what are your favorite type/company of Eyes?

everyone likes different things,... you should just try a few and see what you like best. Looking at lots of different photos can help you decide too, to see which are your favorites.

Personally, I prefer glass and urethane eyes.
I've never heard of someone picking a type of eyes for "bragging rights" though. Most urethane and glass eyes are handmade... often by a single person, hence the price. (a lot of times it takes several months to get your eyes too...) It's not because it's "brand" or "bragging rights" or something.
Only aftermarket prices reflect that. Like for example Antique Rose glass eyes are worth more because the maker stoppped making them, and they are high quality glass eyes. I imagine that if they m aker was still making them, they'd be the same (retail price).

The reason I like glass and urethane better than glastic, plastic, acrylic and soft glass eyes are that, to me... with glass and urethane eyes, the whites of the eyes appear more reflective so to speak... to me they look brighter and more realistic. I also enjoy the way the light hits the glass, in general.
However there are plenty of people who prefer soft glass (for it's range of colors/designs and flexibility in the socket) or glastic or any number of other things. I don't think there is some "best" really....
Each type of eye has different positive qualities.

as a side note, to me urethane looks almost identical to glass, and so I don't place any preference, even though some people swear by glass.

 

Soom. Hoyes. They're kinda soft, so they fit in the eyewells-...well. And they have vibrant colors and the only really crazy patters I've seen in eyes. They also have gorgeous natural ones. Both my boys have soom eyes, and Xanara is also gonna have them. :]

 

Oh, the eye question...! It's a popular one. XD

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54350
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44088
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33425
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24400

There are others, too, if you do some quick searching. Obviously, the answer is going to differ from person to person; it's all just a matter of individual preference.

Personally, I like high quality glass best. For a long time, the pinnacle of "high quality glass" was a pair of Zoukeimura or Antique Rose eyes. Now, I've actually begun to prefer eyes from various independent Japanese sellers (sadly, I don't know the names for most of them) because of the varying styles and colors available. Glass eyes just seem to be the most "alive"; they tend to have wonderful depth, clarity, and vibrancy. I also just like the feel of hard glass compared to the oddly squishy soft glass eyes I've tried, and they're more durable than urethane eyes which can become scratched.

Anyway, you'll find a lot of information and different opinions in the threads I linked above. =^^=~*

 

My preference is for soft glass, either Masterpiece, Eyeco or Soom. I've not yet found a glass eye with the iris details these brands have. I like the color variations & striations in the iris as they look more real to me. For a quick, cheap fix though, Artistique eyes can't be beat. They're incredibly inexpensive acrylic eyes & yet have all the detailing in the iris that I'm so fond of. For really tiny eyes, they're all I buy.

 

I like glass eyes more than acrylic eyes.

 

i prefer schoefper paperweight eyes...lifelike and so pretty

 

Dollmore's eyes are not good.
I had both glass and acrylic eyes before.They take very well photos,when I receive the eyes,they were big difference from the photos.... = ="

Volks HG glass eyes,musedoll /Luts are much better!

 

So far I have tried: Luts Glass, Luts Acrylic, a few acrylics off ebay, Soom, and Gumdrops. I will be trying a few new brands in the future. I have a pair of Ginrolo on order, and I want to try some Zouks so.

However, for those I have tried and handled...

Gumdrops. ALL the way. They are smooth, mobile, do a lovely job of expressing character and depth. Soom eyes drove me crazy because it was so difficult to position the eyes. Glass and hard eyes make it so much easier.

Though, for the reasons I stated, glass eyes are good all together. So are some acrylics. Though, if you are going to acrylic I would suggest Souldoll eyes, because from photos they look to be high quality in comparison.

 

Eyecandies are made from urethane and really are amazing. Their colours just seem to leap out of dolls - incredibly wonderful and vivid. I'm even planning to swap out my Zoukeimura ones (very high quiality glass eyes you can only get with Volks FCS) and replacing them with Eyecandies - I'm hooked!

 

How about depth?

I've seen some eyes that are perfectly dome-shaped, and some with the iris & pupil 'bulging' out. In you guys' experience, which one looks better?

And how does positioning go with completely round eyes, and simple half-spheres?

 

I love the urethane eyes the best~ Though admittedly I've never seen AR or Zoukeimura IRL to see the detail inside, I like the texture on the iris of the urethane eyes most of all. Eyecandies are my favorites (though I haven't seen the gumdrops IRL yet), though I've seen some lovely Enchanted Doll eyes as well (I own a pair of urethane cat eyes that are awesome).

So, it depends on what you're going for. I like vivid color and realistic texture, so urethane are the best for me.

 

I like glass and urethane. I'm not fond of squishy silicone. The squishy silicone picks up dust too much.

It's all in what your preference is as Aimee said.

What I look for in glass is to have a high dome and nice patterning. I prefer solid glass to hollow blown glass. It has more weight and has better depth too to it.

I look for the same in urethane.

Cost of eyes often is because it's hand made or has extra finishes to it. Zouks are cut and sanded flat on the back side which makes it great to put them in without the stem digging into your finger.

I buy them for look not for bragging rights.

 

The pupils bulging out are called paperweighted eyes

I find solid half spheres easier to put in that solid spheres. Bowl shaped or hollowbacked ar aweful to put in as you need to fill in the cavity with putty for the eye to stay put

 

I love Ginrolo
and Gumdrops
Eyecandies too ...the colours are gorgeous

I have had Masterpeice ...but they always end up with weird airbubbles in them
I prefere Soom
I have had a pair for some time and they are still perfect

 

Glass eyes come in many grades and makes. Some cheap glass eyes have bubbles and have no depth or can be cloudy in that case acrylics would look better than those.

Yes you can tell the difference between plastic and acrylic in person once they are in your doll's eyes.

Some glasseyes have small pupils others have big pupils some small pupil ed eyes can be corrected with eye placement so they are looking up

These are glass eyes I got from ginarolo not the most expensive but not the cheapest either but see how they have depth and nice pattening. These are paperweighted and have "bulging" cornea thing going



For brands so far I'm impressed with
Ginarolo Glass Eyes
Urethane Eye Candies, Gumdrops

I saw some Zouks in real life an I'm impressed with their quality and craftsmanship but they maybe pricey for some


I prefer Masterpiece Acrylics to their softglass but they are hollow bowl shaped and are a pain to put in. They look nice in real life but reflect badly in pictures with bright flash

 

I've had acrylics, glass, and sillcone/glastic/soft glass eyes, and right now...I don't know.

Acrylics are at the bottom of my list, I got all of my clan with them, and now the only one who still has them is Weros.

Glass (the $5 Kemper eyes) has made Gaia's eyes look so much brighter in photos, and they look more natural then a lot of other glass eyes I see. I will be getting specific Zouks for my two planned FCS dolls, so I will reserve judgement for awhile until I see them.

I recently purchased several sets of Eyeco softglass eyes, and I am quite impressed. They have lovely color, photograph a million times better then my acrylics, and are squishy. :3 Soom is nice too, but I actually prefer the more natural colors of Eyeco.

Ah yes, Kasada. Kasada has one Dollmore acrylic red eye in, as well as a homemade sculpey eye with several layers of gloss. Kasada's Dollmore eye photographs great, and the homemade eye reflects light decently.

I may try out the illustrious Gumdrops with Weros, when I have a bit of spare cash. :P

~Anrui

 

My favourite eyes are produced by the Japanese eyemaker Silver. Extremely beautiful, vibrant glass eyes that come in the most amazing colours. They photograph so well, and thanks to the larger colour and size selection, I like them more than Zouks. Of course, they're often harder to get and just as expensive, but to me, worth every penny. Zouks have great depth and I would love to get my hands on a pair of Antique Rose eyes.

I just got my first pair of urethane, and I do like the brightness. I'm a little wary about how delicate they are though, my glass eyes can take a beating and be just fine.

Cheap eyes look cheap, IMHO.

 

I have a variety in my dolls, according to what I like for that particular doll's character/persona.

Here are a breakdown of the types of eyes (according to my own experience) and what I found they were like:

1."HG" glass. These are pretty standard and seem to be made by several anonymous companies in Asia. They've been around for a long time, as any oldtime porcelain doll making class alumni can tell you. Most fit BJD pretty well, but I've had a few that were either too small for their advertised size, or too large. Volks sells these (and may even have them custom made for them) on their webiste and furnishes them with most of their standards and limiteds. You can see Volks HG type eyes at volksusa.com They are solid glass and may have stubby stems at the back. You can also find HG type glass eyes on ebay. You can find them from 12.00-30.00 a pair depending on brand and size.

2. Other Glass eyes. These sometimes do not fit BJD that well. The pupil/iris ratio tends to be large compared to the eyewhite. Some brands I've used: Hand of England, Special Eyes (both distributed by our own Ginarolo), Kanis Augen (these are hollow German-made glass eyes with a low dome). I've also used some "Flatback" glass eyes that are made in asia and distributed by Global, Kemper and others. These fit BJD pretty well, and have a "realistic" look. The flatbacks are cheap at about 6-12.00 a pair (depending on where you find them and the size), but the others retail at about 25-40.00 a pair.

If you want to get rarified and expensive you can try to get ahold of Zouks (about 125 a pair) which are made by Volks for their FCS dolls. These are gorgeous eyes and I find if the doll is worthy of them you don't regret the price. Antique Rose eyes look just like Zouks to me.
Silver, Hitomiya and Orderhouse are some handmade Japanese glass eye artists. Sometimes there are irregularities in a pair, but the unusual/intense colors/styles make them worth the expense and trouble of acquiring them (YJ via Rinkya etc).

3. Acrylic. I've used Volks, Volks Metallic and a host of other brands. They're generally inexpensive (1-15.00 a pair). Some are downright gorgeous, others are "meh". I have a pair of Onsumla eyes in my U-Da girl, because they suit her character, but the quality is not that great considering their price. They should be like 5.00 each... not 25.00 and up!

4. Urethanes. I only use these when I need eyes that are 'unreal', such as albino. My Dollstown Elf Soph wears 16mm Champaign albino Gumdrops eyes. They're gorgeous, but there's some worry about yellowing (They're made of resin) and scratching (if you change eyes a lot). They're also expensive at 60.00 a pair and up, and you have to order them specially and have a long wait (up to 3 months!).

5. Silicone. Lots of people swear by these and love them, but I loathe them! They lose their shine at the slightest touch (get dirty and dusty) and they are flexible, but not that durable. What I mean by this, is the color-disc that is a plastic or paper insert can become separated from the clear cornea, and the light never reflects properly again. They look like they've got bubbles. I also think they're overpriced at about 25.00 a pair depending on the brand.

Sorry to be long-winded, but I hope this helps! XD
Raven