Eyes question!

Hello! I am currently in the process of trying to save/gather money to buy my first Dollfie Dream, and I just had a question about eyes! I was looking at a type of "animetic" eye I wanted, but it seems there's "normal" and "metallic" for this type, and once the "normal" sells out it's gone for good.

 

Is there a notable difference between "normal" and "metallic"? The pictures on their site don't really explain much.

 

Also, the metallic only seems to have 24mm but the normal one I was looking at was 22mm. Which do you think would look better in a DDH-04 head? EDIT: found a thread

Honestly I don't fully understand how they measure eyes to come up with 22mm or 24mm etc. I believe the size of the eye holes in the dolls head determines the size of the eyes, but I don't know how to figure that out aside from trying eyes in sizes I already have till I find the best fit. On the Super Dollfie eyes they sometimes list them by both resin dimension and iris size. I don't think I have seen that on animetic eyes, but I could have missed it.

 

There is a post here showing different sized eyes in a variety of doll heads, but this is just for one maker. Other makers dimensions could differ. viewtopic.php?f=44&t=12189&start=140#p189641

 

This blog might help you find some eyes from other makers. Honestly there are a number of other custom makers who make nicer eyes than Volks does in my opinion.

 

http://jadepixel.blogspot.com/2011/10/where-to-buy-animetic-eyes-for-dollfie.html

 

The link for twin snow no longer works because the company is now known as Lizanna http://www.lizanna.com/

 

Freya_21 on the forum has her own custom eye shop too, and seems pretty knowledgeable about sizing. She also does beautiful face-ups. There are artists here who do everything from eyes to clothing, so you've come to the right place if you are going to build your own DD.

The measurement is from the white of the eye, always. Most animetics have the iris at half the diameter of the white, in the irises' longest dimension. (So the iris is 12mm tall on a 24mm eye, even if it's an oval-type iris and therefore less than 12 in width)

 

Eye size is kind of a matter of preference, actually. Larger eyes tend to give a more doe-eyed look, and smaller ones give a sharper, more analytical one. You'll typically need a size or two larger in oval/square iris than you would for full circle irises in the same head. Also, small full circle ones give them a more Western cartoon/Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks kind of look, with all the extra white.

 

For instance, there are these shots with both oval and circle eyes on my Miku: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=11821

 

(I also have eye comparisons in Nanoha, who's similar to an 06 head, and I think I have some comparisons with my 03 if I dig far back enough; would those help?)

 

As for normal versus metallic, whether it makes a difference kind of depends on who made them, apparently. Volks' metallic barely makes any difference at all. >.< Metallic Ersa Flora, though, are apparently REALLY metallic. (Think Lizanna only does metallic now, so it's kind of a moot point for them.) Personally when I make eyes I tend to do pearl-ex powders, but that's my preference. Basically metallic, pearl, etc are ways to catch light and give some extra spark to the eyes.

Thanks for the explanation. What I observed is that I have eyes labeled as 24 mm which are physically smaller than eyes I have that are labeled as 22mm. The 24 mm eyes have larger iris' though. That left me very confused as to what the measurement meant.

 

None of them added up to 22mm or 24 mm in actual size unless that is the measurement of the perimeter of the eye as apposed to the diameter.

I know that measuring the diameter is the standard for smaller eyes, but the larger eyes do admittedly tend to knock into each other inside the doll's head. It makes positioning the eyes extra tedious. >.< So perhaps some manufacturers/creators are only sizing up the iris in the usual progression, rather than the white, to avoid the problem in the larger eyes.

Back in "ye olde days," the measurement did actually describe the diameter -- at that point, most BJDs used round glass eyes (this was before the days of DDs and animetic eyes).

 

Now, the measurement only describes the "visual effect" of the eyes. Eyes labeled 24mm give only the "visual effect" of having 24mm eyes in the doll, whether or not the eyes are actually 24mm in diameter.

 

You'll see the same thing when you shop for cosmetic contact lenses. The human eye can't take more than 14-16mm size lens, but you'll see cosmetic contact lenses (especially circle lenses) described as 18mm or even 20mm! You couldn't physically fit a 20mm lens in your eye, so these lenses aren't actually 20mm... they just give the visual effect of wearing 20mm lenses.

 

Same deal with most hand-round eyes these days. The size ONLY describes the visual effect. For each brand, 24mm will have a larger iris than 22mm, and 22mm will have a larger iris than 20mm.

 

However, not all 24mm irises will be the same size! The 24mm iris on Brand A might be the same size as the 22mm iris on Brand B... You have to pick the brand you like best, and then ask around to figure out the best size for your particular doll (or do like I do, and just buy multiple sizes).

However, not all 24mm irises will be the same size! The 24mm iris on Brand A might be the same size as the 22mm iris on Brand B... You have to pick the brand you like best, and then ask around to figure out the best size for your particular doll (or do like I do, and just buy multiple sizes).

 

Ok that makes sense of it all. Thanks to both of you for taking the time to explain.