I can't help but grin whenever I try to recreate Satoru Gojo's eyes — they’re like the art-world equivalent of a cheat code. Late-night on my Wacom, coffee cooling beside me, I’ve spent hours layering glows and fiddling with blend modes to get that icy, otherworldly stare right. The secret is treating the eyes like a light source: paint a saturated cerulean base, add a brighter core, then use soft dodge and subtle grain to sell the glow. Small radial strokes and faint fractal-like veining give the iris life without reading as noise.
If you’re working traditionally, try glazing with thin layers of watercolor or colored pencil over a bright underpainting — the translucency helps simulate that supernatural depth. For digital, use an overlay layer for color pops, a gaussian blur on a duplicated layer for bloom, and then a hard small brush for the sharp highlights and tiny reflective dots. Don’t forget the surrounding skin: colder rim-light and desaturated shadows make the eyes pop. I always reference panels from 'Jujutsu Kaisen' while drawing; match the mood of the scene (calm, blazing, or eerie) instead of chasing a single, “perfect” look. It’s addictive, but that first time I nailed the glow felt like cheating — in the best way.