Surrealism · Eye Study

The Realistic Eye — with a Surreal Twist

From Höch's collage to one carefully observed eye · Lesson 1 of 2

👁️🔲✏️🎨🌀

Learning Objectives:

Recall – Last week: Höch built meaning by cutting and combining images.
Today – Draw a realistic eye using gridding for accuracy and build tone (light → dark) to make it look 3D.

🏆 By the end I will be able to…

All: grid my page and copy an eye outline box by box.

Most: build a smooth tonal range with a 2B / 6B pencil.

Some: give my eye a surreal twist — a world living inside the iris.

Pencils out now. Navigation: Arrow Keys or Spacebar

Teacher Print Tools

⏱️ Before We Start · 60 sec

From last week's collage…

Quick recall (say it, do not write it): we are carrying skills forward from Höch.

1. Surrealism shows images that feel ____________ (dreamlike / unreal).

2. Tone means the ____________ and ____________ of a colour.

The hook: last week you cut and combined. Today you slow right down and make one eye look real — then bend it surreal. Pencil ready?

✅ Fab 4

Fab 4 — let's do these together on the board

Class vote: read each one out, agree an answer, then tap it. Green = spot on, amber = let's look again. No books needed.

1. What does tone mean?

2. Which one is a tonal technique?

3. Why do artists grid a photo first?

4. On a real eye, which part is left pure white?

Starter — pencils up

✏️ Make three tones

That's all you need today. Make three patches with your pencil: light, medium, dark. Press softly, then harder, then hardest.

Tap to model it, or to self-check yours:

Why three? A real eye is mostly these three: the white highlight, the grey iris, the dark pupil. Get these and it looks real.

Show me: hold up your three patches — light, medium, dark? You're ready to grid.

I Do

🔲 Gridding turns a scary photo into easy little boxes

Watch me. One big eye is hard. Twenty small boxes are easy — you only ever copy what is in one box.

0/5 steps

1. Draw a tonal scale in the corner (your shadow menu).

2. Grid your whole page with light, even squares.

3. Work box by box — outline only, no shading yet.

4. Happy with the outline? Gently rub the gridlines out.

5. Now add tone — light layers first, darks last (2B → 6B).

Pressing hard for the grid leaves grid-ghosts forever. Press lightly so it rubs away clean.

We Do

👁 One box together — the iris

No blank pages. We all copy the same one box with me — outline only. Watch, then match.

One job: copy the lines inside box C2. Where a line touches the grid in the photo, make yours touch in the same spot. That's it.

📺 Observe

Observe: watch tone get built up

Watch and check: notice it is not drawn dark in one go — it is quiet layers of graphite, light first, dark last. This is exactly what you do next.

Light layers first → darks last. The eye develops as tone is added — the pupil darkest, the highlight left white.

Press Run demo to replay the tone build-up.

▶ Open clip ↗

Watch the order: shade light first, then layer the darks. The white highlight is never shaded.

✍️ Finish out loud, then jot it:

The darkest tone is in the ____________.

The bright highlight sits on the ____________.

Darkest = the pupil (and the crease). Highlight = on the iris / cornea — leave it white.

Independent Work · today's big job

👁 Draw your eye — step by step

This is most of the lesson. You're never on a blank page — your gridded sheet does the hard part. Follow the steps. Today we only need grid → outline → first tones.

Independent Work Timer

25:00

✅ Tick each step as you go:

1. Tape your printed gridded sheet next to your blank grid. 2. Copy the outline one box at a time — match where lines cross the grid. 3. Find the iris circle and the round pupil. 4. Press hardest for the dark pupil. Leave the tiny white dot blank. 5. Add soft grey to the iris in light layers.

Foundation — fully supported

You'll be given a printed grid over the photo and a blank grid to copy into. Copy the outline box by box, then just three tones: white dot · grey iris · black pupil. If outlining is tricky, trace the simple outline first, then add the three tones — that's a full success.

Middle

Grid your own page, copy the outline, rub the grid out, then blend a smooth grey across the iris (2B) — darkest dark with 6B.

Higher

Push the full tonal range, or add a surreal twist — a sky or galaxy inside the iris. Keep the white highlight crisp.

Stuck? That's normal — call me over. Rough lines first, no rubbers needed yet. Build it slowly and it'll come.

⭐ You've done it when…

Foundation: outline copied · white dot left blank · dark pupil · some grey on the iris.

Middle: accurate outline · grid rubbed out · a smooth grey gradient begun.

Higher: full tones begun · a believable surreal twist · highlight kept.

Today's finish line: grid + outline + first tones. The rest, plus your written annotation, is next lesson — no rush, build it well.

Exit Ticket

Exit Ticket — Eye Study

Quick check: tap your answer — instant feedback, gentle, no notes needed. Then say one thing you will finish next lesson.

Score: 0/6

🖨️ Print written exit ticket:

Name: ________________________ Class: __________ Date: ____________

🎯 Learning Objective: Use gridding and tone to draw a realistic eye — building from a light, even grid to layered shading.

🏆 Success Criteria — tick at the END of the lesson:

☐ I gridded my page in light, even squares.

☐ I copied the eye outline box by box.

☐ I began tone — light layers first, leaving the highlight white.

Knowledge Organiser – Surrealism: Realistic Eye Study (1 of 2)

Word	What it means
Tone	How light or dark something is. Tone is what makes a drawing look 3D, not flat.
Gridding	Splitting a photo into squares so you copy one small box at a time — accurate, never a blank page.
Highlight	The brightest spot in the eye. Leave the paper white — never shade it.
Iris	The coloured ring. In greyscale it is soft mid-grey, with fine lines running from the centre.
Pupil	The black centre — your darkest dark (press hardest, 6B).
Proportion	The size of each part compared with the others. Gridding keeps proportion right.
Blending	Smoothing tone so there are no hard edges — light layers built up slowly.

Key distinctions: a real eye is mostly three tones — the white highlight, the grey iris and the black pupil. Build them light first; you can always go darker, but you cannot un-press a heavy line.

🎵 Memory hook: “white dot · grey ring · black hole” = highlight · iris · pupil. Get those three and the eye looks alive.

⚠️ Common mistakes: shading the white highlight by accident · pressing too hard too early · forgetting to rub the grid out · making the pupil grey instead of black.

🧠 Self-check routine: squint at your drawing → can you see a clear white, a clear grey and a clear black? If two tones blur together, push the darks darker.

Starter — Three Tones

Make three patches with a pencil: light, medium, dark. Press softly, then harder, then hardest.

light

medium

dark

On a real eye: the pupil is darkest. The little highlight stays pure white.

Scaffolding Sheet – Foundation

Your 5 steps

1) Tape your gridded sheet next to your blank grid.

2) Copy the outline one box at a time.

3) Find the iris circle and the round pupil.

4) Press hardest for the black pupil — leave the white dot blank.

5) Add soft grey to the iris in light layers.

Only three tones

White highlight · grey iris · black pupil. Pencils: 2B for grey, 6B for the darkest dark.

📝 Word Bank

Use these words: tone · grid · outline · highlight · iris · pupil · light · dark · blend

⭐ If outlining is hard

Trace the outline first, then add the three tones — that still counts as a full success. Call your teacher over any time.

Scaffolding Sheet – Middle

Method

Grid your own page in even squares. Copy the outline box by box, then rub the grid out before you shade.

Building tone

Highlight	Leave white — do not shade.
Iris	Smooth grey gradient with a 2B, light layers.
Pupil	Darkest dark with a 6B.

🗣 Sentence starters (for next lesson's annotation)

I created tone by ________.

The hardest part was ________ because ________.

Scaffolding Sheet – Higher

Realistic + surreal twist

Aim for the full tonal range. Then take it further — a believable surreal twist inside the iris (a sky, a galaxy, a landscape), keeping the white highlight crisp.

Key terms

tone · gradient · blending · proportion · highlight · contrast · surreal · juxtaposition

🗣 Annotation starters

I used tone to ________ so that ________.

My surreal twist works because ________.

Your Eye – Foundation

What to do

Copy the outline one box at a time into your blank grid. Match where each line crosses a gridline, then add the three tones.

Gridded reference:

Your grid — draw here (same squares):

Tone key — shade these first:

highlight (white)

iris (grey)

pupil (black)

Your Eye – Middle

What to do

Grid your own page, copy the outline, rub the grid out, then blend a smooth grey gradient across the iris. Use the reference below for proportion.

Gridded reference:

📝 Check your tones

white highlight kept · smooth grey iris · darkest pupil · no hard edges

Your Eye – Higher

What to do

Push the full tonal range, or add a surreal twist inside the iris. Grid only if you need it — otherwise sight the proportions by eye.

Reference (grid optional):

⭐ Aim for

full range from white to black · a believable surreal element · crisp highlight · controlled blending

Exit Ticket — Eye Study

1) "Tone" means the ____________ and ____________ of a colour.

2) Why do we grid a photo before drawing?

3) Which part of the eye do you leave white?

4) Which is darker — a 2B or a 6B pencil?

1) Explain why an eye looks 3D and not flat.

2) List the five steps of the gridding method.

3) Why do you shade light layers first?

1) Explain how tone creates the illusion of a rounded, 3D eyeball.

2) Explain how a surreal twist can still look believable.

🎉 Lesson Complete!

Realistic Eye Study — Surrealism (Lesson 1 of 2)

⭐ 0 XP

The Realistic Eye — with a Surreal Twist

🏆 By the end I will be able to…

Teacher Print Tools

From last week's collage…

Fab 4 — let's do these together on the board

✏️ Make three tones

🔲 Gridding turns a scary photo into easy little boxes

👁 One box together — the iris

Observe: watch tone get built up

👁 Draw your eye — step by step

Foundation — fully supported

Middle

Higher

⭐ You've done it when…

Exit Ticket — Eye Study

Knowledge Organiser – Surrealism: Realistic Eye Study (1 of 2)

Starter — Three Tones

Scaffolding Sheet – Foundation

Your 5 steps

Only three tones

Scaffolding Sheet – Middle

Method

Building tone

Scaffolding Sheet – Higher

Realistic + surreal twist

Key terms

Your Eye – Foundation

Your Eye – Middle

Your Eye – Higher

Exit Ticket — Eye Study

🎓 TA Focus

🎯 Cold Call

📺 Drawing a Realistic Eye

🏆 Class Progress Board

🎉 Lesson Complete!