Monday 27 July 2009

I give up :-(

....On eyes.... at least for the moment. I don't think I can touch another one just now.

I think I've covered about every eye tutorial ever made. I know it's all down to practice...this was last weekends practice lol.


The 2 pairs at the top are the most passable but even they look so flat.
And that has been my biggest problem...even if I get the circles right the iris just looks so....well...fake :-)

I've just reached a point where I hate eyes so much I am losing my perspective so, I am going to go ahead and do the head or legs for a while.

I will come back to the eyes later if need be but I'll try those top 2 sets in a head first. I figure once they have eyelids they
might not look as freaky.


17 comments:

  1. Oh Jayne don't give up! Your get there in the end. Remember the old saying practise makes perfect. xx

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  2. Oh i have to laugh, please excuse me.
    I think you need to give your eyes a rest, lol.
    But i do think the eyes you have made at the top are great.
    I have some eyes if you have changed your mind, and i also have some soft polymer eyes that are still in a soft cane. Let me know if you want a bit of it.
    Sounds like a right ordeal to me and have to yet again admire your determination.
    Nikki x

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  3. Sometimes it is best to step back and change direction. But from my perspective, they don't look so bad....

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  4. Debbie...I'm not going to give up period....just one the eyes for a bit. Practice....I think i did enough.

    That pic doesn't show all the ones that hit the trash :-)

    Nikki...please laugh...I am....although I think it is hysteria :-) Thanks for the offer of the eyes ....I'll hold fire just a bit longer.

    Thanks Tabitha...yes I was all eyeballed out. Got to the point where I was making mistakes I was so fed up with them.

    I am hoping the pale blue ones will look better in situ. Eyes on sticks just look too freaky lol.

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  5. Hi Jayne...

    After you paint the eyes on... apply some Liquitex Gloss Medium in a fairly well heaped dollop ...let dry 'COMPLETELY'...then...because the medium shrinks a bit...apply a bit more...let dry completely ...this will give your eye shape and form and moist. But make sure to let it dry really really well...meaning several hours to over night...otherwise any medium you use can 'cloud' up when another layer is applied.

    I think your eyes looks great. I tend to place my small pearls (that I strip the pearl glaze from) into the sculpt...work around it...bake, and then paint... otherwise sometimes the painted eyes can 'shift' in baking...and with minis or a tad larger...a little bit can look like a LOT of shift to the point of becoming cross eyed or walleyed... besides, I never know the personality until baked and I am looking her/him in the face...tells me where to paint my eyes...plus you have to admit...would be a heck of a lot easier to hang onto while painting...lol!

    Hope this helps a bit...

    Hugs,
    Jodi

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  6. Jayne, you are hilarious!! I have to laugh too because you are just such a perfectionist, babe! My dear, do you seriously think you can craft a pair of lifelike eyes from err, clay (is it clay?) I mean, eyes have got to be the most difficult part of a human to replicate. They are the windows to your soul!! Have you seen a pair of life-like glass eyeballs? *giggles. I think you have done a stupendous job. Just use the pair that you like and make life like lashes :). If you are still unhappy with the eyes after the doll is done, break his head and give him a new one with perfect eyes :). o dear, I can feel you wringing my neck already.

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  7. They look pretty good to me jaynbe ! Dont give up, just leave them alone for a week then look at them again. As said befiore I just dont do them like this, I sculpt them in and find it the easiest way by far, the eyes always fit the face that way and look in the right direction ! If you put a little blob of clear varnish onto the eye it will round it out and give it a more realistic look, once these eyes are in situ and you do that I have a feeling they will look fantastic :0)
    julie xxx

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  8. They look pretty damn good to me. When they are in the head with the lids etc they will look absolutely perfect - just like everything you make does.

    Joyce

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  9. Thanks girls ((((()))))

    Jodi & Julie....I know you are right and they ought to be pained when in the doll. I have just been too nervous to ruin a head with my inexperience at eyes.

    And Jodi...it never occurred to me that the eyes might shift during baking.

    I have sculpey gloss glaze which I assume might be the same as the liquitex ? I'll look for some of the other this weekend anyhow.

    Thank you Joyce ...I do try :-)

    Sans...I know....laugh away :-) Yes I expect them to look real lol. But I have finally realized that they can't look 100 % real. I know I am so picky...just can't help it lol.

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  10. I am not one to talk- since I have never sculpted a realistic doll or face, but I do think that the eye might look totally different once it is in the head and has eyelids, wrinkles, etc. I think they look fab! I think you are right- eyes on a stick are just a bit freaky looking no matter what :) I would have never thought about the eye shifting during baking either-so your experiments are my gain in more tips to collect! Can't wait to see your legs....I have a feeling what hits your trash bin I would dig back out and treasure:) Have a great week Jayne!

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  11. Thanks Kim.

    As I go along I do hope that I can come up with tips and ideas to get over the problems I am finding...can't guarantee they'll work but maybe from a newbies point of view it will help some of you.

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  12. Jayne dont give up. If you saw the piles of eyes I have made over the last 6 months. I have tried all sorts of methods. You need to find the one that suits you. Practice, I know lots of peeps say that but its the only way xxx
    Mini hugs

    Debie xxxxxxxx

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  13. Thanks Debie...yes I know practice is the key...would help if I had patience lol.

    But I'm not giving up completely...just trying a different way now.

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  14. I hear you! I don't have the patience to practice over and over on certain things...it gets to be so frustrating. I hope you get it how you want it soon!

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  15. Thanks :-) I am getting there...it helps that I really want to do this.

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  16. wow. i'm trying to make some eyes myself, and seeing this....:O what i'm playing around with is resin, but that has halted because i am a very impatient person, and i want RESULTS RIGHT NOW! since resin needs to cure, the risk of messing up one day's wait is just too....huge for me.

    i believe they sell glass eyes at very small sizes, the price is :O but that's not the point (for me anyway) it is the challenge of it all. to have the WHOLE DOLL HAND MADE BY ME that keeps me ruining pile after pile of clay/resin. so i can understand the frustration yet perseverance you're going through!

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  17. You know Snowfern I think resin would be a brilliant medium for making eyes. Mick and I have talked about this.

    You would just need the right kind of mold and lots of practice but I think they could be great.

    And yes I do want mine ALL made by me which is why I've not resorted to buying eyes.:-)

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Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment :-)