Acrylic, Glass Or Silicone Eyes?

I have yet to play with any silicone eyes...but so far I prefer glass to acrylics. Yoru has acrylic eyes in right now, but he has some spare glass ones and I've found they track much better.

 

I quite enjoy the silicone eyes, they just seems to fill the eye easier - plus they feel neat!
Though Glass would be a close second.

 

That's precisely why Yoru's default eyes are acrylic. ^_^; You can find some good deals on glass eyes in the marketplace though, once you have access.

Silicone eyes are a little more expensive, but I've been thinking about buying a pair of the SOOM ones. I've done a lot of browsing through user pics and they do appear give a much different look than the other two types. Should be fun to play with. ^_^

 

Urethanes: the quality of the eyes, the way they catch and reflect the light and the detail and customisation potential are way above any of the other options here - they may be pricey compared to the other materials on offer, but they're worth every penny - check out the threads for Mystics, Gumdrops and ED eyes in the requests forum, for a start. My guys wear nothing but urethane eyes, and I'd never go back to glass/acrylic/silicone nowadays.

 

I've got acrylics of different brands and can attest that though acrylics are less expensive--if you find the right company, they are every bit as lovely as more expensive eyes.

And I do have other eyes. Glass eyes, Silicons and Urethane eyes too. (Though I may have given my last Urethanes away. I really dislike them) And though not all acrylics are attractive eyes (I have some soozy ugly ones) they can also be amazing. I have some that are celadon green from Junky spot that look almost TOO real, they're so lovely.

In short, I choose an eye based upon it's look and my familiarity with that eye company--not based upon what the eye is made of.

 

I prefer urethane. The urethane eyes that I have tried out-perform my other eyes in terms of clarity and catching the light. Plus they just fit better, in my opinion.

I have all kinds of eyes, though. The acrylics I have don't have as intense colors or as wide a range of colors, and I don't like the stems, which tend to catch on the head hook and move if space is tight in there, or the hollow backs, which collect putty that is hard to get out. The stemmed acrylics I have are shaped funny, too, and tend to leave gaps.

Although I have heard that some people have no trouble with silicone, the masterpiece and soom silicone eyes that I have had are horrible lint magnets.

Glass eyes are my second-favorite eyes. Kanis augen in particular has a good level of detail and some great colors, for instance, but not in as wide a range as the urethanes that are out there.

 

You can find good eyes in all types of materials, but I prefer urethanes! I make them myself so I am biased I honestly never bought any professional urethane eyes because of the cost and wait times but I do like how they look in photos.

I tried silicone eyes and couldn't get over how fuzzy they get if you ever drop them on a carpet, or how dull they are if you get an inch of eye putty on them. They're just so hard to clean and the ones I have have the hugest lenses ever, so they make my dolls look bulgy-eyed.

Glass eyes are only good if you get the more expensive ones. Though I do not like the white threading that a lot of glass eyes have.

Acrylics hold a special place in my heart. However now that I've owned different kinds I have come to dislike the pixels you can see in acrylics (particularly Dollmore acrylics). Their tendency to crack around the edges is annoying. There are some good acrylics out there though; Glib are ok and Pupapa eyes are the best I've encountered. I would like to learn how to make them one day!

 

I voted 'other' for Urethane eyes (such as Mystics, ED, Gumdrops, etc...)

I can't do acrylics... though I do appreciate there are some nice acrylics out there like Soom and Souldoll. For me, they're too flat, and if I spend the money on nice acrylics I may as well spend the extra and get Urethane or glass.

I have had some great glass eyes, my Muse use to wear a lovely pair of Ginarolo glass. You can get good glass eyes without having to spend a lot, and they have better depth and colour than acrylic.

Silicone I didn't know much about until I got some Eyeco, I find them very useful for dolls with particular eyewells, or dolls which need a more realistic iris size (Most silicone eyes have a higher proportion of white to iris)

I love Urethane eyes for their depth, clarity, colour and ability to get custom orders. I can understand why people shy away from urethane's because they do cost more; especially if you're trying to find the right colour for your doll, splashing out on expensive eyes isn't so great. It helps that for most of my dolls I know exactly what colour I want for them. Some of them I need low domes for because of their eyewells, and I also need special type eyes (albino, etc...) so the ability to specify those details really helps.

 

I would have liked a multiple choice - I usually prefer glass eyes, but silicone can be very gorgeous and for some dolls a better choice.

 

Yeah, I bought some eyes off ebay once and they were pretty, but they looked like the old fashioned German paperweight eyes for antique porcelain dolls. So they "looked" like doll eyes. It was a little creepy. I think they were "Tallina" brand name.

I ordered some to replace them called "Real Brand" acrylics. Some dealers only carry a few colors and some carry the wider range. But they are pretty.

Now I tend to treat my supplies a little weirdly, being a doll sculptor. So when I get an acrylic eye that I really think is dazzling--I sometimes take liberties with it. I have been known to drizzle the occasional, faint veining across the sclera part of the eye. And to increase reflection, I sometimes throw on a light coat of high gloss sealant on the eye before I put it in the doll's head.

 

Keep in mind that eyes need some maintenance too. They don't last forever, especially if youre as carefree as I am xD

(this is my own fault for not being a proper dolls' face protector, but) The glass eyes I've had in a doll for a year or so, got scratched (and foggy) over time. : P
Silicone eyes don't break easily by a simple dropping-on-the-floor, but they get very dusty and gather all the crap. (Like animal fur, tiny pieces of fabric/yarn etc.). So you have to wipe them at times (Especially if your enviroment isn't exactly clean. I never actually bother to wipe the silicones I had in a doll once, so mine were always either dirty or- please don't shoot me- recently licked.)... And no they will not look good dirty. They will just make it obvious that your doll can't close their eyes. : D
Glass eyes don't gather dirt so easily, but if ya drop them, they might shatter. I haven't managed to break any of my eyes, but still! They're just glass after all.
Acrylics yellow over time (so do silicones). They react to different eyeputties more readily than glass eyes. They're harder to clean than glass eyes (please, no nailpolish remover on acrylics ^u^;;;; ).


So yeah. Pick your poison.

 

For me, each have their own pros and cons. At first, I started with acrylic so I could see which general color I liked best. I then switched to glass because I loved the realistic shine it had (IRL). ><

 

Urethanes! Glass eyes work as well, but acrylics often pixelate, and silicones have for me often yellowed. Admittedly, urethanes can also yellow if not properly taken care of, but as long as you show them similar care that you do to your dolls, they're far superior (in my opinion) in color, clarity, and the detail.

 

I voted glass, though I use all three of those. I think it depends on the doll and the person. Acrylics (good ones) have a more realistic look than glass, silicone can too, but glass catches the light beautifully and tracks better. I've not had much problem with lint on my Soom silicones, and a damp corner of a napkin or q-tip takes that all off anyway.

I'm trying to move everyone to glass except the one with the Soom silicones, but I like my acrylics a lot as well. I've simply not been willing to spring for Urethanes, yet. I've not seen any that looked much nicer than glass to me, not nice enough for me to be willing to pay much more for them. I do want to try some in the future, maybe I'll change my mind. For now I prefer glass, but will use whatever seems to work best for each particular doll.

 

I prefer urethane eyes. I like their detail and colors, but they are expensive. I would like to get all my dolls urethane eyes but for now most of them wear glass because it is more affordable. I do like the look of glass and they are easy to clean -- they have good depth and color, but not the detail of urethanes. In time I would like to eventually get a pair of urethanes for all my dolls.

I do not like acrylic or silicone eyes. Silicone eyes have that pixelated pattern since the iris is still a printed image -- same with acrylics. I really don't like this affect so I stay away from them. However, I do have a pair of Soom silicone eyes that I love -- they are the default Amber ones and are silver glitter, so there is no pixelation to worry about and they look nice.