adding the finishing touches to a painting; dotting the eyes (of a painted animal)
Refers specifically to the final, vital touches that bring a painting to life, especially adding eyes. Almost exclusively used in the idiom 画竜点睛 (がりょうてんせい) or the derived phrase 点睛を欠く (てんせいをかく), meaning 'to lack the finishing touch'.
画竜点睛 refers to the crucial final touch that completes a work.
His paper has good content, but the conclusion is insufficient and lacks the finishing touch.
finishing touches; last vital touch
Standard kanji form; the word is almost always used in the set phrase 画竜点睛.
From Chinese 點睛／点睛 (diǎnjīng), literally 'dot the eye'. The word is best known through the classical story of a painter who added eyes to a dragon painting, causing it to come to life and fly away.