Nanoha's New Eyes

So, not too long ago, I adopted a DD Nanoha. I had heard complaints her default eyes were dark, but had somewhat underestimated just *how* dark.

 

 

A quick shot of her default eyes before I show you her new ones. By the way, in addition to blasting her out with three full-spectrum lights I actually Photoshopped her eyes brighter in this shot, and this is still as bright as they ever get--any more lights and her face gets overexposed, and any more PS work and their texture stops matching the rest of the photo.

 

Well, that just wasn't going to fly, so I ordered a pair of 24mm D.eye.Y bases from Pupapa Paradise to make her some new ones. I wanted something similar to her defaults, but didn't want to fight to get them to look like, well, eyes, as opposed to soul-sucking black holes. This actually was trickier than I had thought it would be, but after liberal coats of peal mediums and pearl-ex powders, I finally got it.

 

 

 

These first two shots are in indirect sunlight, which with her defaults would probably have resulted in near-black irises. But nope, it takes barely anything to get these to show up!

 

 

And one in direct sunlight, to show how bright they can get. I was originally worried that the texture of the pearl medium would look too weird, but now I've gotten fond of it--it reminds me of dichroic glass, but without the high price tag.

 

So, yeah, figured I'd show these off a little since I know I ranted to a few of you about how annoying her defaults were to work with. Any questions about making them, feel free to ask and I'll answer as best I can!

Those look very pretty - it brightens up her whole face with the lighter eyes.

 

Very nice Poofie!

 

I wanted something similar to her defaults, but didn't want to fight to get them to look like, well, eyes, as opposed to soul-sucking black holes.

 

 

*ahahaha*

Excellent job on those eyes! They are definitely brighter than her defaults. Love the last picture where her eyes are just sparkling so beautifully How long did it take for you to finish making these custom eyes?

Those eyes look amazing!

Never having looked all that closely I always thought her defaults were brown, and wondered why you were making the new ones all blue. Now that I look closely at your super lit version of the defaults I noticed they actually are blue. (Observant I know ) The new ones definitely look better.

 

So did you print them and then use the paint to make them shinier, or did you just paint them directly?

Those look very pretty - it brightens up her whole face with the lighter eyes.

 

Very nice Poofie!

 

I wanted something similar to her defaults, but didn't want to fight to get them to look like, well, eyes, as opposed to soul-sucking black holes.

 

 

*ahahaha*

 

Thanks! I'm actually more pleased with the fact that you can see the subtleties of shadow on her face now that I don't have to blast her with light point-blank, but I can see your point too. And glad to have made you smile. XD

 

Excellent job on those eyes! They are definitely brighter than her defaults. Love the last picture where her eyes are just sparkling so beautifully How long did it take for you to finish making these custom eyes?

 

With this particular pair, most of the time was spent waiting for things to dry. XD Pearl paints, layers and layers of clear gloss fixative spray, and finally the glue that attaches the irises to the lenses, all took hours to dry--the glue actually took over 48 hours to dry completely! But the actual design/sparkle-izing time was much less, probably 1/2 hour for the irises in Photoshop and then maybe another hour to hour and a half slapping on tons of different sparkly things until I was happy. XD

 

Those eyes look amazing!

 

Thanks! "Amazing" may be laying it on a little thick, but that may be because I know exactly where all the (thankfully faint) glue bubbles are.

 

Never having looked all that closely I always thought her defaults were brown, and wondered why you were making the new ones all blue. Now that I look closely at your super lit version of the defaults I noticed they actually are blue. (Observant I know ) The new ones definitely look better.

 

So did you print them and then use the paint to make them shinier, or did you just paint them directly?

 

Brown? Okay, yeah, that then REALLY shows why I wanted to get her new ones! Haha. Yeah, her eyes are kind of a periwinkle blue color in screenshots from the show, and are a dark grey-blue in the promo art. I suppose Volks wanted a kind of compromise between the two or something, but I wanted her new ones to be firmly in the show's color palette.

 

They're printed on acetate/overhead transparency, then painted with some white on the back, and several sparkly things on the front to make them really catch the light--a pearl medium from Liquitex, an interference blue acrylic, and Pearl-Ex powders in "True Blue". Then I sprayed them multiple times with a clear gloss fixative, to be extra sure that the ink on the transparency didn't run like it did on the first pair of irises I tried. (Which may have been serendipitous, because they weren't nearly as sparkly.)

 

Though speaking of brown, I've kind of been wanting to try to make brown/gold/copper eyes. . . but as it is I've got too many eyes already. Need to offload some of them before making more, unless there's someone out there who'd speak for the new ones before their manufacture! (Seriously, nine pairs of eyes is way too many for just two girls. )

The new eyes look amazing! Great work.

Wow! They look fantastic! They are so dynamic and such a lovely blue!

Hey neat, now DD Nanoha looks like the version in the anime. Nice upgrade. "Anime Eye mode. Set Up."

 

Was there anything in particular that inspired you to try making eyes DIY for this project?

Oooo... Sparklies!

 

I really dig the new eyes, they look so much nicer than her defaults. Very bright and very blue. Congrats on the upgrade!

 

 

Billy

These are beautiful eyes! You did a fantastic job!!

The new eyes look amazing! Great work.

 

Thanks very much!

 

Wow! They look fantastic! They are so dynamic and such a lovely blue!

 

Thanks! It's kind of fun how in some lights they look more silvery and in others they're very undisputably blue, but still always somewhat bluish and distinct from the pupil.

 

Hey neat, now DD Nanoha looks like the version in the anime. Nice upgrade. "Anime Eye mode. Set Up."

 

Was there anything in particular that inspired you to try making eyes DIY for this project?

 

SUCCESS! Haha! These don't have quite the same vector-art cleanness that the anime does, but thank you for letting me know the color's close.

 

I partially chose to do customs because that way I could make them closer to the anime screenshots than her defaults, actually, and there isn't really much existing already fits that critera. It's also because I think making eyes is fun though--I made a bunch when I got Agatha and have kind of been craving an excuse to make another pair. XD *Huge DIY addict*

 

Oooo... Sparklies!

 

I really dig the new eyes, they look so much nicer than her defaults. Very bright and very blue. Congrats on the upgrade!

 

 

Billy

 

Didn't you know that I've always wanted a sparkly of my very own?

 

Thank you! These are so much easier to get a good photo out of than her defaults; I'm looking forward to doing a "glamour shoot" of her now that she's got the new eyes. Just need to figure out where on earth the battery charger for my camera went. ^^;

 

These are beautiful eyes! You did a fantastic job!!

 

Thanks very much! Making eyes is really addictive. Gotta sell some of the extras I have so I can go make more. XD

They look great Good job!

Very nice! Those eyes came out lovely

Luck you! :3 she's just amazing :3 btw i've been searching for someone who might be selling DD Nanoha though no luck for me >.< may I know how much did you pay for her?

Thanks guys!

 

aiRreyes, I sent you a PM. The system may not let you reply yet since PM capability is unlocked at 20 posts, but you should be able to read it.

Thank you so much Poofiemus :3

 

Yea i figured it out that I couldn't pm you xD you pretty much help me concerning Nanoha :3 i guess i should post my reply here? xD if the stains can be removed by the zit creams with that formula then its alright with me buying a 2nd hand with stains which would be much cheaper xD i just after her face/body/eyes. gonna changer her wig as well :3

Much better than the old Ones

 

Like the brighter Color