How to Apply Eye Shadow, Eyeliner and Mascara in Photoshop

In this tutorial we will discuss how to add eye shadow, eyeliner and mascara effects to your photo.

Open the picture

Either click File > Open or use keyboard shortcut Ctrl + O.

How to Apply Eye Shadow, Eyeliner and Mascara in Photoshop

Add a New Layer

Either click on the Create New Layer icon or use shortcut Shift + Ctrl + N to create a new layer. The layer will be named Layer 1. Set the blending properties of the layer to Color by either selecting it from the drop down box located in the layers palette or by right clicking and selecting blending options on Layer 1.

Select Brush

Either click on the icon or press B to select paint brush. Select a brush size that suits the area to be painted. In this case the eyelid. We selected a brush size of 15.

Select Color

Select the color with which you would like to work on your models eyes. We will first be applying a dark shade then we will apply a lighter highlight to create the effect. So select the color of your choice. We selected a darker shade of blue.

Apply color

First apply paint on the eyelid. Press E to select the Eraser tool. Use the eraser tool set to a lower opacity of 25 or so to erase spill over’s and to modify the paint job. You might as well set the hardness of the eraser to 0 for better results.

Add A Second Layer

Either click on the Create New Layer icon or use shortcut Shift + Ctrl + N to create a new layer. The layer will be named Layer 2. Set the blending properties of the layer to Soft Light by either selecting it from the drop down box located in the layers palette or by right clicking and selecting blending options on Layer 2.

Select Brush and Color

Select a suitable size brush to paint the eye shadow, set opacity to 50% and hardness to 0. Select the color with which you would like to paint the eye shadow. We choose a shade of magenta.

Apply Color

Apply paint with the brush, use the eraser tool to erase any spill over’s. you might set a large brush size like 80 or 100 for the eraser and set the hardness to 0 to create a gradient like feel when u erase.

Add the Third Layer

Either click on the Create New Layer icon or use shortcut Shift + Ctrl + N to create a new layer. The layer will be named Layer 3. Set the blending properties of the layer to Multiply by either selecting it from the drop down box located in the layers palette or by right clicking and selecting blending options on Layer 3.

Select Eyeliner Color

Select the eyedropper tool by either clicking on the icon or using keyboard shortcut I. click on the existing eyelashes to select their natural color. Paint over with the selected eyeliner color with a small brush size, we used the airbrush option for a smooth application. Erase any spill over’s with the eraser tool. Press R to select the smudge tool. Set it to a lower opacity like 30% and smudge the eyeliner with strokes going out from the eye. It will give a nice feel to your models eyelashes. Take care not to overdo this.

Now we are almost done with one eye; its time for fine tuning the effect.

Adjusting the Opacity of Layers

Our picture is now ready for fine tuning. And for that we need to adjust the opacity of the layers 1 to 3. Select each layer and experiment with the opacity setting to achieve the desired feel. We ended up selecting 45%, 65% and 36 % for layers 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

If you find that a little bit more manipulation is necessary set the eraser brush to a high value ( > 100 ), set the opacity to a very low value ( < 20 ) and erase away some of the colors from the layers.

Press Shift + Ctrl + Alt + E to create a new layer with contents of all the visible layers merged into it. Then repeat the above sequence for the other eye.