Why do people have to have two eyes?

[Qwyksilver]

Why can't there be more cyclopean figures. It would cause a hell of a lot less frustration painting the damn eyes. It seems like whenever I get one eye, exactly how I want it, and looking mint, I go to paint it's mate, and my brush vomits paint into the other eye socket.

 

I am thinking of getting a couple of those hideous looking eyeball covered sculpts, just for insane amounts of torture, masochism...umm practice.

 

I should just be lazy and add some green stuff for a patch

[Qwyksilver]

Two right eyes, four left eyes, and 35 minutes later...that SOB has a good pair of peepers!!!

[Errex]

Frustrating, Innit?

 

So...

When may we see the pictures?

[Qwyksilver]

After the Winter mini exchange is over

 

And I repaint the whole SOB's face. I overloaded the brush with a thinned flesh tone and it ran into the eyes Poor baby blues look icky.

 

Just starting to use the series 7's for the first time. Holy crap they hold a lot of paint. Lesson learned, and that's why there is Green Dip. I look at it this way, now I get more practice on the eyes.

[ixminis]

A few ways to make eyes less frustrating:

 

1. Paint 'em first and don't worry about being sloppy... "cut" in as you paint the fleshtones...

 

2. Paint everything on the face except the pupils... Lightly dullcote the face... let it dry let it dry let it dry... paint the pupils... if the pupils screw things up... immediately and gently scrub the paint out with a fresh clean damp brush... It's much easier to show this technique in person... once you see it, it makes sense... I used to use it even before I learned that you could paint on dullcote.

 

Rgds,

[pae]

Hey, at least you aren't painting this one

[Enchantra]

Oh Heavens Flynn that is torture!

[haldir]

He's on my paintlist right now!!! & here I am barely painting as it is (kinda went back into my slump, I need to paint thou, I want to complete my EXCHANGE minis!!!!! I MUST!!!)

 

 

btw would you guys paint his interior parts red (mouth, throat) like a normal human color or a exotic color? Like say purple or something. Just fishing for ideas I guess.

 

 

Randy M

 

BTW Faceless does give good practice on eyework thou

[Qwyksilver]

Hey, at least you aren't painting this one

Actually Flynn, my next trip to the FLGS is to buy 3 or 4 of those for practice.

 

@ix - I almost always paint the eyes first. For that very reason, cutting in is always easier. The issue came with not realizing how much paint those series 7 brushes, which I am new to using, can hold (very deceptive). I really like the dullcote idea though. I will definitely have to try this one out.

[Lars Porsenna]

I just wish my FLGS would get one of those in...

 

If you hate painting eyes, check out Archer Transfers EX-Eyes: http://www.archertransfers.com/

 

(click on catalog and then Eyeballs & Tattoos).

 

IIRC these are dry transfers, so of you dislike those you'll need to transfer them to a clear decal sheet and apply them.

 

Note I've never used them so I don't know how effective they would be.

 

Damon.

[comicbkguy]

This is really weird. I was thinking of posting the exact same thing last night. I finished the eyes on Gunther the Fire Giant a couple of nights ago and as usual I love one of them and the other is just ehh. So I know exactly what you are talking about.

[Qwyksilver]

I just wish my FLGS would get one of those in...

 

If you hate painting eyes, check out Archer Transfers EX-Eyes: http://www.archertransfers.com/

 

(click on catalog and then Eyeballs & Tattoos).

 

IIRC these are dry transfers, so of you dislike those you'll need to transfer them to a clear decal sheet and apply them.

 

Note I've never used them so I don't know how effective they would be.

 

Damon.

Thanks for the thought, but if I cheat and use decals, I will never learn to paint them better. Usually I get the first one done no problems, just the way I like it, then I have to try and retry and try again to make sure the other eye matches, both size and direction.

 

Practice Practice Practice

 

The faceless horror, that just screams. Learn to paint eyes better, or die trying.

[Qwyksilver]

Well, I have two copies of the mini I am painting for the exchange. One was for myself to keep. Now it seems I am priming both, and as one goes into the dip, the other becomes the work subject. I spent a couple of hours yesterday, and another today. Total of 5 dips. I have finally gotten a set of eyes I am happy with.

 

I think I would have been far less picky, if this was for one of my gaming group minis, since they are meant for tabletop use, and the rest of the folks in my group don't paint. Since this is for a fellow painter, I am being far more anal.

 

Now to coat those peepers with some finish to ensure their safety!

 

I should have taken WIP pictures to show how bad some of these turned out, but it seems someone <cough> wife <cough> brought the camera to school to take some pictures of her new students for a bulletin board.

[Cerridwyn1st]

First, maybe you need to stop, rinse and reload your brush. The paint may be changing in consitancy from the completion of one eye to moving to the next; hence one eye is perfect and the other a mess.

 

As far as eyeball technique, Anne showed me this at Origins - it does help.

 

First, make sure you have thinned paint and a very sharp natural hair brush. If you are using WNS 7, that's a big help. You just need to get used to them, and how it works to load something that will hold a lot of paint.

 

You also want to be sure of the amount of "load" you have on your brush. I usually roll my brush on a piece of paper towel; other painters will test on their thumb. (You should see Victroria Lamb when she's painting - her left thumb starts looking like a psycedelic zebra.)

 

You can make a couple of "test stripes" on your thumb or paper to make sure the load is just right.

 

Tilt the figure just a little bit away from yourself. When touching down the brush, do so at an angle so it catches a little on the lip of the eyelid. If the brushload, paint consitancy and angle are all correct, it will deposit a tiny drop of paint on the figure's eyeball.

 

I also tend to brace my hands. Often I will brace my painting hand by resting my pinky either on the fig or my holding hand.

 

That's the technique - the rest is all practice. A lot of the problems people have with painting eyes have to do with 1)wrong brush, 2) paint that's too thick, 3) lack of practice with the proper technique. The fabled "one hair brush" is actually the wrong thing to use; with something that tiny, by the time you take your brush from the paint to the fig, it's dried in place and useless.

 

I also usually have brown extending around the eye. If the pupil isn't perfect, it's no big deal; a little high or low is covered by the eyeliner. I'll then paint out the extra line width to leave just a little lash line around the eye.

 

I was using a brown/black mix I got from Jarrett Lee for my pupil and liner color, but Jen Haley suggested Vallejo Model Color Black Brown for this; it is almost exactly the same color as Jarrett's Brown, and I don't have to mix it myself.

[awong]

Another neat tip...

 

start with the harder eye...usually the one opposite your brush hand (lefties paint the fig's left eye first, righties paint the fig's right eye). This way, you get the harder, more difficult to reach eye first (crossing over the nose), and it should be easier to copy pupil placement on the "easy" eye.

 

Thanks

AWhang