What to use for motorized eyes in a picture?????

Someone more mechanically-minded might be able to suggest exactly what you're after but last year I used animated eyes from an iPad app to give a photo "crazy eyes". It was surprisingly effective.

I built some servo driven eyes for a corpse I did last year, but that might be more involved than you want.

I was hoping someone made something that I could just cut into a picture and attach.
It's NEVER easy

Yeah, like I said, I figured that was overkill. I imagine there must something out there. Did a quick peak and the Halloween props with moving eyes are kinda expensive just to use that part of them. Maybe you can find some toy that has moving eyes that would work. Good luck

Think it could be tough to find. Someone here...(I think it was DaveintheGrave) created motorized eyeballs using a reindeer motor, I think. But unless you've got a good foot of space behind the painting, that wouldn't work.

There's also the optical illusion where you cut the eyes out of the picture and set the pupils back about half an inch behind the surface and it should appear like the eyes are following you as you wander around the room - but it would be a very subtle effect.

The only other suggestion I can think of is sticking something like an iPhone or iPod touch in behind the photo. Probably not something you want to do unless you've got a drawer full of old gadgets. I think someone even made an app for this kind of thing.

Just wanted to put this out there, those eyeball doorbells that open and look around when you push them may work if you put them behind the picture enough. Pretty big though. Also I have seen those eyes you put in bushes or on jack o lanterns - but think they mostly just light up and not look around.

http://www.halloweenforum.com/tutorials-and-step-by-step/78087-moving-eyes-mechanism-pause.html
DaveInTheGrave made me some for my moving eyes portrait painting back in 2009. Tutorial here!

And what I used them for here:
http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/78067-moving-eyes-painting.html

if you are looking for easy peazy no big dealzy, check out the "digital duds" app for your cel phone. There are multiple different effects, and you may be able to make a duct tape pocket on the back of the picture, cut out eye holes and viola, moving eyes in the picture.

DannyK said:

if you are looking for easy peazy no big dealzy, check out the "digital duds" app for your cel phone. There are multiple different effects, and you may be able to make a duct tape pocket on the back of the picture, cut out eye holes and viola, moving eyes in the picture.

Click to expand...

Came here to say this!!!

I have a couple of old smartphones I've done this with last year, I mounted my pictures on a thick piece of card and made a duct tape packet behind them, in went my ols S2 et voila!

This year I have one mounted in a mask - I cut out 2 holders from cardboard egg trays & painted them white, cut the bottom off & mounted the phone to them, so the mask can retain its shape and the eyes seem sunken in!
Will try to add pics later

Thanks for the link Frankie's Girl. I thought that mechanism was way deeper.

EPD, welcome to the forums! Looking forward to seeing your pics!

Those eyes are just what I was looking for. Even have a few of those motors laying around from my Ouija Board build