What are the pros and cons to using real glass eyes?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Eve WIP
Ok, no-one mentioned that if you sand clay, she ends up looking sanded! tee hee. Good job she's going to be painted eh! I also made the terrible mistake of using my neck as a model - never again, I have the grossest neck ever - do you think I need to tone down the neck details a bit more?! definition is good, but now you know how ugly my neck looks!!! :O) I have decided to finish her all in clay - hair, clothing (well, the tiniest amount!) and accessories... should be interesting. Her eye brows look huge in the photos too, so may tone those down a bit before she
is re-baked. Let's have some feedback, I need to be critiqued - or rather, she does!
What are the pros and cons to using real glass eyes?
What are the pros and cons to using real glass eyes?
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I think she is going to be just lovely. Well done. And the neck is fine!
ReplyDeleteoh, I should have continued on.... now she has eyes.
ReplyDeleteI have not done enough clay faces to be much help. I did two with clay eyes... but, in my first one I actually used white clay so I didn't have to paint the whites...just painted on the irises...on my Santa on my Picturetrail if you want to look at him.
My white haired girl is all paperclay which is totally different of course as it is white... so again..just painted the colours.
I've done a few with glass eyes and like the look of either technique.. .. I think it probably just depends on whether you like the look or if you like to paint the eyes...
I've never sanded polymer.... I just try to get it as smooth as possible... although, for me it seems more tricky than for my friend who seems to have really hot hands..hers practically melts and she goes lickety split... mine takes a lot of fiddling and smoothing... in some spots I even try to use a flat brush or a smooth sided knife or bits of wood to help before I get to the really smooth stage. Just a lot of fiddling for me... I'm no great sculptor...
Wow She is going to be stunning!!!
ReplyDeleteI like glass eyes because they look so real... unless you can paint them really well... I've seen some fabulous painted eyes also.
Can;t wait to see her finished!
Pattee
Abi, she looks fabulous. Ouch on the sanding - I learned the hard way too, and I don't usually paint my pieces.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think I would fill in the neck abit at the sides unless you want a really sinuey(sp?) look.
You also asked about the eyebrows.
I will sometimes take a sharp tool (like a pin) and make tiny brush marks where the eyebrows should be (before curing) and then I paint them following the same brush lines. Alternately, just painting fine short brush strokes in the shape of an eyebrow works too. I find that sculpted eyebrows can look too heavy.
I sometimes paint my eyes and sometimes use glass eyes. As my own eyes have become worse for close up work, I am finding the glass eyes are handy! LOL
For your first attempt at sculpting with polymer clay, Eve is excellent!
Привет, Ева! Русские кукольники мало используют стеклянные глаза. Обычно, они делают их также как Вы, т.е. лепят вместе с остальным лицом. Либо лепят шарики из глины и затем вставляют в глазницы. А брови рисуют на надбровных дугах короткими мазками.Вот уроки Creager Studios
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo4COOhPk3k
которые Вам помогут! Удачи!
This is what Niknik said:
ReplyDeleteHi, Eva! Russian puppet little use glass eyes. Usually, they make them like you, that is lepyat together with the other person. Or lepyat balls of clay and then inserted into the orbit. And eyebrows painted on superciliary arcs short mazkami.Vot lessons Creager Studios
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo4COOhPk3k
you can help! Good luck!
Thanks Sue and Niknik! I toned down the brows - and filled in her neck a bit!
ReplyDeleteI've sculpted hair on her, which has made her look more feminine! When I try out a whole figure, I won't paint it, but the bust is going to be a bit different... I think! I really love stone sculpts, so want that kind of effect.
Ooh, thank you V and Pattee! :O)
ReplyDeleteHi Abi,
ReplyDeleteI think she is fabulous for your first clay experiment. She is really going to be beautiful. I always use glass or acrylic eyes. Or make my sleeping babies! I have a very hard time getting the eyes even!!!
And I have always put the eyes in first, and build around them. I have had them move during the curing process too! So painted eyes may be easier. Best wishes!
One more thing, if you use a finer sand paper, same idea as a manicure and then use a toothbrush or nail brush add oil and brush the whole surface, it will smooth out the lines from sanding. It will change the color but the oil (any kind, vegetable, baby) will absorb into the clay. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteThats great Catherine - thank you!
ReplyDeleteHer neck does not look gross, you're so funny! I think she's amazing, my 1st attempt at polymer clay sculpting looks like an alien, ha! Oh and about my studio space? No, it doesn't stay that way, as a matter of fact right now I'm working on a doll and a large collage and it looks like a tornado hit it :)
ReplyDeleteOh man! Somehow I missed this post. I love her already. I can't wait to see what she looks like all painted and dressed.
ReplyDeletewow, I think she looks awesome so far! I can't wait to see the finished piece.
ReplyDeleteI was once told that if your left too many white mark when you sand, your not sanding enough. The sandpaper scratches need to cross hatch each other and become smooth. Work your way down sandpaper grades ending with smooth, so each makes smaller scratches over the last. Wet sanding with a lil dish soap is good too. You can use acetone on the surface of cured polymer to smooth and prep the surface for painting. It removes a microlayer of clay which often contain fine particles of dust and fingerprints.. Another way to get rid of white left by too much acetone &/or sanding is go over the piece with a little oil, like sculpting smoothing oil/diluent or even mineral oil and put it back in the oven until it evaporates. I prefer to not sand. If i can avoid it, I do ha ha ha Before curing you can use a soft, clean brush and a little oil to smooth the piece and get in hard to reach places (careful though, too much oil will make it soft & mushy and wipe out your details)
ReplyDeleteHope that help some. I hope you decide to create more polymer piece in the future, I still can't believe that your first! :) Excellent!
HUGS
Sprite