Is it okay to have smaller eyes then the company use?

Actually, the mm applies to the entire eyeball, so an 8mm eye is tiny (like what a PukiPuki wears), and a 20mm is so big you couldn't fit two in a Puki's head (maybe not even one). It is possible to find eyes in the size a doll wears with smaller sized irises. You can sometimes go down a size or two as well, without having a very noticeable gap. For example, my mini boy came with 16mm eyes, but I use 14mm and they fit just fine.

 

I'm almost always using a size smaller eyes than the company recommendations, especially in my big boys. Generally going one size up or one size down should still work with the doll and leave no or minimal gaps. Two size smaller is risky though...most of the time it means having noticeable gaps, which bothers some people, and doesn't bother others.

If I wanted to go two size smaller, I would get one size smaller eyes with custom iris size...or a two-size-smaller custom iris (Captured in Glass used to do requests like this). I actually have a doll like this: my Luts SSDF Flood needs 16mm eyes, but now he's wearing 16mm eyes with 6mm iris (this iris size would belong to 12mm eyes). I think he looks great with them - much more fierce Or as hagarenfangirl recommended - there are companies doing smaller sized irises...Dollshe instantly comes to mind. Their irises are usually one size smaller than the average...I have a Leeke Luke who needs 18mm eyes according to Leekeworld, and he's wearing 16mm Dollshe eyes...so he looks like he has 14mm eyes in. I was really afraid that it wouldn't work (especially as DS eyes also run a bit small in their overall size) - but it worked out well^^

 

I'll agree with the above, and add that smaller eyes can make a doll look more realistic, whereas larger ones can give them a slightly alien, but generally cute look. It all depends on the iris colour as well - Something that might look fine with a pale iris could look wrong with a dark one, and vice versa. I'd suggest either borrowing some smaller eyes at a meet, or buying cheap ones (Some acrylics sell for a couple of dollars a pair) and trying them out. Dress him in different outfits, photograph him, see if the new eyes float your boat. If not, you've not really lost much.

 

Also, if you are having trouble with gapping at the edge of the eye you could get some of the soft glass/silicone/urethane eyes. These have a bit of squishyness to them and can be moulded to the doll's eye-socket a bit. But I second the idea of getting low cost acrylics to test out sizes. I have a friend who found that 12mm eyes looked rather good in her DoC Tender Yen who is supposed to wear 16mm by doing that.

 

Here's an example for you. I was debating putting my RS Song in 12mm glass. He'd come with 14mm eyes and I'd bought him another 14mm pair, but wasn't happy with the way they looked. I did this picture for comparison's sake:



The left eye is 14mm glass, the right 12mm acrylic. The 14mm give him a sort of fey look, but I think the 12mm looks more balanced and mature. Also, his eye sockets are not even and the 12mm plays that down. He's now got a 12mm pair of glass that suit him very well:



So going one size smaller can be a real improvement.

 

I often go down a size from what the companies suggest -- especially with the guys, as it helps to make them seem a little less 'soft.' There's usually some wiggle room when it comes to eyes sizes.

 

I don't know too much about eyes other than the basics, but I do know that with my KDF girl, Luts recommended 16mm eyes so I got 16mm eyes... After getting her and putting them in, I quickly decided 16mm didn't work well. Recently at a meet I got some 14mms, and they were far better looking in her. But I do think it depends on the mold. For instance, I can think of a couple KDF molds that would take 16mm perfectly, but since my girl has smaller eye openings, she needs smaller eyes...

I definitely think it'd be a good idea to get a few pairs of cheaper acrylics in different sizes and try around. I wish I had done that instead of spending money on expensive glass eyes under the company's size suggestion, only to have them be the wrong size for that mold.
One suggestion I'd like to make, especially to anyone working with smaller sizes of eyes; get eye putty in a skin-tone color, not the blue or green stuff. There's sometimes a gap between the eye and the eye opening on the doll, and you can see the eye putty through that gap... Looks terrible in pictures to have bits of blue or green in the corner of your doll's eyes.

 

It depends on the doll, but I do think some of my dolls have smaller eyes than included with or suggested by the company. As long as they fill the socket with no huge gaps all is fair game

 

Smaug's exactly right. I put smaller eyes in my dolls in general, but 2 sizes down and I start to worry about gapping. Unless I get a custom set, I won't go 2 sizes down, because I am really picky about gaps.

You could always look through the picture request subforum to find examples :]

 

If you're looking for size 14mm with a smaller iris you might want to try Alice in Labyrinth eyes. the eye it's self is a 14mm but the iris is more like that of a 12mm.

Here's a picture of my RS Mei in AIL green eyes

 

If you go down a size it helps to bevel out the eyewell a little with a smaller beveler so that the eyes sit a bit farther forward, closing any gaps at the sides.

 

Everyone has their own taste. It's definitely ok to go as small as your doll can take, if that's what you want. I personally use smaller than recommended for most of my dolls.

 

I had 16mm eyes on a doll that was 'meant for' 18mm, and while I liked it that way still every single photo I published of her someone would always comment I have too small eyes on her and I felt bad