The problem addressed by the present invention is to enable the providing of a method for producing an organic electroluminescent element having a light-emitting pattern having superior gradation characteristics. The method for producing an organic electroluminescent element having a light-emitting pattern formed by means of light irradiation of an organic electroluminescent element provided with one or more organic functional layers between at least a pair of electrodes is characterized in that an image to pattern comprises a highlight section, a shadow section, and a linear section prepared ahead of time, the amount of light irradiation is altered on the basis of a tone reproduction curve having a soft gradation section that is at the highlight section and shadow section and that has a lower gradient inclination than that of the linear section, and thus a light-emitting pattern is formed having a gradient resulting from a light emission brightness corresponding to the amount of light irradiation.