| Setting
eyes in a Doll head |
 |
Place a small roll of eye
setting wax in empty eye cocket. Use an Eye
Setting tool or your fingers to position eyes. Reposition as needed
to make sure eyes are looking at you and towards one focal point.
Once eyes are positioned as desired, mix a small amount of Gapoxio and
use the Gapoxio to permanently poisition eyes (shownn here.) |
| When the Gapoxio is
hardened, remove the eye wax that may have excruded in the front of the
head using Avon's Skin so Soft or other mild solvent. |
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More information
about how to use Gapoxio |
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Paperweight
eyes - what are they? |
| Paperweight
eyes, whether flat or round, have a slightly raised "domed"
iris. This makes the technique for cleaning and fitting
the eyes somewhat different than you may use when working with regular
round or flat eyes. |
| When
you're ready to bevel the eye socket, use the size beveler you need for
the eye when soft-fired** |
| **
A "rule-of-thumb" is 2 mm larger in the soft-fired stage for
the desired size when bisque-fired. |
Then
use the next size smaller bevel, in the center of the socket, to bevel
the place for the raised iris. This extra beveling with a smaller eye
size gives you the space allowance you will need for the paperweight eye. |
| It's
better to cut too little than too much, as you can always refine the eye
socket using a greenware brush. |
| It's
handy to keep a set of inexpensive eyes sized for the soft-fired head
to use for measuring purposes only. If you fit the paperweight eyes (or
any eyes) at the soft-fired stage, the final size eyes should fit when
bisque fired. |
|
Eye Sizer Tip
|
Wooden Eye Sizers
can also be used to finish beveling soft fired eye sockets.
|
 |
| Place
a small piece of an old nylon stocking over the rounded end of the sizer
and secure with a rubber band. Wet the sizer and gently finish beveling
the inside of the socket. |
| When
in doubt about the right size eye to use, wooden sizers are the perfect
tools. Place the rounded end into the bisque-fired eye socket from the
inside and look at the fit of the eye. Does the wooded ball fit perfectly
edge to edge without looking "wrong"? Try different sizes until
you're satisfied. |
|
|
Tips
for Cleaning Eyes |
| On soft-fired
heads, use a wet, very sharp scalpel or cut-out tool to scrape out the
eye shape. If you gently score around the edges prior to using the scalpel
it may help keep you from cutting away too much. Remember to keep the
head and your tools wet, as cutting a dry head may also cause the edges
to chip. |
| If your
doll's head has poorly defined edges to the eyes, use a red pencil to
mark the inner and outer edge as well as the top and bottom. You may have
to keep "refreshing" your pencil marks as they wash away in
water. |
| Beveling
the eyes goes very fast, so remember to go slowly and carefully. You may
want to use an old brush in the last stages of cleaning the eye to prevent
accidental chipping. |
| Turn your
head upside down frequently and look at the eye placement and size. Everyone
has a tendency to make one eye larger than the other, and by turning the
head and cleaning, this helps you keep the eyes equal. |
|
|
|
Cleaning
Wax from Eyes |
| Dip
a cotton swab into Avon's Skin-So-Soft® to remove excess
eye wax after permanently setting the eyes in your doll with with epoxy,
glue or plaster. The Skin-so-Soft® removes all traces of
the wax. Wipe the eye clean with a tissue before putting on the lashes.
|
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Berguenger Baby
Eye Sizes
|
|
| |
A
20" baby with an
open eye and open mouth requires a 22mm round
eye
A baby with open eyes and a closed mouth requires a 20mm eye
|
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