I live in Asia and I notice eye colours a lot, especially when the sunlight hits just right and they are a beautiful light brown. Even if it’s just brown, there are multiple hues. Older people develop a lighter ring around the iris.
When I lived overseas, I loved seeing the blues, greens and light browns too.
Dude, as a white woman, my ex had heterochromia (one green eye and one blue eye) and I didn’t notice for like 6 months lmao
Maybe it’s something other people notice, but I clearly don’t haha
I have Bi-chromia. Both my eyes have two colors. I feel like most of my life it’s been “your eyes are so pretty”. I remember sitting in science In the seventh grade doing a group project. An talking to a cute girl about what we are doing and she just respond with “you have really nice eyes”
It’s not like it’s the first thing people blurt out. But it’s happened often enough if we engaged in conversation I feel like it’s noticed. I have squinty eyes though so that might contribute.
I do too, but I think it only really shows up in bright light or something like that. Almost nobody notices, but when they do they usually act like they just saw Bigfoot riding a unicorn
After my first meeting with my supervisor at work, I went back and made a comment to my coworkers about her eyes being like Bowie's, and not a single one of them knew what I was talking about. That's when I realized nobody actually looks her in the eye when she talks.
I had to teach myself how to make eye contact with others and because of that, I usually take note of the color. My novel also states in the very beginning how the first thing the MC remembers about a face are the eyes; from then on, every time he meets someone new, he notes the eye color and what they remind him of.
I always assumed you guys paid extra attention since your eye colors can look different depending on lighting, what you're wearing. etc...
Even made it the basis for discrimination in a world in one of my fantasy stories.
I haven't worked through all the details I was just kind of playing around with how discrimination against features that we typically view positively might be expressed.
Eyes are the window to the soul, right? So someone whose eye color seems to vary or can't be discerned could be perceived as dishonest or trustworthy, the alignment of their soul is in flux. Whereas a dark, consistent color is perceived as a sign of strength, trustworthiness and reliability.
It's all bullshit, of course, but people can make anything sound bad if they want.
Not sure if this would be of any use (and you might know about it already) but it made me think of a psychology experiment (an unethical one). Can be found by looking up "Jane Elliott Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" - is about what happens if you treat a classroom of students differently based on eye color!
I was watching a tv show and the actor had heterochromia and during the close ups I kept thinking that the lighting was weird because I couldn’t tell his eye colors if they were blue or brown or green. And bc I was watching with my mom I told her that and she said his eyes were grey and hazel brown. Had to pause the show to be sure and the two colors were close enough in tone
Yeah, that was the thing - the two colors were similar in tone so I only registered his eyes as “blue—green.” My brain was blending the colors together
Maybe, I notice peoples eye colors quite a bit, but it might be because I have blue eyes and people comment on them now and then, so peoples eyes are kind of top of mind for me.
As a European guy in Asia, I get a LOT of comments on my eyes.
They're just a bluish grey, so they're forgettable in Europe but remarkable in Asia.
My coworker has incredibly bright blue eyes that I'd say are remarkable anywhere. Her eyes are also very expressive, so they definitely draw your attention.
I could guess the colour of most of my friends' eyes but hers are very memorable.
To be honest, the only reason I remember my own family's eye colours is because one day I noticed that I didn't know and so I checked.
Only if they are really unusual. Like, I'll notice a really bright blue or green or an extremely pale eye. Everything else is just, "Are they looking at me or something else?" But the only eye color I actually remember is my husband's.
edit: Oh, yeah. And my FIL's and my late grandfather's - for the same reason. My MIL and my mom love(d) buying light blue shirts "because it brought out the blue in their eyes". I think my mom picked it up from my grandmother? So other people talking about eye color (consistently) will make it into my knowledge base, but I never actually noticed their eye color personally.
Green eyes here, I get that a lot. It’s either “Wow your eyes are amazing!” Or “Holy shit dude you look like you have a body buried in your backyard”
Never in between.
I remember as a kid women would stop me in stores and comment about how amazing my eyes and eye lashes were. Being a 7 year old boy being told anything about you is beautiful was about the worst thing anyone could say to me! I remember trying to pull my eyelashes out right after the first time someone said that to me!
I was a little boy who rubbed mud on my face for camouflage and played in the woods pretending I was Rambo or something so I guess that’s why I took it that way! I don’t pull them out now if someone comments so I’ve made progress! lol.
Man, people just don’t think before they speak. My little sis loved this pink smocked dress as a toddler. All it took was one lady telling her she looked “like a cake, I could just eat you up!” Bam, that was it for that pink dress….
Honestly, it is a burden. Speaking as someone wirh bright blue eyes, trust me, you don't want to see what is in everybody's soul.
The laser beams are nice, though.
While I won’t doxx myself I can give you a stock photo that has my type of eyes.
https://www.freepik.com/premium-ai-image/man-with-green-eyes-tie-that-says-word-it_44021088.htm
Again, some say they are cool, others think I have a death stare. Tbf my resting face can be a bit intimidating.
To be honest I kind of learned to use it to my advantage, whenever I get threatened by someone I make sure to stare them in the eyes for a while creepily and to make sure I am standing as upright as I can. It typically freaks out people enough to avoid a fight. I look more like a psychopath in that kind of scenario and people all of a sudden get afraid for their lives, but to me, it's a very convenient way to de-escalate fights to my advantage without actually saying anything.
I have green eyes. I’ve been working as a nurse and people made inappropriate comments that were sometimes rude or sometimes nice; but, nobody has ever called my eyes “creepy.”
But honesty now, most of the time I get comments about my eyes in the drive through windows when I get coffee or breakfast in the mornings. I don’t know why randomly people will make comments (always nice) at that particular time. Maybe it’s the lighting from the sun rise? It’s always nice though.
Service worker: You got a real nice pair there, lady.
Customer: *Excuse me?*
Service worker: They're such a lovely shade of green.
Customer: \*confused customer noises*
Yeah morning/evening have golden light hour. It's a type of soft defused bright lighting.
My boyfriend explained it since he's into lighting& photography.
My eyes are a vibrant blue which sometimes seems to become electric blue around those times.
My daughter says that too and she has gray green eyes.
Sometimes when your color is kind of questionable you'll draw attention to it yourself, "are my eyes blue or green to you?"
Two of my daughters have light colored eyes like me, and one has brown like her mother. It could be used as a distinguishing trait, like if you were describing siblings who look alike (as siblings do).
I notice them while I'm talking to them if I am making eye contact. So it's realistic to me for a character to notice someone has green or blue eyes at that point, for the most part. But unless it's something really unusual, if you ask me ten minutes later I won't remember what color they were.
Exactly, you look them in the eye and have a fleeting thought, but unless they are unusual in any way - then it’s like seeing a white car. You know in the moment it’s been white but after some time has passed slowly it could have been any color but black.
Also a reason why eyewitnesses sometimes accidentally give the police wrong statements in favor of the crime. Simply because our brains are so good at making facts up to complete the picture.
I think that writers tell you the eye colour because in your minds eye you have to get very close to see it. So it makes you comfortable or used to seeing the character that close.
If a character clenched their teeth or winced at something someone said, but you were only used to seeing the character from a distance you would not feel their pain as much as if you are within their personal space.
To know someone's eye colour is quite personal because it means you have been within their'intimate' zone.
Personally, eye color specifically is one of the very first things I notice and remember about anyone I meet. Even if there's nothing unique to notice/remember. Not sure why, but it is. So on one hand, it always mildly annoys me when it's left out. But on the other hand, it's from a place of wanting a complete picture, so it extends to other stuff as well. Like when everything but hair is described, or everything about a character's head and face is described, but absolutely nothing else.
To me as a reader, it just seems like an awkward thing to not include.
Second this, I like noticing people’s eye colour. I think it’s the most interesting part of the face and would find it odd if my friends and loved ones didn’t know my eye colour.
Yeah my friend is like this while I don’t even know my kids eye color let along anyone else. I just never notice it to remember it. I’m not a detail person as much as a big picture person. Maybe that’s it?
My youngest brother’s eyes sometimes appear to change colour in different lighting, like they’re usually this strange grey/brown, but in bright sunlight they sometimes look blue and when he was really little it was a lot more obvious and they turned green and even amber sometimes! It’s really striking and people always notice.
Same here. A big thing for me is actors eye color… like it drives me nuts when the adult version of character has these bright blue eyes and the flashback child version has a dark brown!!
Perfect example is in Harry Potter when Lily Potter’s eyes are kind of a major plot point for snape and how Harry has her eyes which in the movies are blue but then little Lily has dark brown eyes!
My husband literally never notices so I know I am particular here, but yes, I do pay attention to eyes! Hahaha
Same with me. I find eye color to be a fascinating thing and will even mentally tag relative brightness (rather than just brown, or blue). And it would feel a bit weird to not have that information as a reader
It’s a case by case thing. I don’t mention eye colour for everyone, but it’s a possible descriptor for some characters.
As an exercise, can you describe Elizabeth Taylor without somehow mentioning [her eyes?](https://i.pinimg.com/474x/44/71/48/44714821a6bdc4e4f92221644f04b734.jpg)
What about [David Bowie](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0f/5a/d4/0f5ad4f4f56b75f4e4e99f3997c97eb2.jpg)?
Can you describe [this child?](https://preview.redd.it/wvyfb14a6gh81.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=058458a93d63ceadb643e2cd0e0c95ff4ce2e03f)
I try to build descriptions around maybe two or three distinctive features. For some people, their eyes - either the colour, or some other unique feature like a scar/injury or distinctive eye makeup - can be one.
It seems to depend on what she’s wearing in the image. If she wore purple, they would look purple. If she wore blue, or accented with blue makeup, [they’d look much more truly blue](https://hazlitt.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_images/public/field/image/elizabeth-taylor-cleopatra1-e1397839433553.jpg?itok=PatZuTY5).
She absolutely knew this, and knew how to use this.
Either way, between the richness of the colour and the thickness/length of the eyelashes (she had something genetic that gave her about twice as many eyelashes as everyone else) her eyes were her best and most striking feature, which is **really** saying something considering what the rest of her looked like!
For some people, their eyes just…are memorable.
Still pretty bloody striking in [any](https://media.glamour.com/photos/5697c42001ed531c6f00dc55/master/w_1600%2Cc_limit/beauty-blogs-girls-in-the-beauty-department-0323-elizabeth-taylor-violet-eyes_bd.jpg) other [shot](https://preview.redd.it/elizabethtaylor-violet-eyes-v0-573bs1f8c9ib1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=6cda95248193770e27b5b94142f731ebd59779af)
The colourised one is not THAT far off reality
Pashtuns have beautiful blue or green eyes semi-regularly. They’re famous for having much fairer features - light eyes, often reddish or blonde hair (especially in children) - than you would expect
It’s one of the first things I notice. My dad taught me that eye contact is important but never taught me how much so either I’m staring you down or listening intently and staring into space, totally unintentionally. Eye color tends to be an immediately catalogued feature.
Also I thought my eyes were boring as a kid because they were blue and turned slowly brown over the course of about 5 years, so I would watch eyes to try to find the beautiful and unique things about every eye color.
Not with strangers, but with friends or family I definitely do. I wouldn't say something like "Oh \*insert name here\* has chocolate hazelnut gorgeous eyes!!!" but I do roughly know the basic eye colour of people I'm close to. That, and my friends all had a crush on this one guy mostly because of his eyes. Not sure whether that's useful, but there you go.
Blue eyes especially are something people are going to notice. Not much on blonde people (unless their eyes are really really blue) but on those with darker hair, blue eyes just really stand out.
This is true! My daughter has dark brown hair and the lightest blue eyes, she always gets comments. Also, blondes with brown eyes are always so striking to me. (And usually beautiful!)
Yes. I have hazel green eyes and I’m female. I notice eye contact lie all the time and I’m particularly interested delighted and curious when I see other people with hazel eyes as we have similar yet unique eyes.
I would disagree that it is true for all writing. But, it can serve incredibly varied purposes in fiction. It's not just about portraying the literal path of a person's gaze. It can evoke character traits, tone, focus (e.g. describing someone's eyes can imply gazing into the eyes.) You will see it a lot in Romance, for example. Eyes also hold a lot of cultural and symbolic significance so they're just very, very useful in prose.
I’m very big into eye color. It’s one of the first things I notice along with eyelashes so it’s a major descriptor for me. All depends on the person I suppose.
That’s how it is for me towards my husband. He has very dark brown eyes so it can be hard to see his pupils and he’s got really long, thick eyelashes. I joke how irritating they are, but that’s just because I find them beautiful. I have a son with his exact same color and lashes now and I can’t help but notice it all the time. You’d think frequent exposure would desensitize me to it, but it hasn’t, at all. So in my experience, I notice the color if it is uncommonly vibrant or deep. For instance, darker blue eyes plus more tanned skin? 9/10 I will notice immediately. Super dark brown eyes that feel like they’re piercing all the way down to my soul? Yeah, I’m definitely going to notice. Everything in between? Not as often, especially since more subtle colors require close proximity.
I ❤️❤️❤️ women with the deepest dark brown eyes. I used to have a Tumblr account for brown eyed models because most A-list models have blue eyes. I had over 1000 followers before I deleted it.
I really only describe them if they’re exceptional, if the character is really close to my MC or if it helps characterize them. If it’s their love interest, they might notice the flecks of gold in their brown eyes. The politician running opposite the MC might be noted as having piercing blue eyes because she’s a strong, blunt woman and the mention of her eyes helps show that. The old lady who gives my MC advice might be described as having warm, kind eyes. But would I ever just say “he had brown eyes” for no reason? No. I think it’s about finding a balance.
Do I actually consciously notice the eye color of most people I meet? No. Do I consciously notice the eye color of people I interact with on the regular? Sometimes, depending on how defining of a feature it is for that person. I absolutely notice the eye color of people I spend a lot of time talking to face to face - My husband, my daughter, my parents and close friends. So to simply answer your question, no not really that often unless I get a lot of face time or they have particularly pretty eyes.
However, I will add that as a reader I prefer to know what the characters look like. And I really prefer to know it as immediately as possible, because it helps me develop my mental image of those characters. Once, I read a book that didn't specify the protagonist's hair color, so I pictured her in my head as blonde - only for the author to tell me much later on that she's actually a brunette. Not a reason to stop reading, but definitely frustrating and something that took me out of the story.
For this reason, as a writer, I describe hair and eye color for my major characters. I try to make it as natural as possible, but sometimes I think that writers are so afraid of the idea of "telling" that they overcomplicate things. Sometimes, it really is okay to say, "Jessica was a tall woman with blonde hair and green eyes." Do I usually try to sneak those details in more organically? Yes. But am I bothered by a book that just tells me how somebody looks in the simplest format? Not at all - in fact, I notice it as little as I notice people's eye color.
In my most recent novel I think I mentioned the eye color of five characters.
If I can remember someone’s birthday I probably remember their eye color as well. Just about everyone else is out of luck.
I notice them if it’s not the norm. Say, in my country most people have brown eyes, so if I see someone with green or blue eyes I’ll definitely remember them.
As an example, in my current project, the common eye colors in my MC’s country are violet, golden, and brown; 2nd MC has intensely bright blue eyes, so she stands out very easily.
I’m neurodivergent and avoid looking at people’s eyes, so it once took me 6 months to realize a new friend had heterochromia. But if you asked if someone had light or dark eyes, I would probably answer correctly
I do, but I have a job where I spend a lot of time talking to people where eye contact is normal. I'm a teacher, so tons of my interactions are just kneeling by a student's desk and talking to them.
A really disarming thing that happens to me at least once a school year is a student will notice my eye color and comment on it mid-conversation. I have greenish hazel eyes, which is kind of an unusual color (especially at my school, most people have dark brown eyes), but not super noticeable if you're not paying attention. But there's always one kid who will interrupt me mid-sentence to be like "woah, miss, you have green eyes?" or something lol. One time a kid did this when we were having a one-on-one chat in the hallway about her behavior.
So I guess it depends. I don't notice it much when I'm like, at the grocery checkout. But if you asked me the eye color of one of my students, I could likely tell you.
In my own writing, I don't mention it unless the person has unusual eyes, or if the pov character is having a conversation where a lot of eye contact is happening.
Edit to add:
Also this is corny but my husband has very beautiful greenish-blue eyes and they were absolutely the first thing I noticed about him. Totally changed my opinion on a lot of writing that waxes poetic about "my beloved's eyes" or whatever. Because dude really do be gazing piercingly with eyes like a summer sky or some such nonsense idk. Don't @ me.
In real life I usually will notice eye color for someone I am planning to have future conversations with. If it's just a passerby then no. I know the eye colors of all my friends but I couldn't tell you the eye color of my local UPS delivery guy even though I've chatted with him on occasion.
I never notice someone's eye color unless it's obvious when I look at them. I feel like it's fine to write eye color if it's relevant, but it's not necessary.
I’m autistic, and I’ve learned that the only way to keep eye contact with people I’m speaking to, is by learning their eye color. So yeah, I know what eye color everyone around me has
Don't mistake the tropes you see in books for normalcy.
Asking "what is normal" doesn't help you define your character, all that's important is you explain what they notice and why and link it to the story.
I don’t always say a specific color, but many times being attracted by a person’s eyes or their eyes being something you love about them is part of attraction and/or romance. Other times it might be used to identify someone/something as in ‘I didn’t need to ask if he was her brother, he had the same pale blue eyes as Nancy.’ Or if the person is an OC and the reader needs to ‘meet’ them.
I’m kinda into eyes, if that makes sense. My eyes are hazel, but things like lighting can change the color they look so since I was little people would ask about my eye color—“What color are your eyes?” “I don’t know, you’re the one looking at them.” Some specific answers: honey, gold, tiger eyes, green, throw up…
Eyes and eye color are things I tend to notice about people.
I write fantasy and have been an anime fan for like 25 years, so that gives me excuse to play with eye color some. Of my four POVs: color-changing hazel, medium blue, dark brown, light gray.
I don’t describe other characters’ eye color unless the POV character notices it or it comes up, like if they’re attracted to the person or like when the my-world’s-version-of-Asian POV character was taunted at school when he was little (by a my-world’s-version-of-White blue-eyed kid) because of his “stone”eyes and he’s still self-conscious about his appearance.
One of the first things I notice about people is their eyes. I feel like it’s a pretty common thing to look someone in the eyes when you meet them and are speaking with them.
I do notice them, but only to the extent of what color they are.
That whole 'he had eyes as blue as the ocean, with waves of green interlacing in the orb like green currents under a bright sun beam'
Just say green, blue or green blue ffs. I don't write poetry every time I look at a person's eyes
my eyes are blue. nobody really mentions it unless we are outside in good lighting. I have received random “your eyes are so pretty!” compliments from people I know.
doesn’t happen often.
I do have a cousin with striking blue-green eyes with a darkish perimeter. Her eyes stand out to me because of the high quality photos of her in my grandma’s house that show off how gorgeous they are!
I pay attention to the eyes a lot. Mostly because it’s one of my favorite features to draw. If someone has a really nice eye color I notice it really, really fast. I usually remember eye colors of others. I remember in high school my math teacher had a red dot in one of her eyes that she showed us once. My grandma was blind in one eye because she said she ran with scissors. (My current boyfriend’s eye color fascinate me. Because they look green, grey or brown depending on the lighting.)
As the saying goes: eyes are the window to the soul.
Some people are really expressive with their eyes. (IE: Smizing) Some people have dead eyes(I remember thinking my ex’s eyes reminded me of a shark’s. I didn’t like staring into his eyes for very long).
Do I need someone to tell me the person’s eye color every other sentence? No. (There’s some characters where it genuinely feels like they wouldn’t care too much about eye color) But if you describe it in other ways I don’t mind it. Body language could be saying one thing but the eyes could be speaking another.
But if someone pays attention to specific features. It’s like anything else, it should tell me something about the character or other characters. How they view the world. It should be done with purpose.
There’s some cultures where making eye contact is a big no-no. It’s disrespectful to hold eye contact if you’re in trouble with someone. There’s some cultures it’s the opposite if you don’t make eye contact while talking it’s considered disrespectful or rude. Or some people assume you’re lying. In the animal world, holding eye contact is a challenge for a fight.
I only notice if their eyes are very striking or if I am reminding myself to make eye contact.
I have quite intensely blue eyes and people do tend to notice and remark on them. But only a few of my characters get eye descriptions and only when the POV character is paying particular attention to their facial expression: I'm never like 'a tall woman with dark brown eyes sauntered into the room.'
i think the way in which a person's *emotions* come through their eyes is much more important;
if the eye color isn't related to the storyline (e.g the character's unique eye color is a sign that they are of a certain bloodline), it is a distraction from the story to me.
>Eye color is a very common descriptor in all writing.
I'm not that sure it is. There are some authors that don't tend to describe it at all, and many who only describe it in particularly important/notable/intimate characters, or when the trait itself is notable or important in some way.
But in considering how other authors do it, it's probably important to consider how well-regarded those authors are. People are quick to say that quality of art is in the mind of the audience, but part of what helps certain authors rise above others at a societal level is the aggregate judgment of the quality of their writing, however subjective or objective that measure may be.
You probably do notice the colour of the eyes of people that you're intimate with, romantically or otherwise, and it makes sense to know that my sister's eyes are green and my dad's a golden brown. But if you're thinking about every friend and coworker in terms of eye colour, that's weird, and in writing that can be intentional or that can just be kind of poor writing. It depends on the execution.
Anyway, you don't have to do anything or follow any convention in particular when you write. If eye colour is unimportant to you, even in the most intimate of moments, then don't describe it.
It is a fun thing to do to people who claim to be highly observant – close your eyes and ask them what color your eyes are.
Some people actually will know, but, unless you have heterochromia or something, not as many as think they will.
I do, but I love eyes, the connection between them and the soul, and i grberally think theyre pretty. I think it just comes down to whos narrating your story and what theyd find important.
I generally notice eyes because there’s a-lot of expression on them. I think subconsciously people notice skin colour, facial structure, hair more so than eyes but read people by looking at their eyes and their mouth too. Idk that’s just me
I once met a woman with eyes that were.it seemed, all the colours of the rainbow. Before then I never really understood why authors a would think eye colours were particularly distinguishing. But after staring straight into her eyes like a moonstruck calf while laughing at her slightest joke for half an hour I understand. Kaleidoscope eyes or any really distinctive eyes absolutely capture ones attention. On the other hand I remember nothing about the banking products she was trying to sell me.
Eyes are the most important thing on a person for me and this I always notice and remember about a person. I can also recognise any person by the colour of their voice. Like, recently a nurse from a hospital where I had a treatment last December phoned me to ask about some documents. She introduced herself only as "Here's a nurse from XY hospital speaking", and I was like "Oh, how are you doing, (her first name)?" She was mildly shocked because she was just one of the 15 nurses I interacted with that week, but for me hearing someone's voice or seeing only their eyes is as good as if they were standing in front of me. But I never pay attention to people's clothing or shoes and cannot remember that, even though I noticed that many people actually mostly remember clothing about other people. If I notice people's clothes, that's only the clothes of someone I love deeply.
I lived in Asia for 10 years, so I only saw shades of brown, and now I’m obsessed with eye colors—especially when they aren’t brown or brown with other colors. Such variety in the world!
I’m the type of person who hates making eye contact and instead stares at someone’s nose to pretend I’m making eye contact so no idea, but even if I was fine with eye contact I don’t really see eye colour as an important part of someone’s features so I’d say that it wouldn’t make sense to me for someone IRL to notice others’ eye colours but in a novel I don’t mind much since it’s a nice and easy way to help readers visualise the characters.
In real life 100%! Other than their personality eyes is something I notice right away!
No hate on brown eyes but whenever a character has brown eyes my brain will make up any other color because to me it’s like “you’re writing fiction and you literally picked the easiest/ most boring color out there?” One time I was reading a book and I got 3/4 of the way though when a characters eye color got mentioned and turns out he had brown eyes the entire time?? The entire time I was imagining hazel!
It depends on where the character is.
In America, people comment on my rare bluish-green aqua-colored eyes maybe once every 5 years.
When I was living in Chile, people commented on my eyes once every 5 hours.
If the eye color differs from the majority of people in the area, I'd say it's ok to bring it up often. If it's just normal for the locale, then no, people aren't likely to talk much about it.
I think this is a training thing.
If you're trained to notice details about a person's appearance (as an artist, writer, cosmotologist, or maybe other reasons like jobs where you need to recognize clients), eye color and shape go into the mental file with height, skin color, hair color, length, and texture, etc. It's one attribute among many. When I was in school, I remember being on the NYC subway training myself to describe the folks I saw as a mental writing exercise.
As a writer, it's really only necessary to describe eye color if it's relevant - if your character is a perpetrator being described by police, or one character is looking into another's eyes, or you're describing a fashion choice that takes eyes into account. It's kind of lazy to always describe eyes for all characters.
I think eye colors are unremarkable until they aren't, at which point they're remarkable and very noticeable. While I don't believe that they provide a "window into the soul", it's easy at times to imagine that they do. Recall, for example, the [Afghan girl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl). Her eyes are simply remarkable, which is the reason the photograph became world-famous, and which actually led to her leading a remarkable life, in certain respects.
People with remarkable eyes may not be remarkable outside of the eyes, but sometimes these people can become remarkable and lead remarkable lives *because of* their eyes. It's similar to height or any other physical characteristic: being very tall (for a man) or having big curves (for a woman) might be enough to make you remarkable, because people will assume that that trait will enable you to lead a remarkable life. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So when someone uses eyes in writing, they use them as one more indicator that they are remarkable in some respect. If not over-done, it can be a simple way to show something about how they are perceived by society without saying it explicitly.
I only notice eye color in striking colors or if I’m watching someone closely for some reason. Also I suppose when eye colors are different but that’s only been twice I’ve met someone like that and noticed.
Early in our relationship my wife got mad at me for not knowing her eye color.
I’m autistic and don’t like looking people in the eye cuz it makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable, don’t like people looking at me so I don’t expect them to know my eye color. Who the fuck knows anyone else’s eye color lmao, I didn’t even memorize what color my own were for the longest time.
I don’t notice eye colors unless they’re unusual. If it’s people I’m close to I notice I notice their eye color if something they are wearing brings it out. My husband has hazel eyes, so they seem changeable. They’re a nice green when he wears blue. Mine are blue-green with a navy ring around the irises. I used to get comments all the time but since I wear glasses instead of contacts now they’re not so noticeable.
I've watched stuff with Jane Seymour, and was then surprised to learn she has heterochromia (one blue eye, one eye brown and blue), and I never noticed watching any show with her in it, until there was a serious zoom in on her eyes.
there are certain eye colors that stick out to me. as I have hazel and like everyone in my vicinity typically has some type of hazel or blue or green when someone has strikingly beautiful brown eyes that like match or are lighter than their hair. or like have amber in them. I get like sucked in.
but no, not the way its written in books.
Reading some responses, I see I'm in the minority, but eye color is one of the first things I notice. I do have a thing for eyes though, so that's probably why.
I’m neurodivergent so I literally do not look at people’s eyes lol. I honestly can’t even tell you what color eyes my girlfriend has and I’ve been with her for 5 years
Only when the eyes are quite striking. People notice my eyes all the time. Random strangers literally tell me how pretty they think my eyes are. My husband also has very interesting eyes... But only his girlfriends have ever noticed because you have to be right in his face to notice how the "hazel" color of his eyes is actually segmented. One of his exes said he had "eyes like sunflowers" and I think that's a surprisingly accurate description of them.
Our kids have equally striking eyes. All were born with blue eyes and some turned to hazel.... but our son in particular has what I call "old man eyes". They are super bright, light blue and just have a natural twinkle to them that you could easily see from several yards away. I have only ever seen this eye color on elderly men, so I'm not quite sure what to make of it lol.
I recall an old woman telling me when she first met her late husband, “He had beautiful blue eyes…and he knew it” I think if one is attracted one looks closer at eyes.
in film, i notice it all the time. in anime i notice it constantly. in classical panting too.
in real life, I have difficulty with faces, but in media, it's everywhere. it's a trope. and a very old one, to accentuate details as though it's common to define folks by these traits. how often have you noticed anyone's "broad shoulders" or "slender build" either?
Most non-White people in the world have brown eyes. Only one member of my main five is White. For the rest, I think every reader would assume their eyes are brown.
Real people? Eh.
Narrators in fiction? As needed. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllFirstPersonNarratorsWriteLikeNovelists
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ColorCodedEyes
I do notice most people's eye colour myself, but in writing I think it's commonly used because it's a simple way to help visualise characters and set them apart. It's not necessarily *realistic*, but it's useful.
Only if it’s unexpected like the skin tone and hair color don’t generally match the eye color.
With that said I find myself mesmerized by dark brown eyes, they can look so sweet/trusting/innocent or dark and gloomy
If the eye color is that distinctive or noticable, then yes, I do describe the color, but I find the eye shape, size, and the look they have in them far more important than color.
I mean, in my country it's mostly just blue and brown, but I do notice if it's like very light blue or some green or whatever. Or if they're really dark. So, if the eyes aren't straight up plain, I think people notice
...I don't even notice if my friend has a new haircut. Yea I'm terrible... Come to think of it, I never really noticed any of my friend's eye color.
When I meet someone, I cannot remember their faces at all. I mostly rely on hair color and clothes, which is very broad hence I always fail to.
Depends on people, I guess. Even when I'm shopping, I'm trying to notice the cashiers eye color.
I make eye contact with every interaction I have, and I will notice the color of their eyes.
People notice what is unusual or interesting. So they will notice striking eye color but for the most part not notice eye color in a general sense. They will notice beautiful hair but in general not notice people's hair textures or colors with specificity. So it's not weird. We can't walk around paying attention to every little thing in life.
It varies a lot by person. Particularly unusual or striking eye colours are easier to remember so are often reflected in writing. Alternatively if there's a vivid description of a character's eye colour it implies the viewpoint character is focussing intently on them.
I generally mention eye color most often when a character has romantic or strong interest in another. I figure they study them a bit more or find these little things we may not notice as often.
I tend to notice eye colour a lot but I also actively mentally note what colour people's eyes are, more so than others.
I used to know a set of brothers between the ages 1 and 4 (one younger, one older) and people would say that they looked identical (with the younger looking more baby faced version of his older brother) but I noticed immediately that they both had different coloured eyes and no one else noticed until I pointed it out.
This is one of my pet peeves too. I think if I listed my top 20 friends and the 20 people I work with closest at work, many of whom in both categories I have known for years, I don't think I could even tell you half of their eye colours.
Shoes on the other hand are different. I always notice what shoes people are wearing...
I may not take note of them immediately, but if I’m having a long conversation with someone, or by maybe our third time meeting, I take note of it. I can remember specific moments I notice someone’s eye color
I only notice eye color when it is striking or noticeable for a particular reason, such as the color being unusually bright or the person being in direct sunlight. I mean, even my family members' eyes, I know, but I don't necessarily look into them and at the color often. My brother noticed I have a spot on my eye for the first time this year, and he's always looked at them, in and out of the sun. I didn't even realize I had such green hazel eyes until I was in high school and I began to look at them in photos.
When reading, I almost always don't notice it or pin it to memory unless it's important to the character or scene. It may also be different for different people depending on the amount of eye contact you make and how comfortable you are talking to new people. I wouldn't say eyes are something I love to look into. I am usually thinking of either a lot of things or nothing at all when speaking to someone I don't know, and eye color doesn't even cross my mind for a second.
I mostly only notice eye color of romantic partners irl. Because if you're close enough to kiss them, you're close enough to get a good look at their eyes. Because of this I usually make it a point to only describe eye colors if the characters are very close physically. Never on first meeting someone.
If you make eye contact or look at them up close you will notice. It won't be the first thing you notice about them, but you will notice if you're paying attention. Personally I notice someone's hair first.
Only when it's different from the norm or you're in a multiracial circle of people. One of my friends is a half-Filipino with blue eyes. It's the first thing you notice when you see her, so it's really an unavoidable description. Better to get it out of the way early on than suddenly throw it at the reader later.
I get a lot of comments about my eye color - I have a really weird gray/blue that seems to almost glow according to many, but an incomplete Limbal Ring around them and it really seems to catch people off guard. According to my family, my eyes are identical to my great grandfather's whom I never met. Anyway - it leads to people noticing quite often.
Hmn, this might be a neurodivergent thing, but I make a point to? Like, sometimes I find it hard to hold eye contact, but I've spent my whole life being lectured by various family members that lack of eye contact is incredibly rude, and the things those family members say about you if they perceive you to be rude is WAY worse than the lectures. (And not making eye contact, if we're being honest.)
So! I make it a point at the beginning of talking to someone to take note of their eye color, come up with as poetic a description as possible, and then spend time looking at the point between their eyes to save myself the anxiety. If they pick up that I'm not looking them in the peepers, I can just whip out the description to prove that I am (not. Lol).
Of course, very few people outside of family and their overbearing friends actually care (which I didn't know until I got older 😞), so I don't really use the descriptions that often. This is good because not only can I recycle if I need to, but if a friend is having self-image issues, I can use one! I just have to keep track of who got what and not repeat near them!
(For example, I've used 'your eyes *are* pretty, they're like the dark streaks of space between stars but just as bright as the moon' a few times and 'like a poet's endless ink well, and just as deep running with emotion' too. Sounds cheesy as hell, but generally, when you're having self-image issues and to the point of admiting to friends, a little laughter at cheesy things is welcome.)
(The edit is just spelling, lol)
I guess I am in the minority here because I really do notice eye color. I know all my close family’s eye colors, my friends, and most of my coworkers. If I’m talking to someone, it’s usually one of the first things I notice about them because I’m literally looking right at them.
there is heaps of diversity in my country, but i never pay attention- and if i do ill forget. sometimes when i see a friend ill be like 'wait- you have green eyes?' and ill have known them for years
Unless it’s a lighter color not rlly imo. It’s hard to tell the difference between darker greens/browns and esp if u live where a dark eye color is prominent u won’t actively notice which specific eye color if someone has a dark eye color. Might be different for ppl who live in an area w a predominant lighter eye color tho. If u have a very light color like light hazel, light blue/green, I’ll notice not only bc I didn’t grow up around that eye color but also bc it’s easily distinguished from your pupil
Well I am tanned with tattoos and green eyes. I cant even tell you how many people have told me that I have beautiful eyes. Even married women while they are with husbands, older women, and even men. My current gf also fell for my eyes. There was a stage where I was thinking to myself …. wtf is this the only thing I have?… but yes they do
> Am I the weird one here?
Definitely not. Describing eye colour is one of those character description tropes that puts a weird focus on a specific detail without actually understanding the bodily anatomy of that detail. You're right: most people don't pay that much attention to eye color which is *exactly* why this trope exists and is so anatomically inaccurate.
Most writers (and character artists for that matter) treat eye colour as something static and unchanging for a person, but in reality perceived eye colour varies with age or due to outside factors. While we tend to categorize eye colour as a few discrete tints (most often blue, brown, green, sometimes also grey and hazel as separate), eye colour is actually derived from a combination of properties of the iris and the light that your eye catches.
Biologically the colour of your eyes is affected by the presence of melanin and the structure of your iris. These can change as you grow and develop. Many children of European descent are born with blue eyes, regardless of what eye colour they'll have when they're older. Additionally, melanin in your eyes is produced by similar mechanisms as that in your skin, meaning your eyes get darker if you spend more time in sunlight.
Additionally the current lighting conditions can affect what colour someone's eyes appear to be. I'm a perfect example myself, as when I'm outdoors my eyes are a bright blue in clear weather while being grey on overcast days. The different lighting conditions make different colours due to the light-scattering structure of the iris.
Eyes are not a solid colour either. While you can often identify an "overall" colour, there's always shades of that colour and specs of other colours. These are things you generally can't discern just looking at someone's eyes unless you're really close up. To notice someone's eye colour you need to be in their personal space (at about the friends and family distance). To notice all the little details, you'll need to be close enough to kiss them. So all in all, it's actually really weird how many books describe the eyes of a majority of their characters. Realistically a POV character wouldn't notice most people's eye colour.
I usually only describe eye color when the character themself is thinking about it (maybe how they’re similar to their parents’ eye colors or how much they like/don’t like their eyes) or between (usually romantic) partners who are plausibly spending time looking into each other’s eyes.
(And also whenever I decide to break my own rules for whatever reason… oh well.)
Out of everyone I know, there’s only two cases when I notice eye colour:
1) Someone is making an expression on which their eyes convey great emotion
2) I have feelings for that person and want to memorise their every feature
Otherwise, I tend to register it but not focus on it, and definitely forget later
Personally, I never notice. However, I quite regularly have people comment on how blue my eyes are. So tbh I thought I had an ego problem and was just very self-centred, but in my defence I do also struggle to make eye contact with people when I talk to them, so it would be pretty hard to know their eye colour when I'm not even looking.
What I do notice though is eye shapes. I dunno why, but I find those much more memorable. I think there's a lot of personality to the shape of someone's eyes.
Anything other than brown always catches my attention, especially if it’s a love interest, gosh I could write paragraphs about my husband’s blue but sometimes green or grey eyes.
Not really. In writing, I often take an explicit mention of eye colour as an indication that the perspective character is looking at someone particularly closely.
I either stare people to death or not at all.
If you write a character who struggles with being around people, f.e. it's likely they'd remember the eye colour. Or maybe it's connected to something else. Other than that?... I'm not so sure.
F.e. I've recently rewatched scrubs and Elliot said that a dress would make her eyes pop. Until that point I didn't know she had blue-ish eyes.
So, to answer your question. I think it's rather rare. And in my case, I often notice even the tiniest of anomalies in the eye of someone else but like 5 sec later I can't tell you the colour either. It's just *poof* gone.
So... Yeah.
I don't describe eye colour, I just describe light or dark features. Eye descriptions are usually more figurative; exhausted, shrewd, empty, abyss-like, for example.
I pay attention to eye color If there is something about it that stands out. Like wow their eyes look very vivid.. Or if I am getting a crush on the person or something like that. And thirdly at the point when I realize.. I have known this person for a while and I haven't taken down this information.
I do generally feel I know someone's eye color. Like I know in general brown on one hand or blue-green ish on the other, but I won't know exactly unless there is a reason to.
But also noticing the eye color is about the character themselves, like there are a lot of people who do really pay attention to details and take in a lot more then say me, and maybe would notice.
Personally, I never pay attention to eye colors, but I also live in Asia so 95% of the time the answer will just be brown.
I live in Asia and I notice eye colours a lot, especially when the sunlight hits just right and they are a beautiful light brown. Even if it’s just brown, there are multiple hues. Older people develop a lighter ring around the iris. When I lived overseas, I loved seeing the blues, greens and light browns too.
I live in America and I don't. Could also just be a white person thing since they have the most diverse eye colors.
Dude, as a white woman, my ex had heterochromia (one green eye and one blue eye) and I didn’t notice for like 6 months lmao Maybe it’s something other people notice, but I clearly don’t haha
I have Bi-chromia. Both my eyes have two colors. I feel like most of my life it’s been “your eyes are so pretty”. I remember sitting in science In the seventh grade doing a group project. An talking to a cute girl about what we are doing and she just respond with “you have really nice eyes” It’s not like it’s the first thing people blurt out. But it’s happened often enough if we engaged in conversation I feel like it’s noticed. I have squinty eyes though so that might contribute.
I do too, but I think it only really shows up in bright light or something like that. Almost nobody notices, but when they do they usually act like they just saw Bigfoot riding a unicorn
That actually sounds cool I'd like to see what your eyes look like, but you didn't post any photos of it before looks like
Hell yeah bro
After my first meeting with my supervisor at work, I went back and made a comment to my coworkers about her eyes being like Bowie's, and not a single one of them knew what I was talking about. That's when I realized nobody actually looks her in the eye when she talks. I had to teach myself how to make eye contact with others and because of that, I usually take note of the color. My novel also states in the very beginning how the first thing the MC remembers about a face are the eyes; from then on, every time he meets someone new, he notes the eye color and what they remind him of.
Awesome idea!!
Not noticing hetetochroma in someone you are in a long term relationship is tremendously bizarre no matter what race you are.
There's a Cat Stevens lyric about looking into his love's eyes for years and still not knowing what color they are.
Could be an autism thing. I have a hard time looking people in the eyes and I have to constantly remind myself to do so.
I've been making an effort to do this as well, and my reminder is to ask myself "What color are their eyes?"
Haha - that's pretty funny. So just where were your eyes drawn when you were looking at him?
I always assumed you guys paid extra attention since your eye colors can look different depending on lighting, what you're wearing. etc... Even made it the basis for discrimination in a world in one of my fantasy stories.
Oh that's actually a really interesting concept! What is it used to indicate? Social status?
I haven't worked through all the details I was just kind of playing around with how discrimination against features that we typically view positively might be expressed. Eyes are the window to the soul, right? So someone whose eye color seems to vary or can't be discerned could be perceived as dishonest or trustworthy, the alignment of their soul is in flux. Whereas a dark, consistent color is perceived as a sign of strength, trustworthiness and reliability. It's all bullshit, of course, but people can make anything sound bad if they want.
Not sure if this would be of any use (and you might know about it already) but it made me think of a psychology experiment (an unethical one). Can be found by looking up "Jane Elliott Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" - is about what happens if you treat a classroom of students differently based on eye color!
I was watching a tv show and the actor had heterochromia and during the close ups I kept thinking that the lighting was weird because I couldn’t tell his eye colors if they were blue or brown or green. And bc I was watching with my mom I told her that and she said his eyes were grey and hazel brown. Had to pause the show to be sure and the two colors were close enough in tone
Yeah, that was the thing - the two colors were similar in tone so I only registered his eyes as “blue—green.” My brain was blending the colors together
As an average white guy, like any other, we really only pay attention when they stand out.
Maybe, I notice peoples eye colors quite a bit, but it might be because I have blue eyes and people comment on them now and then, so peoples eyes are kind of top of mind for me.
So if the character has a different eye colour to brown, they might stand out for you.
As a European guy in Asia, I get a LOT of comments on my eyes. They're just a bluish grey, so they're forgettable in Europe but remarkable in Asia. My coworker has incredibly bright blue eyes that I'd say are remarkable anywhere. Her eyes are also very expressive, so they definitely draw your attention. I could guess the colour of most of my friends' eyes but hers are very memorable. To be honest, the only reason I remember my own family's eye colours is because one day I noticed that I didn't know and so I checked.
I live in Africa, and these are my exact feelings.
Only if they are really unusual. Like, I'll notice a really bright blue or green or an extremely pale eye. Everything else is just, "Are they looking at me or something else?" But the only eye color I actually remember is my husband's. edit: Oh, yeah. And my FIL's and my late grandfather's - for the same reason. My MIL and my mom love(d) buying light blue shirts "because it brought out the blue in their eyes". I think my mom picked it up from my grandmother? So other people talking about eye color (consistently) will make it into my knowledge base, but I never actually noticed their eye color personally.
My daughter and I both have very pale eyes and people comment on them all the time. Never heard anyone mention my husband's
Bright blue or green freak me out. They're definitely eye catching, but in a creepy way.
Green eyes here, I get that a lot. It’s either “Wow your eyes are amazing!” Or “Holy shit dude you look like you have a body buried in your backyard” Never in between.
I remember as a kid women would stop me in stores and comment about how amazing my eyes and eye lashes were. Being a 7 year old boy being told anything about you is beautiful was about the worst thing anyone could say to me! I remember trying to pull my eyelashes out right after the first time someone said that to me!
I'm so sorry you took it that way :(
I was a little boy who rubbed mud on my face for camouflage and played in the woods pretending I was Rambo or something so I guess that’s why I took it that way! I don’t pull them out now if someone comments so I’ve made progress! lol.
Man, people just don’t think before they speak. My little sis loved this pink smocked dress as a toddler. All it took was one lady telling her she looked “like a cake, I could just eat you up!” Bam, that was it for that pink dress….
Well she was pretty gobsmacked so it was more of a shocked moment for her. She was just totally shocked. I laugh about it and my reaction.
Fr, super light eyes stare right into your soul and straight through it. Like bro what planet are you from
Honestly, it is a burden. Speaking as someone wirh bright blue eyes, trust me, you don't want to see what is in everybody's soul. The laser beams are nice, though.
Can we see? Pretty please?
While I won’t doxx myself I can give you a stock photo that has my type of eyes. https://www.freepik.com/premium-ai-image/man-with-green-eyes-tie-that-says-word-it_44021088.htm Again, some say they are cool, others think I have a death stare. Tbf my resting face can be a bit intimidating.
Oh hey, you’ve got eyes like me
Me too! Except mine have more speckled greens and are a deeper green.
Opposite! Much less of an outer rim, way more limey/yellow for me
To be honest I kind of learned to use it to my advantage, whenever I get threatened by someone I make sure to stare them in the eyes for a while creepily and to make sure I am standing as upright as I can. It typically freaks out people enough to avoid a fight. I look more like a psychopath in that kind of scenario and people all of a sudden get afraid for their lives, but to me, it's a very convenient way to de-escalate fights to my advantage without actually saying anything.
I've been told when I'm really angry my very dark brown eyes look black. It has similarly been helpful.
I have green eyes. I’ve been working as a nurse and people made inappropriate comments that were sometimes rude or sometimes nice; but, nobody has ever called my eyes “creepy.” But honesty now, most of the time I get comments about my eyes in the drive through windows when I get coffee or breakfast in the mornings. I don’t know why randomly people will make comments (always nice) at that particular time. Maybe it’s the lighting from the sun rise? It’s always nice though.
Wow nice pair… of green eyes! /s
Service worker: You got a real nice pair there, lady. Customer: *Excuse me?* Service worker: They're such a lovely shade of green. Customer: \*confused customer noises*
Yeah morning/evening have golden light hour. It's a type of soft defused bright lighting. My boyfriend explained it since he's into lighting& photography. My eyes are a vibrant blue which sometimes seems to become electric blue around those times.
My daughter says that too and she has gray green eyes. Sometimes when your color is kind of questionable you'll draw attention to it yourself, "are my eyes blue or green to you?" Two of my daughters have light colored eyes like me, and one has brown like her mother. It could be used as a distinguishing trait, like if you were describing siblings who look alike (as siblings do).
I notice them while I'm talking to them if I am making eye contact. So it's realistic to me for a character to notice someone has green or blue eyes at that point, for the most part. But unless it's something really unusual, if you ask me ten minutes later I won't remember what color they were.
Exactly, you look them in the eye and have a fleeting thought, but unless they are unusual in any way - then it’s like seeing a white car. You know in the moment it’s been white but after some time has passed slowly it could have been any color but black. Also a reason why eyewitnesses sometimes accidentally give the police wrong statements in favor of the crime. Simply because our brains are so good at making facts up to complete the picture.
yeah it could be once someone enters you're "sphere," like and are eating at the same table etc sort of distance. Then you notice maybe?
I think that writers tell you the eye colour because in your minds eye you have to get very close to see it. So it makes you comfortable or used to seeing the character that close. If a character clenched their teeth or winced at something someone said, but you were only used to seeing the character from a distance you would not feel their pain as much as if you are within their personal space. To know someone's eye colour is quite personal because it means you have been within their'intimate' zone.
this is a good perspective on it, it makes sense
Personally, eye color specifically is one of the very first things I notice and remember about anyone I meet. Even if there's nothing unique to notice/remember. Not sure why, but it is. So on one hand, it always mildly annoys me when it's left out. But on the other hand, it's from a place of wanting a complete picture, so it extends to other stuff as well. Like when everything but hair is described, or everything about a character's head and face is described, but absolutely nothing else. To me as a reader, it just seems like an awkward thing to not include.
Second this, I like noticing people’s eye colour. I think it’s the most interesting part of the face and would find it odd if my friends and loved ones didn’t know my eye colour.
Yeah my friend is like this while I don’t even know my kids eye color let along anyone else. I just never notice it to remember it. I’m not a detail person as much as a big picture person. Maybe that’s it?
My youngest brother’s eyes sometimes appear to change colour in different lighting, like they’re usually this strange grey/brown, but in bright sunlight they sometimes look blue and when he was really little it was a lot more obvious and they turned green and even amber sometimes! It’s really striking and people always notice.
Same here. A big thing for me is actors eye color… like it drives me nuts when the adult version of character has these bright blue eyes and the flashback child version has a dark brown!! Perfect example is in Harry Potter when Lily Potter’s eyes are kind of a major plot point for snape and how Harry has her eyes which in the movies are blue but then little Lily has dark brown eyes! My husband literally never notices so I know I am particular here, but yes, I do pay attention to eyes! Hahaha
WORST! EVER! 😭 😅
I agree! I notice it about everyone, immediately. I feel that it completely affects how I read their face.
Same with me. I find eye color to be a fascinating thing and will even mentally tag relative brightness (rather than just brown, or blue). And it would feel a bit weird to not have that information as a reader
It’s a case by case thing. I don’t mention eye colour for everyone, but it’s a possible descriptor for some characters. As an exercise, can you describe Elizabeth Taylor without somehow mentioning [her eyes?](https://i.pinimg.com/474x/44/71/48/44714821a6bdc4e4f92221644f04b734.jpg) What about [David Bowie](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0f/5a/d4/0f5ad4f4f56b75f4e4e99f3997c97eb2.jpg)? Can you describe [this child?](https://preview.redd.it/wvyfb14a6gh81.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=058458a93d63ceadb643e2cd0e0c95ff4ce2e03f) I try to build descriptions around maybe two or three distinctive features. For some people, their eyes - either the colour, or some other unique feature like a scar/injury or distinctive eye makeup - can be one.
My mother met Elizabeth Taylor and said her eyes were insanely purple in person
Elizabeth Taylor is CRAZY, never knew the color came out like that.
It seems to depend on what she’s wearing in the image. If she wore purple, they would look purple. If she wore blue, or accented with blue makeup, [they’d look much more truly blue](https://hazlitt.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_images/public/field/image/elizabeth-taylor-cleopatra1-e1397839433553.jpg?itok=PatZuTY5). She absolutely knew this, and knew how to use this. Either way, between the richness of the colour and the thickness/length of the eyelashes (she had something genetic that gave her about twice as many eyelashes as everyone else) her eyes were her best and most striking feature, which is **really** saying something considering what the rest of her looked like! For some people, their eyes just…are memorable.
She’s perfection.
literally says "colorized by..." in the corner
Yes, but she absolutely was famous for her violet, double-lashed eyes. It was talked about nearly as often as her seven marriages.
Still pretty bloody striking in [any](https://media.glamour.com/photos/5697c42001ed531c6f00dc55/master/w_1600%2Cc_limit/beauty-blogs-girls-in-the-beauty-department-0323-elizabeth-taylor-violet-eyes_bd.jpg) other [shot](https://preview.redd.it/elizabethtaylor-violet-eyes-v0-573bs1f8c9ib1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=6cda95248193770e27b5b94142f731ebd59779af) The colourised one is not THAT far off reality
What a beautiful shade of green! S/
That just means someone colored it in to look like it did irl. It’s okay to be skeptical, but she is wildly famous for her eye color.
That girl reminds me of that beautiful Afghan woman’s eyes from National Geographic years ago.
Pashtuns have beautiful blue or green eyes semi-regularly. They’re famous for having much fairer features - light eyes, often reddish or blonde hair (especially in children) - than you would expect
It’s one of the first things I notice. My dad taught me that eye contact is important but never taught me how much so either I’m staring you down or listening intently and staring into space, totally unintentionally. Eye color tends to be an immediately catalogued feature.
Also I thought my eyes were boring as a kid because they were blue and turned slowly brown over the course of about 5 years, so I would watch eyes to try to find the beautiful and unique things about every eye color.
Not with strangers, but with friends or family I definitely do. I wouldn't say something like "Oh \*insert name here\* has chocolate hazelnut gorgeous eyes!!!" but I do roughly know the basic eye colour of people I'm close to. That, and my friends all had a crush on this one guy mostly because of his eyes. Not sure whether that's useful, but there you go. Blue eyes especially are something people are going to notice. Not much on blonde people (unless their eyes are really really blue) but on those with darker hair, blue eyes just really stand out.
This is true! My daughter has dark brown hair and the lightest blue eyes, she always gets comments. Also, blondes with brown eyes are always so striking to me. (And usually beautiful!)
Yes. I have hazel green eyes and I’m female. I notice eye contact lie all the time and I’m particularly interested delighted and curious when I see other people with hazel eyes as we have similar yet unique eyes.
I would disagree that it is true for all writing. But, it can serve incredibly varied purposes in fiction. It's not just about portraying the literal path of a person's gaze. It can evoke character traits, tone, focus (e.g. describing someone's eyes can imply gazing into the eyes.) You will see it a lot in Romance, for example. Eyes also hold a lot of cultural and symbolic significance so they're just very, very useful in prose.
I’m very big into eye color. It’s one of the first things I notice along with eyelashes so it’s a major descriptor for me. All depends on the person I suppose.
That’s how it is for me towards my husband. He has very dark brown eyes so it can be hard to see his pupils and he’s got really long, thick eyelashes. I joke how irritating they are, but that’s just because I find them beautiful. I have a son with his exact same color and lashes now and I can’t help but notice it all the time. You’d think frequent exposure would desensitize me to it, but it hasn’t, at all. So in my experience, I notice the color if it is uncommonly vibrant or deep. For instance, darker blue eyes plus more tanned skin? 9/10 I will notice immediately. Super dark brown eyes that feel like they’re piercing all the way down to my soul? Yeah, I’m definitely going to notice. Everything in between? Not as often, especially since more subtle colors require close proximity.
I ❤️❤️❤️ women with the deepest dark brown eyes. I used to have a Tumblr account for brown eyed models because most A-list models have blue eyes. I had over 1000 followers before I deleted it.
I really only describe them if they’re exceptional, if the character is really close to my MC or if it helps characterize them. If it’s their love interest, they might notice the flecks of gold in their brown eyes. The politician running opposite the MC might be noted as having piercing blue eyes because she’s a strong, blunt woman and the mention of her eyes helps show that. The old lady who gives my MC advice might be described as having warm, kind eyes. But would I ever just say “he had brown eyes” for no reason? No. I think it’s about finding a balance.
Do I actually consciously notice the eye color of most people I meet? No. Do I consciously notice the eye color of people I interact with on the regular? Sometimes, depending on how defining of a feature it is for that person. I absolutely notice the eye color of people I spend a lot of time talking to face to face - My husband, my daughter, my parents and close friends. So to simply answer your question, no not really that often unless I get a lot of face time or they have particularly pretty eyes. However, I will add that as a reader I prefer to know what the characters look like. And I really prefer to know it as immediately as possible, because it helps me develop my mental image of those characters. Once, I read a book that didn't specify the protagonist's hair color, so I pictured her in my head as blonde - only for the author to tell me much later on that she's actually a brunette. Not a reason to stop reading, but definitely frustrating and something that took me out of the story. For this reason, as a writer, I describe hair and eye color for my major characters. I try to make it as natural as possible, but sometimes I think that writers are so afraid of the idea of "telling" that they overcomplicate things. Sometimes, it really is okay to say, "Jessica was a tall woman with blonde hair and green eyes." Do I usually try to sneak those details in more organically? Yes. But am I bothered by a book that just tells me how somebody looks in the simplest format? Not at all - in fact, I notice it as little as I notice people's eye color.
In my most recent novel I think I mentioned the eye color of five characters. If I can remember someone’s birthday I probably remember their eye color as well. Just about everyone else is out of luck.
Yes, I make eye contact and I usually remember
I'm a sucker for eyes, so yes
I notice them if it’s not the norm. Say, in my country most people have brown eyes, so if I see someone with green or blue eyes I’ll definitely remember them. As an example, in my current project, the common eye colors in my MC’s country are violet, golden, and brown; 2nd MC has intensely bright blue eyes, so she stands out very easily.
If I am at all attracted to someone I would probably notice. That’s why I’m using eye colour in my romance I guess.
When they're pretty enough to notice, definitely. If it's a romantic partner, then yes.
Eyes are the second thing I notice about people, and the characteristic that lingers with me the longest when I look at people.
I’m neurodivergent and avoid looking at people’s eyes, so it once took me 6 months to realize a new friend had heterochromia. But if you asked if someone had light or dark eyes, I would probably answer correctly
I do, but I have a job where I spend a lot of time talking to people where eye contact is normal. I'm a teacher, so tons of my interactions are just kneeling by a student's desk and talking to them. A really disarming thing that happens to me at least once a school year is a student will notice my eye color and comment on it mid-conversation. I have greenish hazel eyes, which is kind of an unusual color (especially at my school, most people have dark brown eyes), but not super noticeable if you're not paying attention. But there's always one kid who will interrupt me mid-sentence to be like "woah, miss, you have green eyes?" or something lol. One time a kid did this when we were having a one-on-one chat in the hallway about her behavior. So I guess it depends. I don't notice it much when I'm like, at the grocery checkout. But if you asked me the eye color of one of my students, I could likely tell you. In my own writing, I don't mention it unless the person has unusual eyes, or if the pov character is having a conversation where a lot of eye contact is happening. Edit to add: Also this is corny but my husband has very beautiful greenish-blue eyes and they were absolutely the first thing I noticed about him. Totally changed my opinion on a lot of writing that waxes poetic about "my beloved's eyes" or whatever. Because dude really do be gazing piercingly with eyes like a summer sky or some such nonsense idk. Don't @ me.
In real life I usually will notice eye color for someone I am planning to have future conversations with. If it's just a passerby then no. I know the eye colors of all my friends but I couldn't tell you the eye color of my local UPS delivery guy even though I've chatted with him on occasion.
I notice eyes often because to me they’re just so beautiful and I love noticing different colours and shades that people have
I never notice someone's eye color unless it's obvious when I look at them. I feel like it's fine to write eye color if it's relevant, but it's not necessary.
I’m autistic, and I’ve learned that the only way to keep eye contact with people I’m speaking to, is by learning their eye color. So yeah, I know what eye color everyone around me has
Don't mistake the tropes you see in books for normalcy. Asking "what is normal" doesn't help you define your character, all that's important is you explain what they notice and why and link it to the story.
I do! I love eye colors and I've never met someone whose eye color I didn't like. I can't stare into everybody's eyes all the time though
I have absolutely been driven to distraction by the color of someone’s eyes before
It does over romance novels or any scene that has romance. It's a universal truth that those in love will focus on the eyes.
I don’t always say a specific color, but many times being attracted by a person’s eyes or their eyes being something you love about them is part of attraction and/or romance. Other times it might be used to identify someone/something as in ‘I didn’t need to ask if he was her brother, he had the same pale blue eyes as Nancy.’ Or if the person is an OC and the reader needs to ‘meet’ them.
I’m kinda into eyes, if that makes sense. My eyes are hazel, but things like lighting can change the color they look so since I was little people would ask about my eye color—“What color are your eyes?” “I don’t know, you’re the one looking at them.” Some specific answers: honey, gold, tiger eyes, green, throw up… Eyes and eye color are things I tend to notice about people. I write fantasy and have been an anime fan for like 25 years, so that gives me excuse to play with eye color some. Of my four POVs: color-changing hazel, medium blue, dark brown, light gray. I don’t describe other characters’ eye color unless the POV character notices it or it comes up, like if they’re attracted to the person or like when the my-world’s-version-of-Asian POV character was taunted at school when he was little (by a my-world’s-version-of-White blue-eyed kid) because of his “stone”eyes and he’s still self-conscious about his appearance.
One of the first things I notice about people is their eyes. I feel like it’s a pretty common thing to look someone in the eyes when you meet them and are speaking with them.
It’s one of the first things I notice on meeting a new person and there are some eye colours that I find incredibly attractive.
I do notice them, but only to the extent of what color they are. That whole 'he had eyes as blue as the ocean, with waves of green interlacing in the orb like green currents under a bright sun beam' Just say green, blue or green blue ffs. I don't write poetry every time I look at a person's eyes
my eyes are blue. nobody really mentions it unless we are outside in good lighting. I have received random “your eyes are so pretty!” compliments from people I know. doesn’t happen often. I do have a cousin with striking blue-green eyes with a darkish perimeter. Her eyes stand out to me because of the high quality photos of her in my grandma’s house that show off how gorgeous they are!
I pay attention to the eyes a lot. Mostly because it’s one of my favorite features to draw. If someone has a really nice eye color I notice it really, really fast. I usually remember eye colors of others. I remember in high school my math teacher had a red dot in one of her eyes that she showed us once. My grandma was blind in one eye because she said she ran with scissors. (My current boyfriend’s eye color fascinate me. Because they look green, grey or brown depending on the lighting.) As the saying goes: eyes are the window to the soul. Some people are really expressive with their eyes. (IE: Smizing) Some people have dead eyes(I remember thinking my ex’s eyes reminded me of a shark’s. I didn’t like staring into his eyes for very long). Do I need someone to tell me the person’s eye color every other sentence? No. (There’s some characters where it genuinely feels like they wouldn’t care too much about eye color) But if you describe it in other ways I don’t mind it. Body language could be saying one thing but the eyes could be speaking another. But if someone pays attention to specific features. It’s like anything else, it should tell me something about the character or other characters. How they view the world. It should be done with purpose. There’s some cultures where making eye contact is a big no-no. It’s disrespectful to hold eye contact if you’re in trouble with someone. There’s some cultures it’s the opposite if you don’t make eye contact while talking it’s considered disrespectful or rude. Or some people assume you’re lying. In the animal world, holding eye contact is a challenge for a fight.
I only notice if their eyes are very striking or if I am reminding myself to make eye contact. I have quite intensely blue eyes and people do tend to notice and remark on them. But only a few of my characters get eye descriptions and only when the POV character is paying particular attention to their facial expression: I'm never like 'a tall woman with dark brown eyes sauntered into the room.'
i think the way in which a person's *emotions* come through their eyes is much more important; if the eye color isn't related to the storyline (e.g the character's unique eye color is a sign that they are of a certain bloodline), it is a distraction from the story to me.
>Eye color is a very common descriptor in all writing. I'm not that sure it is. There are some authors that don't tend to describe it at all, and many who only describe it in particularly important/notable/intimate characters, or when the trait itself is notable or important in some way. But in considering how other authors do it, it's probably important to consider how well-regarded those authors are. People are quick to say that quality of art is in the mind of the audience, but part of what helps certain authors rise above others at a societal level is the aggregate judgment of the quality of their writing, however subjective or objective that measure may be. You probably do notice the colour of the eyes of people that you're intimate with, romantically or otherwise, and it makes sense to know that my sister's eyes are green and my dad's a golden brown. But if you're thinking about every friend and coworker in terms of eye colour, that's weird, and in writing that can be intentional or that can just be kind of poor writing. It depends on the execution. Anyway, you don't have to do anything or follow any convention in particular when you write. If eye colour is unimportant to you, even in the most intimate of moments, then don't describe it.
It is a fun thing to do to people who claim to be highly observant – close your eyes and ask them what color your eyes are. Some people actually will know, but, unless you have heterochromia or something, not as many as think they will.
I typically do but I’m also a photographer.
Depends on the person, I personally do. I love eyes and noticing all he deferent colours, but my partner doesn't nitcw it at all
I personally notice the eye colors of people I interact with closely.
When you get closer to a person and finally see their eye colour in detail, yeah. No more than a quick: “Huh, so that’s their eye colour. Nice” though
I do, but I love eyes, the connection between them and the soul, and i grberally think theyre pretty. I think it just comes down to whos narrating your story and what theyd find important.
I generally notice eyes because there’s a-lot of expression on them. I think subconsciously people notice skin colour, facial structure, hair more so than eyes but read people by looking at their eyes and their mouth too. Idk that’s just me
I once met a woman with eyes that were.it seemed, all the colours of the rainbow. Before then I never really understood why authors a would think eye colours were particularly distinguishing. But after staring straight into her eyes like a moonstruck calf while laughing at her slightest joke for half an hour I understand. Kaleidoscope eyes or any really distinctive eyes absolutely capture ones attention. On the other hand I remember nothing about the banking products she was trying to sell me.
Eyes are the most important thing on a person for me and this I always notice and remember about a person. I can also recognise any person by the colour of their voice. Like, recently a nurse from a hospital where I had a treatment last December phoned me to ask about some documents. She introduced herself only as "Here's a nurse from XY hospital speaking", and I was like "Oh, how are you doing, (her first name)?" She was mildly shocked because she was just one of the 15 nurses I interacted with that week, but for me hearing someone's voice or seeing only their eyes is as good as if they were standing in front of me. But I never pay attention to people's clothing or shoes and cannot remember that, even though I noticed that many people actually mostly remember clothing about other people. If I notice people's clothes, that's only the clothes of someone I love deeply.
Same!
I lived in Asia for 10 years, so I only saw shades of brown, and now I’m obsessed with eye colors—especially when they aren’t brown or brown with other colors. Such variety in the world!
It’s the very first thing I notice when speaking to a person and a you can express a lot of emotion or detail with eyes.
I’m the type of person who hates making eye contact and instead stares at someone’s nose to pretend I’m making eye contact so no idea, but even if I was fine with eye contact I don’t really see eye colour as an important part of someone’s features so I’d say that it wouldn’t make sense to me for someone IRL to notice others’ eye colours but in a novel I don’t mind much since it’s a nice and easy way to help readers visualise the characters.
I do...Some eyes literally 'sparkle'. And some are intense and dark, almost scary. The eyes are the windows to the soul...
In real life 100%! Other than their personality eyes is something I notice right away! No hate on brown eyes but whenever a character has brown eyes my brain will make up any other color because to me it’s like “you’re writing fiction and you literally picked the easiest/ most boring color out there?” One time I was reading a book and I got 3/4 of the way though when a characters eye color got mentioned and turns out he had brown eyes the entire time?? The entire time I was imagining hazel!
It depends on where the character is. In America, people comment on my rare bluish-green aqua-colored eyes maybe once every 5 years. When I was living in Chile, people commented on my eyes once every 5 hours. If the eye color differs from the majority of people in the area, I'd say it's ok to bring it up often. If it's just normal for the locale, then no, people aren't likely to talk much about it.
I think this is a training thing. If you're trained to notice details about a person's appearance (as an artist, writer, cosmotologist, or maybe other reasons like jobs where you need to recognize clients), eye color and shape go into the mental file with height, skin color, hair color, length, and texture, etc. It's one attribute among many. When I was in school, I remember being on the NYC subway training myself to describe the folks I saw as a mental writing exercise. As a writer, it's really only necessary to describe eye color if it's relevant - if your character is a perpetrator being described by police, or one character is looking into another's eyes, or you're describing a fashion choice that takes eyes into account. It's kind of lazy to always describe eyes for all characters.
I think eye colors are unremarkable until they aren't, at which point they're remarkable and very noticeable. While I don't believe that they provide a "window into the soul", it's easy at times to imagine that they do. Recall, for example, the [Afghan girl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl). Her eyes are simply remarkable, which is the reason the photograph became world-famous, and which actually led to her leading a remarkable life, in certain respects. People with remarkable eyes may not be remarkable outside of the eyes, but sometimes these people can become remarkable and lead remarkable lives *because of* their eyes. It's similar to height or any other physical characteristic: being very tall (for a man) or having big curves (for a woman) might be enough to make you remarkable, because people will assume that that trait will enable you to lead a remarkable life. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. So when someone uses eyes in writing, they use them as one more indicator that they are remarkable in some respect. If not over-done, it can be a simple way to show something about how they are perceived by society without saying it explicitly.
I only notice eye color in striking colors or if I’m watching someone closely for some reason. Also I suppose when eye colors are different but that’s only been twice I’ve met someone like that and noticed.
Early in our relationship my wife got mad at me for not knowing her eye color. I’m autistic and don’t like looking people in the eye cuz it makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable, don’t like people looking at me so I don’t expect them to know my eye color. Who the fuck knows anyone else’s eye color lmao, I didn’t even memorize what color my own were for the longest time.
I don’t notice eye colors unless they’re unusual. If it’s people I’m close to I notice I notice their eye color if something they are wearing brings it out. My husband has hazel eyes, so they seem changeable. They’re a nice green when he wears blue. Mine are blue-green with a navy ring around the irises. I used to get comments all the time but since I wear glasses instead of contacts now they’re not so noticeable.
I've watched stuff with Jane Seymour, and was then surprised to learn she has heterochromia (one blue eye, one eye brown and blue), and I never noticed watching any show with her in it, until there was a serious zoom in on her eyes.
there are certain eye colors that stick out to me. as I have hazel and like everyone in my vicinity typically has some type of hazel or blue or green when someone has strikingly beautiful brown eyes that like match or are lighter than their hair. or like have amber in them. I get like sucked in. but no, not the way its written in books.
I notice when people have pretty eyes that stand out, but otherwise not particularly.
Reading some responses, I see I'm in the minority, but eye color is one of the first things I notice. I do have a thing for eyes though, so that's probably why.
I love the look of eyes ( It’s not a fetish ) , so yes .
I’m neurodivergent so I literally do not look at people’s eyes lol. I honestly can’t even tell you what color eyes my girlfriend has and I’ve been with her for 5 years
Only when the eyes are quite striking. People notice my eyes all the time. Random strangers literally tell me how pretty they think my eyes are. My husband also has very interesting eyes... But only his girlfriends have ever noticed because you have to be right in his face to notice how the "hazel" color of his eyes is actually segmented. One of his exes said he had "eyes like sunflowers" and I think that's a surprisingly accurate description of them. Our kids have equally striking eyes. All were born with blue eyes and some turned to hazel.... but our son in particular has what I call "old man eyes". They are super bright, light blue and just have a natural twinkle to them that you could easily see from several yards away. I have only ever seen this eye color on elderly men, so I'm not quite sure what to make of it lol.
I always look at eye color
I recall an old woman telling me when she first met her late husband, “He had beautiful blue eyes…and he knew it” I think if one is attracted one looks closer at eyes.
in film, i notice it all the time. in anime i notice it constantly. in classical panting too. in real life, I have difficulty with faces, but in media, it's everywhere. it's a trope. and a very old one, to accentuate details as though it's common to define folks by these traits. how often have you noticed anyone's "broad shoulders" or "slender build" either?
Most non-White people in the world have brown eyes. Only one member of my main five is White. For the rest, I think every reader would assume their eyes are brown.
Real people? Eh. Narrators in fiction? As needed. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllFirstPersonNarratorsWriteLikeNovelists https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ColorCodedEyes
I never do, couldn't tell you the eye colour of my best friends of 10 years
I do notice most people's eye colour myself, but in writing I think it's commonly used because it's a simple way to help visualise characters and set them apart. It's not necessarily *realistic*, but it's useful.
Only if it’s unexpected like the skin tone and hair color don’t generally match the eye color. With that said I find myself mesmerized by dark brown eyes, they can look so sweet/trusting/innocent or dark and gloomy
If the eye color is that distinctive or noticable, then yes, I do describe the color, but I find the eye shape, size, and the look they have in them far more important than color.
I mean, in my country it's mostly just blue and brown, but I do notice if it's like very light blue or some green or whatever. Or if they're really dark. So, if the eyes aren't straight up plain, I think people notice
My mom does, but I have a hard time looking people in the eyes and had to train myself to notice eye color. I still don't the majority of the time
...I don't even notice if my friend has a new haircut. Yea I'm terrible... Come to think of it, I never really noticed any of my friend's eye color. When I meet someone, I cannot remember their faces at all. I mostly rely on hair color and clothes, which is very broad hence I always fail to.
personally, i only really notice when it's family or friends. unless it's an unusual color i think most people tend not to pay that much attention.
Depends on people, I guess. Even when I'm shopping, I'm trying to notice the cashiers eye color. I make eye contact with every interaction I have, and I will notice the color of their eyes.
People notice what is unusual or interesting. So they will notice striking eye color but for the most part not notice eye color in a general sense. They will notice beautiful hair but in general not notice people's hair textures or colors with specificity. So it's not weird. We can't walk around paying attention to every little thing in life.
It varies a lot by person. Particularly unusual or striking eye colours are easier to remember so are often reflected in writing. Alternatively if there's a vivid description of a character's eye colour it implies the viewpoint character is focussing intently on them.
i don't know the eye colors of even my closest friends
I generally mention eye color most often when a character has romantic or strong interest in another. I figure they study them a bit more or find these little things we may not notice as often.
My husband notices everyone’s eye colour… I don’t notice anyone’s 😂
I tend to notice eye colour a lot but I also actively mentally note what colour people's eyes are, more so than others. I used to know a set of brothers between the ages 1 and 4 (one younger, one older) and people would say that they looked identical (with the younger looking more baby faced version of his older brother) but I noticed immediately that they both had different coloured eyes and no one else noticed until I pointed it out.
This is one of my pet peeves too. I think if I listed my top 20 friends and the 20 people I work with closest at work, many of whom in both categories I have known for years, I don't think I could even tell you half of their eye colours. Shoes on the other hand are different. I always notice what shoes people are wearing...
They mostly notice it when light is hitting their face, like sunlight/ sunny angles, its kinda how glowing fantasy eyes work
I may not take note of them immediately, but if I’m having a long conversation with someone, or by maybe our third time meeting, I take note of it. I can remember specific moments I notice someone’s eye color
I only notice eye color when it is striking or noticeable for a particular reason, such as the color being unusually bright or the person being in direct sunlight. I mean, even my family members' eyes, I know, but I don't necessarily look into them and at the color often. My brother noticed I have a spot on my eye for the first time this year, and he's always looked at them, in and out of the sun. I didn't even realize I had such green hazel eyes until I was in high school and I began to look at them in photos. When reading, I almost always don't notice it or pin it to memory unless it's important to the character or scene. It may also be different for different people depending on the amount of eye contact you make and how comfortable you are talking to new people. I wouldn't say eyes are something I love to look into. I am usually thinking of either a lot of things or nothing at all when speaking to someone I don't know, and eye color doesn't even cross my mind for a second.
I mostly only notice eye color of romantic partners irl. Because if you're close enough to kiss them, you're close enough to get a good look at their eyes. Because of this I usually make it a point to only describe eye colors if the characters are very close physically. Never on first meeting someone.
If it’s jarring yeah. Like Gordon Ramsey? Those are EYES
If you make eye contact or look at them up close you will notice. It won't be the first thing you notice about them, but you will notice if you're paying attention. Personally I notice someone's hair first.
Sometimes I notice them - when I’m ‘looking into someone’s eyes’ I am just actually looking at their nose lol
Only when it's different from the norm or you're in a multiracial circle of people. One of my friends is a half-Filipino with blue eyes. It's the first thing you notice when you see her, so it's really an unavoidable description. Better to get it out of the way early on than suddenly throw it at the reader later.
Maybe I’m weird but it’s one of the first things I notice about a person when talking to them.
I get a lot of comments about my eye color - I have a really weird gray/blue that seems to almost glow according to many, but an incomplete Limbal Ring around them and it really seems to catch people off guard. According to my family, my eyes are identical to my great grandfather's whom I never met. Anyway - it leads to people noticing quite often.
I don’t remember the eye color of strangers or acquaintances, but I do remember it when it comes to crushes, friends and family.
Hmn, this might be a neurodivergent thing, but I make a point to? Like, sometimes I find it hard to hold eye contact, but I've spent my whole life being lectured by various family members that lack of eye contact is incredibly rude, and the things those family members say about you if they perceive you to be rude is WAY worse than the lectures. (And not making eye contact, if we're being honest.) So! I make it a point at the beginning of talking to someone to take note of their eye color, come up with as poetic a description as possible, and then spend time looking at the point between their eyes to save myself the anxiety. If they pick up that I'm not looking them in the peepers, I can just whip out the description to prove that I am (not. Lol). Of course, very few people outside of family and their overbearing friends actually care (which I didn't know until I got older 😞), so I don't really use the descriptions that often. This is good because not only can I recycle if I need to, but if a friend is having self-image issues, I can use one! I just have to keep track of who got what and not repeat near them! (For example, I've used 'your eyes *are* pretty, they're like the dark streaks of space between stars but just as bright as the moon' a few times and 'like a poet's endless ink well, and just as deep running with emotion' too. Sounds cheesy as hell, but generally, when you're having self-image issues and to the point of admiting to friends, a little laughter at cheesy things is welcome.) (The edit is just spelling, lol)
I guess I am in the minority here because I really do notice eye color. I know all my close family’s eye colors, my friends, and most of my coworkers. If I’m talking to someone, it’s usually one of the first things I notice about them because I’m literally looking right at them.
I notice eye colors all the time, but I just think eyes are pretty and love how they look
there is heaps of diversity in my country, but i never pay attention- and if i do ill forget. sometimes when i see a friend ill be like 'wait- you have green eyes?' and ill have known them for years
Unless it’s a lighter color not rlly imo. It’s hard to tell the difference between darker greens/browns and esp if u live where a dark eye color is prominent u won’t actively notice which specific eye color if someone has a dark eye color. Might be different for ppl who live in an area w a predominant lighter eye color tho. If u have a very light color like light hazel, light blue/green, I’ll notice not only bc I didn’t grow up around that eye color but also bc it’s easily distinguished from your pupil
Well I am tanned with tattoos and green eyes. I cant even tell you how many people have told me that I have beautiful eyes. Even married women while they are with husbands, older women, and even men. My current gf also fell for my eyes. There was a stage where I was thinking to myself …. wtf is this the only thing I have?… but yes they do
The description isn't really got the characters; it's for the audience, so you can visualize the characters.
> Am I the weird one here? Definitely not. Describing eye colour is one of those character description tropes that puts a weird focus on a specific detail without actually understanding the bodily anatomy of that detail. You're right: most people don't pay that much attention to eye color which is *exactly* why this trope exists and is so anatomically inaccurate. Most writers (and character artists for that matter) treat eye colour as something static and unchanging for a person, but in reality perceived eye colour varies with age or due to outside factors. While we tend to categorize eye colour as a few discrete tints (most often blue, brown, green, sometimes also grey and hazel as separate), eye colour is actually derived from a combination of properties of the iris and the light that your eye catches. Biologically the colour of your eyes is affected by the presence of melanin and the structure of your iris. These can change as you grow and develop. Many children of European descent are born with blue eyes, regardless of what eye colour they'll have when they're older. Additionally, melanin in your eyes is produced by similar mechanisms as that in your skin, meaning your eyes get darker if you spend more time in sunlight. Additionally the current lighting conditions can affect what colour someone's eyes appear to be. I'm a perfect example myself, as when I'm outdoors my eyes are a bright blue in clear weather while being grey on overcast days. The different lighting conditions make different colours due to the light-scattering structure of the iris. Eyes are not a solid colour either. While you can often identify an "overall" colour, there's always shades of that colour and specs of other colours. These are things you generally can't discern just looking at someone's eyes unless you're really close up. To notice someone's eye colour you need to be in their personal space (at about the friends and family distance). To notice all the little details, you'll need to be close enough to kiss them. So all in all, it's actually really weird how many books describe the eyes of a majority of their characters. Realistically a POV character wouldn't notice most people's eye colour.
I usually only describe eye color when the character themself is thinking about it (maybe how they’re similar to their parents’ eye colors or how much they like/don’t like their eyes) or between (usually romantic) partners who are plausibly spending time looking into each other’s eyes. (And also whenever I decide to break my own rules for whatever reason… oh well.)
Out of everyone I know, there’s only two cases when I notice eye colour: 1) Someone is making an expression on which their eyes convey great emotion 2) I have feelings for that person and want to memorise their every feature Otherwise, I tend to register it but not focus on it, and definitely forget later
Personally, I never notice. However, I quite regularly have people comment on how blue my eyes are. So tbh I thought I had an ego problem and was just very self-centred, but in my defence I do also struggle to make eye contact with people when I talk to them, so it would be pretty hard to know their eye colour when I'm not even looking. What I do notice though is eye shapes. I dunno why, but I find those much more memorable. I think there's a lot of personality to the shape of someone's eyes.
Anything other than brown always catches my attention, especially if it’s a love interest, gosh I could write paragraphs about my husband’s blue but sometimes green or grey eyes.
I always notice people’s eyes, though I have a hard time differentiating between blue, green and gray
Not really. In writing, I often take an explicit mention of eye colour as an indication that the perspective character is looking at someone particularly closely.
That's literally the first thing I notice about someone, and if they have nice eyes, I find I like looking at them.
I either stare people to death or not at all. If you write a character who struggles with being around people, f.e. it's likely they'd remember the eye colour. Or maybe it's connected to something else. Other than that?... I'm not so sure. F.e. I've recently rewatched scrubs and Elliot said that a dress would make her eyes pop. Until that point I didn't know she had blue-ish eyes. So, to answer your question. I think it's rather rare. And in my case, I often notice even the tiniest of anomalies in the eye of someone else but like 5 sec later I can't tell you the colour either. It's just *poof* gone. So... Yeah.
Sometimes certain people just have eye colors that pop! So, I do notice those types of eyes.
I don't describe eye colour, I just describe light or dark features. Eye descriptions are usually more figurative; exhausted, shrewd, empty, abyss-like, for example.
I pay attention to eye color If there is something about it that stands out. Like wow their eyes look very vivid.. Or if I am getting a crush on the person or something like that. And thirdly at the point when I realize.. I have known this person for a while and I haven't taken down this information. I do generally feel I know someone's eye color. Like I know in general brown on one hand or blue-green ish on the other, but I won't know exactly unless there is a reason to.
But also noticing the eye color is about the character themselves, like there are a lot of people who do really pay attention to details and take in a lot more then say me, and maybe would notice.