I'm mounting my first fish using the eye sockets. My question is...do you put the eye sockets in and put the eyes in to get the proper alignment and then remove the eyes prior to painting? Or should I just stick the sockets in and try to lign them up without putting the eyes in first? Any help is appreciated..
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then I pop the glass eye out for painting, easy to replace after painting.
You can do it without, but it's tough to figure out the focal plane without them. When the mache is dry, pop the eyes out, clean them, paint the fish, install them, and then gloss the whole fish to lock the eyes in the sockets.
Before painting fish I put oil based clay over the eye.I take it off before I gloss the fish.
I started to use Aqua Eyes, available from Matt Thompson. They fit great without the sockets and I have received alot of complements from my customers. I have a smallmouth with the Aqua Eyes hanging in my showroom next to one with Flex Eyes. I have had several customers comment on how much more "life" the one with the Aqua Eyes has. They look bright when you receive them, but after you have the skin painted and the mount glossed they tone down and look great. Try a few pairs. Good luck.
John