid layer, draw a shape that covers the eye completely when the eyelid is closed. It’s important to make sure that both shapes are slightly larger than the eye itself, so that there’s no white space visible when the eyelids are closed.
Now that you have your shapes drawn, it’s time to add the ‘blink’ layer style. To do this, simply right-click on one of the eyelid layers and select ‘ blending options ’ from the menu.
When the blending options window pops up, select ‘ outer glow ’ from the left-hand column and then enter the following settings:
Blend Mode: Screen
Color: Black
Opacity: 75%
Spread: 0%
Size: 5px
Then click ‘OK’ to close the window.
You should now have two black circles around your eye shapes. These will be used to create the blinking effect.
Next, you need to add some keyframes to your timeline. To do this, select both of your eyelid layers and go to ‘ layer > new > solid ’ from the top menu bar.
When the ‘new solid’ window pops up, select ‘ white ’ from the color picker and click ‘ OK ’. This will create a new white layer on top of your other two layers.
With your new white layer selected, go to ‘ edit > keyframe assistant > timecode ’ from the top menu bar. This will bring up a second timeline at the bottom of your screen. Enter ‘ 00;00;01;00 ’ into this second timeline and press enter . This will create a keyframe at one second into your animation. Then move forward 10 frames (or 1/6th of a second) and press enter again . This will create another keyframe at 11 frames into your animation (1/6th of a second plus 1 frame). Now move forward 10 frames again and press enter once more . You should now have three keyframes in your timeline – one at 1 second , one at 1/6th of a second , and one at 2/6th of a second . If you need more keyframes , simply repeat this process until you have enough. With your keyframes in place, it’s time to add some movement.
To do this, select each keyframe in turn and move your cursor over one of the black circles around your eye shape. When you see two arrows appear , click and drag inward toward the center of your eye shape. This will cause both eyelids to close slightly as you move toward each keyframe . You can experiment with how much you want to close the eyelids – just make sure that both upper and lower lid shapes remain slightly larger than the eye itself so that there’s no white space visible when they’re closed. Additionally , you may want to add some slight rotation to each keyframe so that it looks more natural . Just grab one of the corner handles on each shape and rotate it slightly inward as you move toward each keyframe . Again , experiment until you get something that looks good . Once you’re happy with how your blinking animation looks , it’s time to add it to your project . To do this , simply select all of layers associated with blinking animation ( including any keyframes you may have added ) go ‘layer > pre-compose’ from top menu bar . When ‘pre-compose’ window pops up , make sure ‘leave all attributes’ checkbox is selected and click ‘OK’ . This will combine all of your blinking layers into one single layer which can then be added to your project like any other asset.
In conclusion, there are various ways to create blinking eyes in Photoshop, but the most common and straightforward method is to use the ‘blink’ layer style. First, open up your Photoshop project and create two new layers – one for upper eyelid & one for lower eyelid (or more if desired). Next draw shapes on each layer covering eye completely & slightly larger than eye itself – ensuring no white space is visible when blink is closed.
Finally add ‘blink’ layer style by right clicking on an eyelid layer & selecting ‘blending options’.
Enter settings as specified & hit ‘OK’. Add keyframes by creating new solid white layer & going to ‘edit > keyframe assistant > timecode’. Create 3 keyframes – 1 sec., 1/6 sec., & 2/6 sec.. With each selected in turn drag cursor over black circle around eye shape inward towards center till both arrows appear then click/drag inward towards center of eye shape.
This closes both eyelids slightly as moved towards each keyframe & experiment with how much closed desired – just ensure both upper & lower lid shapes remain slightly larger than eye itself.
Additionally may want to add some slight rotation each keyframe for more natural look – just grab corner handle on each shape & rotate slightly inward as moved towards each keyframe.
Once happy with blinking animation select all layers associated with blinking animation including any added keyframes & go ‘layer > pre-compose’ from top menu bar.
When ‘pre-compose’ window pops up make sure ‘leave all attributes’ checkbox is selected then hit ‘OK’.
This combines all blinking layers into one single which can then be added like any other asset.
