hi,
I was wondering what you do about your deer having bug eyes,the manikin had pre set eye sockets but it still appeared to be bug eyed,and could any one tell me how to measure in mm,I just guessed on the deer i did and ordered 26 mm eyes.this is my first ever!
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can't help you on those preset eye forms I don't use them but generally buck forms will call for a 32 mm eye it will show in the supply catalog. If you want to measure the eye measure with a pair of calipers, once measured multiply the standard measurement by 25.4 and that with give you the measurement in mm's
ex. 1.259 in.x 25.4= 31.978 mm rounded off 32 mm
One thing to remember looking at your form without the hide on is the thickness of the hide and hair is going to add more proportion to the form. If once you're tucking the eyes things still don't look right around the eyes add some clay (equal amounts to both eyes) that will fill up the fleshy areas. Goodluck
Jeff, You can get small calipers from some of the suppliers that measure in mm-inexpensive tool. As for the bug-eyed look, probably you have eyelids tucked in too far. Look at a closeup photo of a deer and notice how the eye lids lay over the edges of the eye. Also when you are skinning the deer you can see that much of the eye ball is behind the lids-your own eye is like this too. Deer can open their eyes widely and even can look fairly bug-eyed but it's not the look most of us strive for. Remember that having a little loose skin at the rear of the eye allows free movement in taxiing the eye skin around- if the skin is pulled too tightly back it is harder to get good lid position. Also thinning that skin in the eye area is very important. Enjoy, Aaron H.
Just wanted to make sure you are pushing the eye all the way back till it makes contact with the form right? I have used pre set eye forms for years and love them, but you must make sure the eyes are pushed all the way back! Do not fill the eye socket with clay, insted fill the back of the eye with clay first and add clay to the out side of the eye when its set. this will help make sure the eye is seated in the eye socket. also a larger eye may be a good idea I use mostly 28/32 mm eyes but on smaller deer will use a 26/30. Hope this helps! Joe
What kind of eyes were you using? If you were using concave/convex eyes, and the form was sculpted for an aspheric type eye, then the eyes will stick out farther.
Concave/convex are an older style eye, and most new forms are not sculpted for them. You can use them, but you have to dremel out the eye socket a bit to set them deeper.