Eye Painting!

[martingb]

Hey people! Again let me just say that there are a whole bunch more expert fellas out there than me but I like to think that if even I can make an OK effort at eye painting then anybody can. Here goes:

I always use matt white as a basic colour. Mix in maybe a little grey or even yellow to take that edge off the white because brilliant white eyes, like teeth, just look weird and too penetrating. Again look closely at the actor or character's eyes and mix up the closest that you can to that colour. The iris, the coloured part of the eye, is never seen fully. Paint in the iris in the middle of the eye allowing the upper and lower lid to bisect the iris at the top and bottom. The whole of the iris is only ever shown if you are shocked or surprised and your eyes are at their very widest. Look in a mirror to see what I mean. When this is dry do your best to paint a smaller black circle in the centre of the iris to represent the pupil. A tooth pick slightly flattened and dipped in black paint will, with practice, make a perfect round shape. Try it out, before attempting it on a head, on a sheet of paper. When this is dry use a pin with just a touch of white to put a small 'dot' of white to the left or right edge of the pupil. Do this in exactly the same place on the other eye to give the impression of light hitting the iris. It brings the figure to life. This is a make or break aspect of face painting. Many times I go back the next day touching up little areas where I have 'splodged' paint but if you take it easy and keep a steady hand practice will bring satisfying results. You won't get it right first time so leave it to dry and go back again if you have to. I'm sure there are other equally pleasing techniques but this works for me. I am in no way a hot shot painter yet the faces, and eyes especially, always look pretty decent and bring me a great deal of satisfaction.

[Wild Willy]

You are correct about the white spot making or breaking the look.
I would sometimes ruin the eyes trying to get that spot right. I ended up deciding not to make a white spot when I paint eyes but instead I add gloss coat to the eyes and that sometimes gives you a natural glare spot.

Will

[martingb]

That sounds like a trick I will try next time. Good one mate.

[faithfulbutler]

I use a very similar technique to yours Martin and add the gloss coat like Will.
The wrong colour for the Iris CAN make or break a figure though,been there,done that! ;D

[Figuremaster Les]

When I paint eyes, after recoating whatever it was, including that horrid white dot ...I repaint it with flats only, so I know it dries, and use a white or light grey. Then I mix a base color, let's say it's blue, so I get a dark blue out of a pure blue base mixed with burnt umber to darken it down to a more realistic eye blue color, then start adding white. I paint the iris area in concentric rings and get smaller and lighter in the middle of the rings, creating my micro "bullseye" each time.
I leave the middle ring of the lighter color a bit wide to account for the pupil. The pupil is the only solid black I ever use around an eye. That takes no breathing I might note...
Then I gloss coat it once with a nice small brush and one clean swipe. Then I add a somewhat raised dot of gloss coat clear right over the iris area to account for the clear lens of the eye. That clear bulge often helps my eyes look more real. Takes a minute or two more to dry and I always lay the figure down to not cause the dot to lean one way or the other til it's fully dry.

That's my way of it.
But, yeah, LOSE THAT DOT!!!!

[martingb]

Les, it sounds amazingly tricky but looking at the results I know it works superbly for you. Whether I can manage it is another question but it sounds good to me. Thanks for going the extra yard mate. Appreciated. Now where are those brushes? (I gotta start me some breathing exercises too!)

[casimir]

Hi folks,

First, in my experience, the white glare can indeed make or break the figure. It often brings "life" to the figure. However, that little white dot can sometimes be dictated by the style of the figure. Obviously, I work in the animated style mostly, and technically that white dot doesn't appear often. But I almost always include it on the females, rules or not. It really brings the project together.

Second (and maybe this was already mentioned and I read too fast, in which case I apologize), to really create a "focus," you'll want to paint the eyes ever so slightly cross-eyed. This is a trick I picked in my days on working on Sesame Street. Unless you're creating extreme realism, if you center the eyes, the effect is "dead." Try bringing each eye slightly closer to the center, and the figure's face will pop to life. I've done it hundreds of times, and it almost always works. (And if you don't believe me, start looking at almost anything animated...)

Best,

Casimir

[faithfulbutler]

It helps if you're cross-eyed already like myself lol. ;D

Actually i rarely ever do the white dot personally,don't know why maybe becuase i'm still fairly new at Customs.Either that or i haven'really given it any thought.

[Wild Willy]

I had tried doing the dot, but it seemed to crowd the pupil too much and if I made it even smaller with the help of a needle tip, it is too small to notice anyway, so i just add lots of clear, I actually soak it in there and let it dry on it's back and then actual light sources will naturally reflect from the eyes.

Will

[Figuremaster Les]

I do too much intentional realism stuff to add the dot. Just hate it. But I get it that it serves a purpose at times. I just do not personally like it.
On many dolls and figures it "kills" the eyes to me. In animation, yes. I get that. But I paint it off instantly upon opening on many of my purchased figures. In fact, I usually repaint the eyes first thing anyway. Most mass-produced are dead on arrival.

Cross-eyed huh? Hmmmm... I need to try that. I think mine end up a tad cross-eyed anyway. But that could be because I am in need of some new magnifiers! ;D
But, I will try that.

Sesame Street? Wow. That was all good work.