Thread: Eyeball Help

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I'm in the learning curve process of making eyeballs for my zombie/monster dolls (yes...this is for 2012!). I'm trying to find a cheap way to make the clear cornea.

My process (sorry no pics): I take a piece of polymer clay and roll it in a small ball (~10 mm), set it on a small baking tray, then use the head of a nail to flatten out and slightly indent the top. I bake the clay, cut out a pupil, then glue it on/in the indention. Now....I need to FILL IN that indention and it needs to do the following:

1: Dry Clear
2: Not Shrink
3: No visible bubbles
4: Hold it's shape so it forms a "dome"

I'm have tried a couple of clear craft glues/adhesives (E6000) but they didn't work well. My next thing is to try 5-minute epoxy before going to the more expensive Castin'Craft Clear epoxy resins. Before I do that, I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions or should I just go straight to the "good stuff"?

Thanks!

Clear nail polish is what I use on my eyes.
That sure sounds painfull! I meant the eyes that I MAKE!

You will probably need to add the polish a drop at a time until it's the right size. Then turn the eye upside-down to dry. That way the polish won't smooth out.
It really only works well with small corneas. Not sure if it'll work for you.

I purchased a pack of 10 pairs of assorted color eyeballs on e-bay last year for like $5! Only cost another$5 to ship from Hong Kong. They look great in all the masks I've used them in.

Realistic Eyeballs

I use the cheapy foam eyeballs from Michaels, and hanging them upside down, dipping into clear polyurethane (like used for furniture) and leaving it hanging upside down to dry was clean and formed the cornea exactly where it needed to be... might work on your version of eyeballs (but maybe not carve out a depression for inserting the iris?). Might be worth the experiment, anyway...

Raven with freshly plucked eyeball
If you look at the pic, you can see the cornea effect...

I'm probably not going to get my tutorial done in time for Halloween. My test eyes:

First attempt at realistic eyeballs

Quick tutorial: 1" sphere. I have plastic spheres. You would probably be better off with your clay or wooden spheres. Make a 1/2" hole so you have a flat surface for the iris print. I did it freehand with a 1/2" forstner bit but have since bought a drill press, if you have one, clamp down a piece of scrap wood, drill into it a ways, then put the eyeball in it, hold with pliers unless you really trust yourself not to accidentally get your fingers if things slip, then drill a hole just deep enough that there's a slight depression. Then fill with either 5 min or 2 hour epoxy depending on how fast you work to make a nice flat surface. Once it's hardened, stick the iris to the flat spot. Then get either Castin' Craft or Aristocrat or Envirotex Lite (which is what I used), mix, and pour over the iris. Be careful not to go over the edge of the flat spot for the iris or the surface tension might break and let it pour over the eyeball - this can also happen if you put too much on. This stuff takes 8 hours or more to dry but it usually comes out crystal clear. Bubbles can be popped with either a light misting of 91% alcohol if you have a sprayer that does extra fine mist, or with a mini butane torch/lighter, lightly passing it over the surface of the epoxy. For best results you might have to do more than one coating since it flattens out once it dries. In the photos on that thread, my eyeballs look like the iris is protruding into the dome of the cornea, but it's actually an optical illusion, the cornea is clear.

Originally Posted by Xane

Then get either Castin' Craft or Aristocrat or Envirotex Lite (which is what I used), mix, and pour over the iris.

I think this is looking like the final answer! Thanks everyone for their input!