As I've said before: I don't consider myself skilled enough to make tutorials. However I thought my iris process would be something worth sharing. I know there's people out there who can make the dodge/burn method look decent and someone will say I did the layer thing wrong. Whatever. I just figure why use those things if you don't need to. Time lapse of the method examples.

I'll make an addition to this at a later date that further explains how to pick your colors and apply them, but that will be premium content on dA when it comes. This page will remain free to download.

Questions I probably won't get but I'm gonna explain anyways:

Where did you learn this method?
I just kind of developed it on my own I guess. Picked up on the hue variations while looking at other people's artwork and tutorials that included the digital only tools. I can't put a finger on when I decided to start using colors alone for highlighting the iris, but I've been doing it for quite some time.

Why do you use this method?
Personally, I like it because I think it makes eyes feel more alive. Dodge and burn are always too harsh, and to get the same effect through layer types you'll have to keep playing with the hue and saturation of each layer anyways.

Doesn't it make the eyes look like they're a different color?
Nope. This was rushed so it may not be as apparent as I'd like, but gradually using warmer hues in the light area of the iris will make the base color pop more when done correctly.

First eye at the top would be that of my character Elrond, who has star shaped pupils, and technically no visible difference between his iris and sclera but I made some adjustments for this.