So I tried out some new eyes on Ted...

Like the title says, I got my hands on some 16mm red BJD eyes recently. I was initially thinking of just selling them since even with any planned resin characters I doubt I'd have a use for them. Then I remembered that Ted's eyes are red, and the current ones he had in him were honestly too big, but it was all I could get my hands on that was even close to what I wanted. Anyways I tried the new eyes out and the result gives me mixed feelings.

 

Here's him with his previous eyes. Too big, but otherwise pretty good.

 

And here he is with the new ones.

 

It definitely fixes the size problem and I'd say it looks quite good on him, but it just makes his stare very intense and even a little scary at times. The pics I got are flattering so they don't show quite what I'm talking about as well. At least he doesn't seem too out of style next to Celia or the others.

 

 

All and all, I'm just not sure. He's a very sweet character and naturally I want his appearance to reflect it, however in canon some people are a bit intimidated by him. The dude is like 6'3" sometimes he goofs up and makes it obvious that he's incredibly strong, and the bloody red hair and eyes in an environment where that isn't really normal kinda makes people nervous sometimes. I plan on getting him a different faceup sometime this year when I'm ready to start working on his sister too, so that might help.

 

Idk if I should keep this for now until someone accessible starts making more male oriented anime styled eyes or switch him back to what he had before. What do you guys think?

I agree with you that most anime-style eyes aren't suited for the mature male sculpts. They're made to fill up most of the eye socket, and anime males aren't generally drawn that way. I really like the style of the first pair you had in him, but like you, I think they're a little too large. As for the second pair, if they are a round iris, I would suggest moving them up just a little bit in his eye sockets, so that the bottom of the iris is touching the bottom of his eye socket, and the top of his pupil touches the top of the eye socket, if that makes sense. He won't look quite so surprised/startled.

 

Sort of like this:

 

Personally I like having some white showing in DD eyes, especially on my boys.

 

Good luck deciding what you want to do with Ted! I like his look. Did you consider maybe getting custom eyes made for him? The good thing is, you can always change your mind again if you find something that suits him better!

 

BTW, forgot to say, he looks really nice next to Celia. :

 

Linda S.

galatia9

Exactly, not to mention male eyes are much shorter for the width while female eyes can even be the opposite! So most of those eyes are too tall even if the width would be okay. I tilted Ted's old ones to the side a bit to negate that exact problem. I like at least some white showing in the eyes too. With the girls you can get away with a lot less but there should at least be some. It just looks weird when there isn't any at all.

 

They are round ones, although it's interesting how from the right angle they can kinda look like they aren't. I had tried to adjust them the way you said before but they just weren't cooperating at the time. I got it now and while it does lessen the effect it's still there, and it has it's own issue due to the oddly high dome on the eyes. it makes a gap on the inner corners of the eyes. It isn't really an issue when they're placed with a lower angle but once they angle up the tip makes it so the eyes can't quite rest fully in the eye if that makes sense.

 

It's most noticeable on side shots like the second picture.

 

And thanks! I like to think they're a pretty cute couple.

Once you get the pupil placed properly, like in your second set of photos, I actually think it'd be totally worth bevelling his eye wells so the eyes would sit flush. Seriously, I think they look that good in there.

Once you get the pupil placed properly, like in your second set of photos, I actually think it'd be totally worth bevelling his eye wells so the eyes would sit flush. Seriously, I think they look that good in there.

 

I would have zero idea on how to do that. lol. Like, I think I might keep them for now if I can do the thing you mentioned somehow. I still wouldn't consider them my permanent choice even if I can get the fit right. I really do want some anime style ones some day.

I find high dome eyes very difficult to fit! They may be useful for a porcelain doll that you want to appear to be from a particular time period, but not for modern BJDs and DDs! The pupil pretty much has to be right in the center of the eyewell. No wonder you're having a tough time adjusting them in Ted.

 

You might just have to look for some eyes with a lower dome, though the setting is much improved in your new photos. He has a very cute subtle smile!

 

I've beveled resin eye wells, but not vinyl ones. I've only beveled them because they are too shallow from the manufacturer, not to accomodate high dome eyes. The beveling tool looks like this:

 

 

It has a grinding surface on that pink ball. They are available in many sizes. If your eyewells are thin, I wouldn't recommend beveling them.

 

Linda S.

galatia9

I'm assuming by eyewell you mean the clear part? cause that's what I'm having problems with. The rest of it is sized just fine and any smaller would actually be bad. The clear part is very thick and it sticks out way further than any of my volks eyes. Until getting these things I didn't think they made eyes with a such a high dome.

No, she means the divot/eye socket on the inside of the head. The beveler lets you change the curve (or radius) of that divot so a different sized eye sits in it better.

 

If you're really sure that you'll be swapping them out for custom anime eyes down the line, though, that may be a bit too permanent of a solution.

Oh okay. And I want to swap them out because he still kinda has that stare which I feel conflicted about. I just checked and apparently Danny is selling crimson eyes now so I might give those a shot. I'm not sure how much I'll like the overall look but it seems to be my best bet. Looks like the green and blue eyes are gone though... I really could have used the green pair for Sebastian when I make him. They were super vibrant which would have been perfect.

Poofiemus is right, the beveling tool is for permanently altering the inside of your doll's head! You use it to sand out the eye sockets, not to modify the eyes themselves.

 

I hope Danny's crimson eyes work out for you! I like the look of them very much.

 

Linda S.

galatia9

Ah, okay. Yeah, sorry I don't know those terms very well so I got confused. And I just placed an order for them. Shipping was kinda ouch but eh. They should definitely work for the time being although I can't say I would never spring for something else if a particular kind of look popped up anywhere. As for standard bjd eyes I might use them for certain characters where the sharp piercing stare would be a good thing. (Like who I want to turn Lelouch into) but I need a yellow pair for that.