Doll Eye Tutorial

ArtbyJaneWalker · #1 2010-05-06, 10:54am

I'm posting this link again because I still receive requests from doll makers for doll eyes. The demand does not seem to be being filled! I will put a link on my site to anyone's site who has tiny glass eyes for sale.

A few details--please read:

I do not teach. Please do not ask me to make an exception for you. I cannot.
I do not have any eyes to send to people.
I do not have equipment for sale.
I do my best to reply to requests for more information. I appreciate people respecting that I may not feel well enough to accede to some requests.

Here is the link:
How to Make Glass Doll Eyes

As an aside: I have an appt. with a specialist who might find a real diagnosis for my tendon problems! Fingers are crossed.

Ashmo · #2 2010-05-07, 9:17am

Thank you for this. I have just been asked by a couple people in the last week to make some doll eyes. Hope I can figure something out for them.
I appreciate the post, thanks!

Beadanna · #3 2010-05-07, 9:59am

Good luck with the specialist Jane. Keep us posted.

You are very generous to put this up. I won't be doing them any time soon - having too much fun in my new studio but it is very well written info for those that want to do it.

I would be charging more than $6.50 for those pairs given the amount of prep time and pairing as well as the making of the eyes.
I spose I wouldn't sell any at more than that if it's the going rate.

ArtbyJaneWalker · #4 2010-05-07, 10:54am

Anna--Thanks! I am so tired of being chronically ill. There is hope that it is Lyme Disease (in spite of negative test results) or a similar/related disease, and can be treated and controlled, if not cured.

As for pricing--that is just what I charged. I did market research and most prices for similar eyes (mainly German factory-made eyes) when I was making them ranged from about $4.50 to $8.50 per pair. I simply split the difference. I probably should not list the price I charged, but people were asking. I don't think people should feel limited by my prices.

ArtbyJaneWalker · #5 2010-05-10, 5:44pm

Prices for these types of eyes are now around $9 from what I see.

I just Googled "Miniature Glass Eyes" and did not find any of the people I have listed who say they are making them. Folks, you need to use keywords and promote your work by writing descriptions for the search engines to find. I now do greyhound motif fabric design. I only started a few months ago, yet when I Google "greyhound fabric" several sites featuring my fabrics come up on the first results page. Marketing is a pain, I know, but if you want to make money you usually do have to do it.

LightwingCreations · #6 2010-05-20, 9:12am

What a wonderful tutorial Jane, thanks so much for sharing it!

CO_Phantom · #7 2010-07-16, 8:35am

Well, I finally did it! I went out and made some eyes yesterday. Pictures are coming, they're still in the kiln.

I did blue ones, those seemed easiest from the instructions in the tutorial. I had started with the green, but with no proportions, I got a funky color for my first stringer and decided to pull the plug and sleep on it. The color I got was a purple/cocoa/grey/brown color. Kinda neat, but definitely NOT green!

Depending on how they look (they looked good yesterday) I may be in the doll eye business.

-Amy

CO_Phantom · #8 2010-07-16, 10:18am

So, here's my favorite pair. I am trying to get other pictures to post as well. I have about 20 decently matched pairs (I've been staring at them so long I think I'm crosseyed though!)

-Amy

Janelle Zorko · #9 2010-07-16, 10:32am

I've been doing them too but getting them photographed is proving difficult for some reason. I want good, clear photos that don't emphasize pupil size quite so much. I'm working on my formula. Even those that look really, really closely matched in person look different "on film" (digital actually). I guess the camera doesn't lie!

CO_Phantom · #10 2010-07-16, 8:03pm

They are really hard to photograph for sure! Of course, this pic was with a cel phone camera because of computer issues at the moment. So, I apologize for the crappy picture, but I'm thrilled to death about the way they turned out. I have about 25 matching pair, I will look at them again tomorrow and see if I still think so.

-Amy

Rose Leslie · #11 2010-07-17, 6:50am

The eyes you made are awesome. They do look like eyes.

Thank you so much for the tutorial. Will try that in the future.

CO_Phantom · #12 2010-07-17, 10:30am

Let's see how this looks. It's a few more of the pairs that I made.

-Amy

ArtbyJaneWalker · #13 2010-07-17, 11:11am

They are a great start! There is no such thing as a perfect match, but as you do more you develop a feel for which work together. I always sorted in direct sunlight--it was the only way I could see them well enough. I used a good digital camera mounted on a tripod to photograph them.

Tish · #14 2010-07-17, 12:58pm

Thank you for the tutorial, Jane!

ArtbyJaneWalker · #15 2010-10-15, 5:30am

Hi folks,

No one has stepped up to fill the demand, yet! I have 6 people listed on my site as eye-makers, but only two have any for sale, and they each have just one pair! When I was making them, I usually had dozens of pairs for sale. I did not photograph each, I just showed examples on my website. And they often sold as fast as I could make them.

I was making a profit from the eyes that amounted to an income of $15 per hour--and I was a very slow worker. Anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to making eyes will build a customer-base. I still receive requests for eyes, and I stopped making them years ago.

PS: I am feeling much better! I finally got a diagnosis of a systemic bacterial infection (Bartonella--transmitted by fleas, ticks, and other biting insects), and have been treated. If it doesn't flare up again in the next few months, I'll know I'm cured. I don't plan to go back to making eyes, though I may make mini marbles again someday. I do still have the remnants of repetitive stress injuries to one hand, and I have moved on to other creative endeavors.

BellaBean · #16 2010-10-15, 5:46am

Glad that you are FINALLY diagnosed correctly and are doing better Jane!

I plan on giving this tutorial a go once I get a bit of time to myself (It's hard working full time, being a mom of a teen and a 2 year old... and finding time to torch!). I will PM you if I get some decent pairs that I am willing to sell.

alb6094 · #17 2010-10-15, 5:52am

Jane I'm so happy to hear you have an accurate diagnosis! I'm glad this thread came up again too, I'll have to give these a try now, I was too chicken to attempt it when I first saw it back in May.

VitreousTyro · #18 2010-10-15, 9:52pm

I have tried several times, but so far not so successful! I'll keep at it.

Glad to hear you are on the mend.

- Jill

ArtbyJaneWalker · #19 2010-10-16, 4:34pm

Thanks for the well-wishes!

It took me some time to get really good at it, too--partly because I didn't have much time, either, as a full-time parent with a young child. Wow, I don't even remember how I managed to work at all, now... I guess it was an hour early in the morning (kid was never an early riser), and maybe an hour in the evening after DH got home.

rosemarie23 · #20 2010-10-22, 11:17am

This is a very well written tutorial on making the eyes. I will give them a try.

I am very happy for you that you have a diagnosis now and are hopefully on the mend.

Carols Glass · #21 2010-10-26, 11:06am

I don't know if I asked this question before but are all the colors listed to make eyes transparent or opaque or some of each?

Thanks in advance.

ArtbyJaneWalker · #22 2010-11-12, 7:52pm

Sorry, I haven't been here in a while! Got busy with other things. The glass is opaque except the pupils which is the transparent black/purple.

I wanted to add that, once you have eyes, offering some on Etsy or eBay can help get you noticed and into the search engines. Also, there are miniature craft sites that list suppliers at no charge. The more places (in addition to my site) that you list your eyes, the quicker customers will find you. I will keep sending people to the list on my site, of course, but please don't assume that that will be enough--I don't know how many people still go there to look for eyes since it has now been 3 years since I stopped making them. Personally, my new business has taken off since I started selling on Etsy. It is one of the best places right now for getting your products noticed by the people who are looking for them.

LoneTreeStudio · #23 2011-01-01, 5:56pm

Thanks for the great tutorial Jane! I've not worked with murrini too much, but these look like fun!

Quick question -- I did a search for the sequin pins you suggested, and they look like base metal. Did you ever have a compatibility problem (or am I just looking at the wrong thing?

)

Thanks!

CO_Phantom · #24 2011-01-01, 7:42pm

I ordered the sequin pins from the site Jane mentioned in her tutorial. I didn't have a problem with them. Just barely heat the head of the pin before smooshing it into the glass. Too much heat, of course, will fry the pin, which is true regardless of what the pin is made of.

-Amy

LoneTreeStudio · #25 2011-01-03, 11:32am

Great -- thanks Amy! Those look like they'll be fun to try out

ArtbyJaneWalker · #26 2011-03-13, 10:11am

Thanks, Amy, for answering! I don't stop by here as often as I should. People still ask me for doll eyes...

beaderjean · #27 2011-05-19, 7:59pm

Thanks for the Tut! I have made murrini eyes before but never tried to make them into doll eyes (putting them on pins).

I just tried my first murrini today and had issues with keeping the irises round while melting them down. I think it may be the headpins I am using (I don't have those sequin ones - yet!). I have thin, regular 2" base metal headpins and they bend easy and make my eyeballs go crooked.

I was also wondering about the overall shape. I have gotten more of a donut-shaped eye, not a perfectly round one. This may also be an issue of the pin because I noticed that the glass really didn't want to melt-down around my headpins.

I will keep plugging away at this - - it's really neat and I have already had requests (for the last couple of years) from some gals wanting doll eyes because they've seen my Dragon Eyes.

Here are my pics (sorry for the blurryness!). 1st one is the 4 decently round ones, the 2nd is the side view and the 3rd are ones that went a little wonky.

I am definitely ordering those pins to see if that will make a difference.

Melinda · #28 2011-05-19, 10:59pm

Quote:

mini marbles again someday

Yay!! I love your mini marbles. If you make some, let me know.

sparrow · #29 2011-05-20, 12:04am

Just found this tutorial - I wasn't planning on making glass eyes, but I think I'll need to have a go now - looks like fun!

beaderjean · #30 2011-05-20, 1:08am

I just found this tutorial recently too! It is pretty fun, at least the eye-making part (not so much the murrini, at least for me). And after having that murrini made, I got 26 eyes done in about an hour and still have approximately have half the murrini left!

I just need to work on getting the little irises to come out round. I did order those pins today, tho, so hopefully that will help!

Thanks again Jane for posting this (even tho I am a year or so late on viewing it). I just wish I would of seen it sooner - - I would of been making them for sure!

Got some new blue and brown stringers done to try again tomorrow. I think my blues look better than the last ones, we will see! :0)