Setting Eyes: tips on removing and replacing eyes

^^ like others said before its trial and error~ But, here's a good link with pics so you can have an idea~

Seph's eyechanging method

Good Luck~

 

Okay, so this question may seem stupid to some of you, but Mel is my first doll, from Doc, and I love his eyes.

BUUUUT, I plan on getting a second and THIRD doll relatively soon and a thought came up when planning said dolls.

Changing thier eyes. I'm fearful of popping the back of Mel's head open like some wicked brain surgeon to get to his eyes.

And suggestions to doing this RIGHT. How to succesfully pop it off (Slight pressure and it comes off?) and some products to use to READJUST the eyes?


And I'm the first admit when I'm being stupid or over critical about something, but I worry. Four hundred dollars to put into a ruined XMas present would be a slap in my father face, it seems. XD

 

I haven't adjusted my DoD Too's eyes since I got him, but I just popped off his headcap to have a look inside his head. His stringing elastic is attached to the s-hook that holds his head cap on. I grasped the top of his headcap with my fingernails, pried it off, and pulled the headcap down toward the back of his neck. It stayed down out of the way and I could easily remove his eyes.


Here you can see where the s-hook is attached to his headcap.

Newer DoCs might have headcaps that attach differently, I'm not sure. But I hope this helps!

As for what to use to put the eyes in the head, some people use eye putty specifically made for dolls, and some use Sculpey (NOT Super Sculpey), which is a colored clay that doesn't harden unless you bake it in the oven. Use a natural or white colored Sculpey. Some people use gray kneaded erasers (from the art supply store), and others use blue-tak or white-tack, which is used to attach posters to the wall without leaving a residue. I have used Sculpey myself for over a year, with no ill effects in my dolls. Mel might have putty in his eyes already, that you can reuse.

Good luck!

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I find it annoying to get new eyes in my Souldolls with the head attached since the stuff inside gets in the way, but if the eyes are held in with putty, pulling the putty from the inside while pushing gently on the eyes from the outside gets them out. Then when putting in new eyes, just put putty (or whatever) on behind them and smooth it around. (Don't forget to make sure that the eyes are aligned and even O.o) If the eyes were originally hot-glued in... I have no experience with those. orz Good luck!

 

If you just ordered your DoC, his headcap should be held together with magnets. I wasted no time in prying the headcap off my my Twing-Key (who just came on Christmas too!); her head is held with a magnet at the top and at the bottom. The S hook is attached to a rubberband that is attached to the headcap, and it is no hassle in getting the rubberband back on the S hook if it is to come off. I am sure you can keep the keadcap attached to the rubberband and pull it down (like galatia showed in the pics of Too), but I had no problem popping it on and off ^-^. Don't worry about getting him back together!

Concerning the eyes, I agree with the materials galatia mentions. However, you don't need to worry about that for now; my girl came with plenty of putty already in her head, and I don't see why your boy shouldn't as well. When repositioning his eyes, gently pry the putty away from the resin and just ball up the putty after removing the eyes from it. The putty should last you a while (no matter how much you play with it *cough Cough*).

I hope this helps ^^;... Good luck and congrats on your kiddie!

 

Does anyone know where to get the eye putty specifically made for dolls?

 

Some doll companies sell eye putty (like Volks), but for alternatives, you can use blu-tack/white tack, or plain sculpy (not coloured, just to be safe in case the colour stains the resin).

 

Thanks Jamie. Is there anywhere in Oz that sells the sculpy?

 

I could have sworn I saw Scupley at Eckersley's before; but ask around at any decent art store - like galatia mentioned too, you can use those artist kneadable erasers as a substitute.

Whatever you use, try to keep it to flesh or white coloured one! Btw, doesn't Orion come with eye putty already?

 

i just got a 2nd head and am using the kneaded earsers to hold his eyes in, i dont like it very well, I think my camine's standard DoD putty is ideal but shipping is a bit steep to just order more from them >.>''

 

Yah Orion has blue tack at the moment but you know me I'm always fussing with my dolls lol :p

 

i use kneaded erasers to hold eyes in ^^;; they're cheap and easy to use

 

Ugggh. I feel like such a noob.
But I have never changed a dolls eyes before!
My Twing-Key is coming with blue eyes, and I prefer a different color...
so could someone please whip up some kind of Eye Changing tutorial?

I'd appreciate it soooo much!

-Raven

 

There's a really nice one here.

 

If the eyes are hot-glued in (as is the case with new volks dolls, I believe), you can soften the hot glue with a hair dryer.

 

DoD doesn't hot glue eyes but I do suggest getting some blue or white tac from local craft store or staples. DoD putty is quite greasy and yucky. I found it to be too oily and staining.

Also you may need to use more putty behind the eyes than the tutorial if you are using glass. The glass weighs more than acrylic eyes and the weight sometimes pulls the eyes out. if not enough putty is placed behind it.

 

DOD putty isn't even eye putty, it's just plasticine It's really annoying to get out, so I recommend you replace it with sticky tack as soon as you get her!

 

Just remembered. May want to take head off when removing the gross plasticine as you don't want the stuff on your s-hook and elastic. To remove the head lift up the s hook turn it 90 degrees and the head comes right off.

Take out the plasticine and the old eyes. Replace new eyes similar to the tutorial above.

To replace the head just put the s hook through hole in head lift and twist 90 degrees to lock in place. It has grooves in there and what I said will make a lot of sense when you have the doll in front of you.

It's easier to put eyes in without the s-hook in your way. Make sure not to take the elastic off the s hook.

 

As long as we're talking changing eyes - Up to now, I've been using the contents of a jar of Volks eye putty. I liked it. Light, malleable, and it stuck to the inside of the head.

I tried Staples brand of "tac" - horrible. Didn't stick to anything. The eyes just plopped back out.

I tried some kneaded eraser (which is sometimes recommended) - kneaded it well, but it, too, didn't hold the eye in place because it didn't adhere at all to the inside of the head.

So, tonight, I used some white Premo (a different brand of polymer clay than Sculpy. It seems to be working ok, but I can see it will be harder to get out afterwards (too soft).

Do any of the brands of "tac" (I've seen blue, yellow, and that crappy white stuff at Staples) grab onto the resin at all? If not, how the heck are people keeping eyes in?

 

Normal branded Blu Tac. Spelt like that too. Sticks to the resin easily and comes off easily, through I've seen stick to walls and be awful to get off =3=.

 

Where can I find Blu Tac?

 

I bought mine from the office supplies section of a bookstore.

 

allhazyeyed: you can get tac in staples or the like also available in most craft stores. do a search on amazon for uhu tac

hobbywhelmed: Honestly the best stuff I've found for holding glass eyes is the stuff bambicrony sent out with my doll. Starts out waxy you knead it and it holds eyes like a dream. I know it works on glass eyes. Not sure if it works on acrylic.
The volks putty is a type of pink kneaded eraser. It's great for holding in acrylics but I've found it can't hold in glass

There's an issue of using polymer clay with acrylic eyes. Sometimes it causes acrylics to cloud or melt.

Bambicrony now sells it as a tub but I'm not sure how much shipping would be for such a small item.

 

Sometimes the area inside the head needs to be cleaned before using new putty.

My brand new FCS had resin dust or powder..so nothing stuck to inside of head.

I use a alcohol dipped Q tip..must be careful as it can remove face-up...to clean residue from inside dolls head. Then your tac may stick better.

 

You may want to contact them and have them leave the eyes out of your doll. That way you wont have to go though the hassle of taking them out.

Also, be careful when you put the new eyes in. I ended up bumping my eyes against the resin and scratched them a bit. Can't tell unless you are looking for it, but it still anoys me.

 

I just use silly putty

 

How does the silly putty work for you? I heard it gets really hard and its a pain to get out.
I've also tried that staples tac and its useless.

 

I have some of the yellow tac stuff, not sure what brand cause it's real old and kinda just bouncing around in my miscellaneous drawer. Could I use that, or would it dye the resin? She's a SOOM Gena, the eye putty she came with looks like white Sculpey clay and it works ok, but it doesn't stick very well and I've heard scary things about Sculpey causing problems.

 

talking about taks and clays I've had the most luck with sculpy. It's pretty soft maleable, and once you set the eyes it'll harden a little which helps keep them in, but not hard enough that you can't pull it out. works great for me and it even worked well setting my silicone eyes, which they don't stick to anything.

 

For those with Sculpey or Primo, I've found that rolling it around in dust (in my case, pastel dust), will help take the oil away, and give it a nice, thick texture that doesn't soften to mush.

Also, used kneaded eraser isn't going to work too well -- it's best to use it if it's brand new or closer to new. The graphite or charcoal in a used kneaded eraser takes away that tackiness, much like the dust does with sculpey clay. Only it's a good thing with sculpey.

 

Thanks for that tutorial! It was very good & helpful.

Another question... has anyone put eyes in a smaller head? Obitsu 27cm with 6mm eyes? I originally got 8mm eyes 'cause I kinda liked the idea of a bigger eye, but the eyes need to go into a tube around the eye socket & the 8mm wouldn't fit - even softening the head.

Thanks! Any suggestions are helpful!

 

Oooh I hope someone can help me. My Luts girl Soony arrived today and she is perfect. Only I was expecting her eyes to already be put in, but they are just loose (with some stuff that looks like maybe blu-tak stuck on the back of them?). Is there a way that I am supposed to put in the eyes? Please help

 

Just position the eyes as you want them, and then make sure the stick-tack is adhered around them to hold them in place. They probably just got jostled loose during shipping......

 

I have an Obitsu Gretel head I've been working on for days now, and now that her face-up is finally done, I can't get her freaking eyes in. This is what the inside of her head looks like:



As you can see there are no sockets for the eyes! Help! I don't want to glue the eyes in permanently because I plan to be doing TONS of photoshoots with this girl and need to be able to move her eyes to look around. Is there any way to build sockets or something?

Heeeelp!

 

Regular eye putty will work. Just build up a circle around the actual eyeball, or the eyehole *which ever works for you* and press the eye into the eye hole until it stays firmly, molding the putty around the eye with your fingers for a tight fit. Most bjds do not have eye sockets much like Gretel. ^^

 

Yes... and volks.com has some good putty!

 

Yes, Volks putty is awesome! Or, If you don't want to pay shipping, or don't want to wait for shipping then you can head down to a local craft store (hobby lobby, michael's, etc) and pick up something called "Plasti-tak". It works great and won't get that nasty white residue all over your dolly.

 

Thanks! Gretel is only my second head, and my other one had sockets, so I didn't know what the putty was for.

 

It's okay! I had a Gretel head once, and I had a difficult time getting eyes in even with putty. But I was using bad putty... The UHU poster tack worked better for the smooth vinyl. Kneaded eraser is another common thing people use, but it doesn't work as well on the vinyl.

The shape of the head is a bit difficult to hold the eyes in though. You may want to build up a little shelf/sockets inside the head with some Apoxi to make things a bit easier and faster. The next time I get a Gretel head, that is what I am going to do... I can't position eyes very well with out a bit more of a guide...

 

Ah HA!! So I'm not the only person who had problems with this. Not sure if this was the "correct" thing to do, but this is how I solved my problem.
I didn't like that even WITH putty there was gapping where I felt there shouldn't be. The eyes looked "behind" rather than "in" her face.
The fix I used was to take a jeweler's dremmel and X-acto knife and carve out the vinyl from the inside of the eye socket.
If ANYONE else wants to attempt this, let me tell you it can be RISKY if you are not CAREFUL.
I will add pics to this if I get around to it later. (I'm at work, hehe).
I made sure not to cut ANY vinyl which would be visible from the exterior and worked SLOWLY so as to not take out too much or SLIP and slice through. I took the sockets back all the way to the lip of the eye exterior, keeping the curve inward intact. The eyes now fit MUCH better and don't look sunk into her head.
If I was unclear or you have any questions, I'll gladly clarify and answer. =)

 

lol, my souldoll lune has eyes like that :p i just used sticky tack XD

 

I just got my Hara and I'm noticing his eyes seem to always look wide open, like he's shocked.. or.. well they just don't look right.. he looks a little spaced out or catatonic.. they're acrylics and I want to get some glass ones - but I'm wondering if I should get ones that have less white so the eyes dont look so open? apparently eye-wise he can take from a 16 to a 20 - I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how I can improve this and any tips on sizes, ect. thanks so much!

 

I would get him some silicone eyes, since he takes such a wide range of sizes. Silicone eyes are squishy, so they fit weird eyewells. My favourite silicone eyes are made by SOOM, and can be found at www.dollsoom.com or www.dollmore.net.

Hara is a much under-loved mold, and I don't understand why. He's so gorgeous. ^_^

 

Before you buy different eyes, you might want to fiddle with the positioning. Try shifting the eyes upward in the sockets, so that the top of the pupil is just touching the upper lid. Usually that gives a doll a more natural expression, as opposed to centering the pupil in the eye opening.

If you try that and like the results, let us see how he looks, okay?

 

well - i attempted to move the eyes a bit. i need to adjust the l-r and i tried moving it so the pupils were higher. but on the one side the S-hook makes it impossible to tug any higher because of the little plastic pokey things on the back of the eye..

i think it does look a touch better.. but i think i still want to get glass ones.. *adds it to the ever growing list*.. any other tips?

And I can't agree more about Hara - he certainly does get overlooked way too much.

 

changing the position might help too

or changing it to a darker tone/natural color

 

yeah - I was thinking the same. the eyes being so light make him look extra-dollish >_<

well i guess i'll fiddle with them - anyone got tips in figuring out colour? lol i dont wanna buy nice eyes and have them look like crud >_< - also - i'm not sure what size to get either.

eyes are even worse than wigs - im not sure how people get stuff and have it be right on - I was lucky with my first doll - he has nice little glass eyes and a floofy wig made by the company that made him! heh

 

Have you tried setting his eyes sideglancing. Sometimes the helps a lot

 

You could try removing the back of the acrylic eyes. Some eyes come apart easily, others, not so much. But you would then essentially have flat back eyes which would allow you to postion them more easily and without running into the s hook. I usually do this when I'm using acrylic eyes as I run into the same problem you have if I don't. Nothing more frustrating than spending time carefully positioning the eyes, only to have them get whacked askew by the s hook.

 

yay thanks for all the help! ill try the side glancing and perhaps see if i cant remove the backs. i'd try going a size up but im not really sure what size these are :\

 

One other thought--why not post a request thread in the Picture Request forum, asking for pictures of Hara in different sized eyes? People are really nice about saying exactly what size, make, and color of eyes their dolls are wearing, when you ask for that info in your thread.

 

Haha, have you seen a default Camine out of the box? Total O_O, and it doesn't help that his eye sockets are way larger than your boy's.

I've found that darker eyes tend to make them look less so... and definitely shifting the eyes upwards a little so the top of the pupil touches the upper eyelid, or a sideways glance, helps them look a lot more natural. Even tilting his face slightly downwards so that he's not looking directly at the camera, can make a huge difference.

Half the fun about these dolls is finding the right look for them. You have to go through trial and error a lot, which is why our marketplace is always so busy XD

 

I have a CP Ani, and the eyes I'm using are paperweighted silicon eyes. The trouble with that is that I can't position the eyes the way I want them because they always slide right back to dead center as soon as I try to get the eye putty in. The trouble with his eyes being dead center, as they are, is that it makes him look utterly terrified in every single picture I take of him.

What can I do to make it so that I can position his eyes slightly upward and and stay that way?

 

Put the eye putty on the eye first. Then put putty and eye in at the same time. Squish the putty down as soon as you get the eye where you want it.

 

I tried that, but it slides when I'm trying to squish down the putty, while I'm holding onto the eye.

 

I use silicone eyes, and experienced the same problem. It's possible to get them in there, it's just difficult. What I do is press the back of the eye firmly in place and then gently push the putty in around it. Squishing the putty in for a super secure hold will make the eye slide out of place. The goal is to get the eyes in there loosely but securely, so there isn't enough pressure to make them slide out of place, but enough so they won't fall out.

 

I wonder if sueding the eye socket would help?

 

I think suedeing would make it MUCH too bulky... you'd end up with the eyes set too far back in the head.

Sillicone are difficult but it just takes getting used to. Holding the eye in the desired position and forming the putty around it. You need to have a pretty soft putty for the easiest time of it (super sculpy is great)

 

Ok this is a really dumb question but with my last 2 dolls I was lucky and didnt need to change the eyes to a different color or anything.

...The problem is...now I have my girl and her eyes didnt come already put in. They're acrylic and like most acrylic they come fully rounded and almost look like a bobber for a fishing line. My question...are they supposed to go in looking like that ooor do the backs come off of them? @___@ I'm a n00b. I'm sorry.

 

Won't Blu Tac stain the resin? Or is it really that simple?