The Eyes have it!

I agree, eyes are an important factor for the doll's look. I knew I wanted green eyes for my MSD Kyoshi, it took me like 4 years to find the perfect eyes for him. He used from acrylics to urethanes and I was constantly changing his eyes but none of them were the right ones.

I guess you just have to keep changing their eyes until you get *that* feeling...I don't know how to explain that feeling but for me, it tells me when a doll or an item is just right =) Also, it is easier when you find your favorite eye maker. I found kyoshi's perfect eyes in Gumdrops Ethereal Angels, since then, I've been getting their eyes for all my dolls. I also like Dollshe eyes but Gumdrops are my all-time favorites.

When non-BJD people see my dolls, the first thing they comment on is the eyes.

 

Oooh I have a love-hate relationship with eyes! I loooooooove them and hoard them because of those very reasons you've listed - sometimes it's so hard to find the right eyes that it seems like a "waste" to sell the extra ones because they might be perfect for your next doll XD

Sometimes I get really lucky and the eyes that I pick out for a doll are perfect the first time, but I've got some dolls that I still haven't found the right pair for.

Other are right though, once you find the right pair of eyes you just know! It's like everything finally clicks into place and suddenly the doll is perfect!

 

It depends on the doll! One doll I´ve had for almost 9 years and he still wears the first pair of eyes I got for him because they were perfect! For others, it takes some more searching and it takes a while for their final look to form, and for others again, they don´t have a strict eye color, I get them new eyes based on what wig or what outfit they are wearing at the time. I love buying eyes, so I´m happy not all of my dolls wear only one pair all the time, and it helps to have a small collection of eyes when you get a new doll so you can try out what size and colour looks good on them.

 

I agree with Raouken, it depends on the doll. I usually have a general idea about the color, or what will go with the doll's face-up/style.
But I have the idea that picking eyes has become more difficult for me over the years.
With my earlier dolls it was usually decided after 2 or 3 pairs. But I'm currently in a situation where I bought about 6 -7 pairs already, but they just aren't right. I even have more on order for this doll
I also tend to keep a few eyes for a small collection. I usually try these first before I buy new ones.

 

My first doll, got him back in 2007. When I finally got the perfect eyes for him...it was 2012 and they had to be special ordered ^^;
I admit the colour isn't usually a thing that stumps me, most of them I already know what colour their eyes are going to be. The issue I get is with the sizes. I believe my Obitsu Haruka is the only doll of mine that has eyes listed as the 'default' size, so I have a collection of eyes in all sizes between 8mm and 18mm just so I can get the right size of eye for them that doesn't make them look childish or like a deer in the headlights.
Though having fun at the moment, as I thought I had the perfect colour eyes for my doll that would be shared by some of my other dolls, then a new pair in the same colour ended up coming my way and...they look so much better with him. So hunting down where those eyes came from in order to get more of them ^^;

 

I, too, have an "eyeball drawer" in an antique thread chest. The free eyes sent with my first doll actually worked well, and it was a year before I decided to go for a different color. Anyway, I bought a 5-pair lot of used eyes on eBay, and have been using them ever since to figure out what size and color I need to order. Another lucky break I got was buying a lucky bag of eyes from Erzaflora along with my custom order. They were all fantasy colors, so I was awakened to new possibilities. Maybe the most frustrating experience I've had was trying to get blood-red eyes; finally found the correct color at Safrin. Another problem I've had is buying eyes that look like they have a lot of detail like threading in the company photo, but seem rather dull in person. I think they take photos of the largest size eye, and the detail just isn't visible once you scale it down to 14 or 12 mm. I've learned a lot from the thread here "Realistic eyes 101" by MadamMauMau, and I advise anyone having measurement issues to read through it.[h=2][/h]

 

I mostly buy glass eyes from Kanis-Augen because they look real and have right size for my dolls. But I still think finding right one isn't easy at all. I have been bought some beautiful violet colored eyes but they didn't suit my doll. So now I have around 9 pairs of unused eyes at home (wrong purchasing, free eyes, etc)...Maybe I should sell them off some days...

 

I have less trouble with eyes than I do with wigs. I normally have eye colour chosen and go from there. I've only had one really fail pair so far and it wasn't the colour or size, it was that one eye was either darker or smaller than the other. It just looked odd.

Although I do have one doll that I've had for a few months now and she still has no eyes ... The size recommended for her is 14 mm but they looked ridiculous. I tried 12's and due to the shape of her eye wells they are extremely hard to position, she was in permanent 'stuck in the headlight' look. Next I'll try 10's ...

 

It always takes more eyes than I expect before I find the right ones. Although, I do have a few dolls who came in eyes that worked, or who glommed on to the first ones I've tried on them and looked fine.

By now I have a huge bag of eyes to try on my dolls... Way too many, but sometimes I really need them.

 

Honestly? I'm kind of a lazy butt when it comes to eyes xD One of my dolls came in yellow eyes and he'll probably be keeping them for awhile because they feel like they work alright even though the character he's based on actually has brown eyes. I don't quite have an eye for eyes yet (pfft), so it doesn't make a big difference to me in the overall look of the doll at this point. They'll probably be one of the last things I work on.

 

I will try out two-maybe three pairs of eyes per doll before I settle on a pair that I like for them.
for placeholder eyes, I will paint a pair of blank D.Eye.y's untill I get a pair in glass with a color that I'm satisfied with.

 

I have a few eyes that fit my dolls very nicely depending on the role they are playing. My dolls don't have one character, though they do have one name :P
I have just found the perfect eyes for Seiglinde though, and I don't really think I will change them again, she doesn't really have a different character as she is a little devil but in a cute way. Her eyes match her hair color perfectly, and I still will use her silver/grey eyes when she is more mischievous then normal, but her default eyes are now purple.

 

My worst so far is my DT Seola, Fawn. I got in my head that I was going to get her a pair of beautiful new, more realistic eyes. The first two pair I tried were technically the right size, but when I put them in - nothing but iris. No white showing at all. So I tried the next size down. Similar shade of blue, same size as her old ones but far more realistic - sounds good, right? Put them in and presto! The poor girl instantly transformed into one of those dead-eyed dolls from a bad horror movie. So I'm thinking I should probably just leave well enough alone.

I've changed my PKF Shiwoo's eyes several times, too, but keep going back to her default dark blue ones.

 

I would say I try three or four pairs of eyes before I settle on some.

I have had "first try" good luck a couple of times! Most of the time, I have NO idea what color I want for a BJD until I actually try the eyes IN the doll. I don't think I have ever successfully decided what I wanted for a BJD before they (and the eyes) arrived.


Duke has worn these eyes since he got his faceup, and I've never changed them or even moved them. I don't even LIKE pale eyes, but he is stunning in them. (Dollzone Yuu wearing SoulDoll eyes)

I have WAY too many pairs of 18mm glass eyes that came in my earliest BJDs, and almost NO one wears them any more, but I can't bear to sell them because they're defaults.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

My youngest doll finally has his original eyecolor which was a blue glass eyes.. It's cute and has the perfect shade of blue but there's still something missing.... his Aura totally changed when i switch him from Acrylic Lilac to Glass Blue eyes

 

Now that I've been in the hobby for awhile, I can usually get the eyes right on at least the second pair.

But for all the times I failed, I've ended up with a box full of glass and silicone eyes, and a bag full of acrylic eyes that I traded, sold or gave away with other sales until they were FINALLY all gone!

 

Before my first BJDs even arrived, I'd quite the little collection of eyes accumulated in preparation. The are very important and one of the best parts of photographing dolls. And never does it seem the eyes I had originally planned the ones the doll ultimately keeps. Something else that I wouldn't have even considered wins the vote. I will say I think I favor glass eyes over plastic or acrylic ones. Glass eyes just have a glint of life and depth to them the plastic ones never do and seem to look better in photographs, which was a bit of a disappointment when my long awaited acrylic ones did not meet my expectations. I'm hooked on glass eyes.