Iris color must be light to contrast with the pupil. This increases expressiveness by highlighting a person's center of gaze
Limbal color must be dark to contrast with the sclera. This increases expressiveness by highlighting a person's direction of gaze
Vision is a huge predictor of action, discerning where others are looking is critical for trust and cooperation.
Hair color must be dark since the EYELASHES must be dark, which surround and distinguish the sclera
Light eyelashes are universally unideal because the sclera is universally white.
If hair color is dark, then skin color should be light in order to distinguish the eyebrows & hairline.
Example of low brow contrast, consider how important the eyebrows are for expressing emotions.
But how light should skin be?
Because the eyelashes create a boundary between the sclera and rest of the face, a dark hair color is a huge boost for lighter skin colors.
Without dark hair, it becomes much more difficult to differentiate the eyes from the rest of the face.
Still, this boundary created by the eyelashes isn’t perfect. This means skin color also also shouldn’t be too light, since you need contrast with the sclera to highlight the eyes.
To conclude, skin color shouldn’t be too dark or light. This places the ideal skin color somewhere in between, probably around the tan-olive range.
TLDR: the colors of the pupil/sclera are constants which determine the ideal coloring of other features
A bit deeper, sclera color is actually dependent on pupil color. The pupil is always black because it has to be for seeing, which lead to our scleras becoming white (to maximize contrast).
Limbal color must be dark to contrast with the sclera. This increases expressiveness by highlighting a person's direction of gaze
Vision is a huge predictor of action, discerning where others are looking is critical for trust and cooperation.
Hair color must be dark since the EYELASHES must be dark, which surround and distinguish the sclera
Light eyelashes are universally unideal because the sclera is universally white.
If hair color is dark, then skin color should be light in order to distinguish the eyebrows & hairline.
Example of low brow contrast, consider how important the eyebrows are for expressing emotions.
But how light should skin be?
Because the eyelashes create a boundary between the sclera and rest of the face, a dark hair color is a huge boost for lighter skin colors.
Without dark hair, it becomes much more difficult to differentiate the eyes from the rest of the face.
Still, this boundary created by the eyelashes isn’t perfect. This means skin color also also shouldn’t be too light, since you need contrast with the sclera to highlight the eyes.
To conclude, skin color shouldn’t be too dark or light. This places the ideal skin color somewhere in between, probably around the tan-olive range.
TLDR: the colors of the pupil/sclera are constants which determine the ideal coloring of other features
A bit deeper, sclera color is actually dependent on pupil color. The pupil is always black because it has to be for seeing, which lead to our scleras becoming white (to maximize contrast).