I hav e had varied results with painting eys on figures. Is there any exact science to painting eyes(so to speak) I could use some poitners or techniques.

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The Wiki is your friend

http://wiki.joecustoms.com/wiki/Advanced_Eye_Painting

Personally? I HATE painting eyes. Almost as much as I hate painting flesh/white/red/yellow. That's why I use factory heads whenever possible. When I do have to paint a head they'll either be one-eyed or wearing goggles/glasses or just look derpy.

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Agreed I H.A.T.E. painting eyes. I hate repainting eyes. Even talking with drbindy, who I consider one of the best, about his process, it is all a lot of back and forth trying to fix mistakes. Such a small area that makes such a big difference. We've had people request a video tutorial for painting eyes and it would all end with constant swearing.

"What you want to do is paint the whites of the eye white, duh. With a tiny brush, paint the top brow with whatever the hair- ____! Alright, well, you can just touch that up with a little flesh col- ____! No big deal, lets just paint the pupil with a solid black dot in the cent- Mother _______, ____ sucking piece of ____! *heavy breathe* Alright let's just start all over and paint the whole area white again...Son of a _____! Don't forget to clean the black off your brush first..."

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When I paint eyes, and I still use a 13/0 brush (very hard to come by as most stop at 10/0 and 11/0), I use a table top magnifying lens, and the "Helping Hands" tool that D got for me. When applying, especially the iris, I hold my breath upon the laying of the paint because your exhale can indeed dry that tiniest of paint applied to the tip of the brush.

After I prime my heads, and get the base color sprayed, I always set the heads aside on a large piece of double thick foam board suspended on Q-tips. Then I set a day to do just the eyes, first the titanium white parts, then when that dries, I set about putting in the iris colors and then, the pupils, whether dots or slits. The eye highlight, that tiny micro white dot to give the illusion of a light source, is the last thing before sealing.

This works for me, unless I am doing neon eyes for those creatures and humanoids who have eyes that glow in the dark. Then the process adds two more steps...adding a base neon over the titanium white, and checking application throughout with one of those Pirates of the Carribean LED black light rings.

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I once read somewhere that if you're doing lashes, you should put that paint down before you paint the sclera (white of the eye)

also: dang. whatever happened to macgyver? i miss her

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pluv is right about my technique. If there's anything I do, it's not settle til I'm content. I've scraped off perfectly fine eyes before if I felt I could do better. It's less about technique, and more about being willing to waste some time getting the two smallest parts of the custom right.

jm is also right - a technique jin saotome used to teach (if he's still around these 1:18 parts?) was to paint the eye black before painting it white. For some it's easier to gently put the white in up next to the edge of the black and wind up with an eyelash line that way, rather than paint a thin line for the lashes.

I've been dabbling a bit with some Faber-Castell S and XS micron pens for eye detail, and I see potential in those, if in need of a quick fix. They seem pretty smear proof compared to some other brands I've tried, but it's not quite the same coverage as paint.

Lastly, it's always good to pull up some reference pics of real eyes from time to time. I mean, minus the pros, most of us aren't getting all the detail in, but even just shape, proportion, when the iris meets the upper and lower lid, etc... It's easier to translate if you look at pics from time to time.

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Thats what I do. I paint the eye socket black first and then paint the white over it, leaving just a little of the black exposed to make an eyelash effect. The pupil comes last.

It looks kind of creepy when the eyes are solid black but I've found that to be the best method for replicating Hasbro's look.

Here's another tip -- go find MICRON pens. Any decent art supply store should have these. They are extremely fine point (especially if you get the 005 size) pens that use pigment ink. It takes a while to dry, but they're really great for painting eyelashes and pupils, and if you can find a store that carries colors, you can probably find ones that are good for irises. It takes a VERY steady hand, but if you're trying to paint eyes to begin with, you've probably already got that.

Also, for those in appropriate regions, I've got a great substitute for painting with toothpicks -- cactus needles. I'm serious. They're sturdier and they hold a point better.

First I would have to find a decent art supply store.

amazon

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Goldbug, you have my sympathy. But JoeMichaels has an excellent idea. I'm sure those pens are available there.

me and cactus needles no longer speak. ive always been afraid to use any kind of pens for the little details because I always worry its ink instead of paint and im not sure how well it will hold up?

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Just learned the hard way that micron pens (at least the brand I have) DO NOT LIKE when you paint over them with Vallejo paints ... should put down a coat of mod podge first ...

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Pretty sure they don't sell cactus needles in art supply stores.

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Well, there is that. I've never even seen cactus needles for sale at those little art and craft shows that show up in mall parking lots with all the exhibitors in tents.

JoeMichaels, didn't know that about the Micron pens. I've always tended to do Micron details LAST, anyway, in any painting procedure.

Newwavepop, it's true that they are pens and not paint, but on the harder plastic of G.I. Joe heads, for example, I've never had a problem. They hold up very well, and if you get any excess ink where you don't want it, just wait for it to dry and then scrape it off VERY gently with the tip of an X-Acto blade.