# What about the eyes?



## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

I'm in the process of investigating the best way to make eyes. Right now, I'm trying to use Stolloween's method of printing out an eye I made in Photoshop (actually I made a ton of them) and attaching it to a ball. But I have a lot of questions; is there a another way? What's the easiest and most accurate way to make a smooth sphere (right now I'm planning on using ping-pong balls and plastic planets from an old solar system model). Have any of you used paper-clay for this?

I've looked around here for a link or a tutorial, but haven't found one yet. Any advice?

Oh, and one last question; do you find adding highlights to the eyes a good idea, or is the natural sheen good enough once you gloss varnish them? If you look at my photo, I've added the two highlights to the upper right and lower left of the iris, the shine in the middle is from my camera flash, which made me think maybe I didn't need to add anything in the first place.


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## Taysmache (Feb 14, 2011)

My question is for photoshop. How do you make the iris? I have never used Photoshop though I have the program. I'm an absolute idiot when it comes to Photoshop, can anyone help ME with that?


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## halstaff (Nov 18, 2009)

Here's a good tutorial including a page of eyes that you can print out - http://www.hauntershangout.com/home/easyeyes.asp


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Taysmache said:


> My question is for photoshop. How do you make the iris? I have never used Photoshop though I have the program. I'm an absolute idiot when it comes to Photoshop, can anyone help ME with that?


I basically use the shapes tool and the paint brush on various layers. Then I apply some of the blur and transparency filters. The overall goal is to achieve a look of something not only looking like an iris, but having a bit of illumination from the top down as well. That's why it has the dark part at the top - from the shading of the brow and eyelid. The hard part is not over-working it! Hence my question regarding the highlights.

I'll need to disect my PSD file to grab sections of it for viewing, but I'll try to post a few pics in this thread over the next day or so to show what I did.

The link in the post above has some eyes you can download as well. Thanks for that too, great tutorial! Attaching a string or wire to hold onto the eye is a terrific idea. Thanks for the link.


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## TheOneAndOnlyKelly (May 7, 2009)

I'd like to figure out how to add true depth to eyes. The iris of the human eye isn't on the surface, it's a flat plane behind the transparent cornea. If I had a sphere of the right side, I could cut/send down to a plane for the iris, then somehow add a clear substance to form the cornea. Need to figure the cornea part...


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

MacabreRob said:


> I'd like to figure out how to add true depth to eyes. The iris of the human eye isn't on the surface, it's a flat plane behind the transparent cornea. If I had a sphere of the right side, I could cut/send down to a plane for the iris, then somehow add a clear substance to form the cornea. Need to figure the cornea part...


Just reading this and had a brainstorm (maybe not a good one yet, but a brainstorm none-the-less); have you thought about sanding a sphere down flat on one small portion and pasting down an iris image, then covering the area with 5-minute epoxy. I saw a guy use the epoxy in a tutorial on Youtube while searching for foam carving techniques. The epoxy is pretty clear. If you could get that to work it might give the depth found in a real eye structure.

The hard part would be building up the concave shape of the epoxy, or else somehow sanding and polishing it back into a rounded shape.

it's a thought-starter at the least!


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## Moxlonibus (Mar 25, 2011)

First off I would like to say how awesome they look right now. If this is going to be viewed at a party, well lit... you could pursue the details. In a dimly lit haunt environment I wouldn't worry too much about little details. Eye witnesses are the worst witnesses. You put 100 people in a dark room with a zombie prop and 100 of them won't notice the flat, the highlight... I think you have a believable prop as is. Good job. I know how it is though. I think all of us are our own worst critic. I do the same with my stuff.
I say all this because of the spider I made. I put all this time into the red beads on for the eyes, the fangs and all these details that vanish once it gets over the door of my house.


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## TheOneAndOnlyKelly (May 7, 2009)

Maybe do a cast of the eyeball in plaster (just the corneal area), sand it down, apply the iris, put the epoxy in the mold (with some mold release), then add the eye.

Afterwards, use a dremel with polishing compound to smooth the surface of the epoxy until it is perfectly transparent?

Isn't epoxy yellowish, though?


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

There's a good discussion of eye techniques in this thread:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=22086&highlight=spoon+eye

I think on page 3 of that thread, Doc Doom talks about using hot glue and a spoon to make eyes. The entire thread is definitely worth reading.

There is also information on LED eyes and associated techniques here that could be adapted for your use:

http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/HalloweenTech/aneuse_UsingLEDEyes.html

And in case anyone wants some printable irises, here is a link to Prop Eyez:

http://thehauntinggrounds.com/photos/propeyez.jpg


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Thanks Moxlonibus, I'm beginning to understand that most of the detail I'll put into my props will be lost in the dark...oh well, I'm doing this as much for my enjoyment as anyone else's, and I get to see my props up close in the light!

Photoshop at least I have experience with, so here's a brief tutorial I put together in response to Taysmache's question. I hope it's helpful and not too confusing, as it still requires a basic knowledge of the application. Let me know if it's too hard to read as well, I had to make it low-res for size.


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## kevin242 (Sep 30, 2005)

I like to print Easyeyes, cut them out and use CA (super glue) to attach and coat them over baked sculpy balls. Its an easy and cheap way to make lots of eyes of almost any size. See this example:


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## LAKE OF THE DEAD (Apr 10, 2009)

what are you using them for ,i like glass eyes ,not sure if you like these,also van ****'s taxidermy has some good eyes


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

I absolutely love the look of glass eyes, but are they expensive? I think the Gourmet Paper Mache guy said they were maybe $8 a pair, which isn't too bad for a major prop. Are they only life size, or can you get large sizes like 1.5 - 2"?

By-the-way, that face is freaky. Love the yellow eyes, would they be for a wolf or something then if they came from a taxidermy store?

For now, I may try the sculpy eyes like Kevin242 suggests. Nice, easy and they look good. Plus I'm still torturing myself with the idea of making as much of my props as I can!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Check out the eyes LOTD mentioned here, Sawtooth:

http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/Eyes-C2.aspx

We used a pair of human glass eyes from Van ****'s for my graveyard goblin (cost was around $12 for the pair) and loved the look:










I expect the eyes at a taxidermy site are going to be life size (the human/doll eyes are around 28 mm). If you want a larger size, they also carry carousel horse eyes (about 36 mm) which might work for you.


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## LAKE OF THE DEAD (Apr 10, 2009)

roxyblue ,those eyes look great and that's a good price..i don't know if it's just me or do other people have problems with the van dikes web sight it wont down load the pictures


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## Evil Bob (Sep 1, 2005)

I got my band's eyes from a doll supplier. They're about $5 a pair, made of plastic and will glow if you add LEDs. 24mm.


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## LAKE OF THE DEAD (Apr 10, 2009)

sawtooth ,i make the glass eyes ,like you i to looked all over the internet for how to make realistic eyes and couldn't find anything ,the ones i liked were the glass eyes ,but were to expensive ,then thought of away to make them,the reason the eyes above are yellowish is i wanted him to look diseased,in person the eyes aren't so yellow and the eyes look way better,the problem is me,i don't know how to turn off the flash on the digital camera i just got LOL,the eyes are easy to make ,i have made eyes the size of a quarter ,i have also made real looking eyes that are not zombish ,my theme is zombies so i make them that color ,cant remember the name of the stuff i used,i will make a how to when i get home


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## TheOneAndOnlyKelly (May 7, 2009)

Can I buy a period, or some non-comma based form of punctuation... lol

j/k man


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## LAKE OF THE DEAD (Apr 10, 2009)

macabrerob.............i think that was directed at me.i am insulted.if you were here i would throw a comma at you. your just lucky my computer has spell check.......LOL.hummm punctuation check


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## Dark Star (Nov 6, 2007)

Bob can I ask what doll supplier you used?


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Wow, thanks for all the links and suggestions everyone. Lots of options, and those doll eyes look as nice as the glass ones. I like that they can be backlit to glow too.

RoxyBlue, don't know why, but that Goblin image didn't show up for me until today...those eyes make that thing look like it's alive!

Ah, lots to think about now...


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