what are your favorite type/company of Eyes?

Up until now, I've only had Dollmore acrylics. It's amazing the difference the eyes make... now that I've got urethane Eye Candies for him, I don't think I could ever use acrylic again. They're so flat and lifeless in comparison. The Eye Candies almost make it seem like he's staring back.

 

I like SOOM eye.

 

I adore the look of Dollflower eyes that I've seen in photographs. They just look like they've got an internal light-thing going on, the glow is epic! I would love to own a pair one day, or at least see them in real-life...

I hav a few eye-brands at home now. My favourites are ginarolos and gumdrops, so far. I love the colour selection for gumdrops, they're all immensely attractive and have lovely depth... almost to the point where they look so... uh, tasty! They look edible, haha! The first day I put them in my girl I couldn't take my eyes off her, she looked sooo pretty!

 

I love Soom eyes. I got a pink pair when I got my Afra and they are the best eyes I've had.

 

Specifically, Kanis Augen eyes are my favourite.

They are glass eyes, and even though they have low domes, they are incredibly reflective and have a lot of depth to them. I think they look the most realistic out of any eyes I've seen in person and I tend to like the lighter colours because they are very striking when any sort of natural light hits them. However, out of my two pairs of Kanis Augen eyes, the dark blue is amazingly beautiful.

The main downside to Kanis Augen eyes is that they are difficult to obtain outside of Europe. Some companies carry them from time to time (like Leekeworld and less known, Coolcat) but because they originally come from Germany, the shipping for at least the USA as I know it, is very very expensive (something like 70 dollars per pound, possibly due to the exchange rate, not sure).

 

It's been a while since this thread first kicked off, and I'm bumping this question again to see how collectors are feeling about the eyes that are available now. There are a number of new companies and styles and I'd like to hear what everyone likes best. Always looking for those perfect eyes!

 

I have ordered this doll: No faceup, no wig. I am now wondering about eyes. I want to get a pair of eyes that are 'cornflower' blue. I would like my eyes to be as realistic as possible.

I'd like to hear from all of you about what type of eye is your favorite and why. So, glass, soft glass etc..what is your favorite and why.

Thanks,

Dilly Dally

 

I LOVE urethane eyes, especially droprops: http://www.crysania.com/droprops/forsale.html
Sadly the releases can be very long in-between and sell out at lightning speed
There are many urethane makers out there though and they are definitely worth looking into!
But I also really like eyeco eyes. They can cost more than acrylic & a lot of glass eyes but IMO
the quality is really good & I haven't been disappointed yet. I believe they have Cornflower blue's
and I've always bought them on ebay from a seller in the US. Congrats on waiting for the arrival
of your boy, I hope you find the perfect eyes for him!

 

In looking further for eyes, I keep coming across Reborn - what is that? I have a feeling it is not a BJD, so sorry if it is an OT question.

Dilly

 

You're right, they aren't BJD (They're the silicone realistic babies), but they often use the same type of eyes BJDs can use - glass, acrylic or urethane. Mostly glass though

As long as you like the look of them and get the right size and type you want, it doesn't matter too much where they've come from. I know a few DoArs have bought eyes from Taxidermy eye sites to get the specific look they've wanted.

I've never seen a pair of glass or acrylic eyes that shine like urethane does, so I tend to want urethanes for my dolls. Although I've only bought one pair, I'm definitely planning to buy more from Enchanted Doll.

 

Two more eyeball questions. In this context, what does paperweight and bakeable mean?

 

Haha, you've got me on the paperweight one. Bakeable is again for the Reborns - when you paint them, you can bake them to seal the paint (which sounds waaaaay creepier now I think about it). Bakeable eyes mean you can put them in before painting and firing Since we don't tend to put BJDs in the oven on purpose, we can ignore that

 

I love Gumdrops eyes from etherealangels but it's so difficult to buy one from them because they take too long to accept orders or pre-orders and I don't even know how I managed to get into one of their group orders and get one pair of green eyes (the color of money). They are until now my favorite pair of eyes and I would buy all my crew gumdrops eyes if it wasn't because of the fact that they are always out of business when I check their website >_>

 

Makoeyes are definitely my favorite. They are really reasonable for the price and they are nice, bright and clear.

 

OOoh, Eyes! My favorite topic!

I don't really have a favorite company that I get my eyes from. I'm all over the place with eyes, I've got acrylics, glass, a pair of silicon and a pair of urethanes.

I do like the color and shine of my single pair of urethane. *lol* Which are eyecandies (I think.) But they are very expensive, and the pair I brought wasn't the exact color I was expecting. For the High price of urethanes I think I'd rather see them in person before I actually buy them.

My single pair of silicons are neat, but they are starting to 'silver' which happens when the iris is separating from the lens, so not so happy about that. -_-
I've had a pair of Sooms, but the double dome was a little off putting for me so I ended up selling them along with a pair of Masterpiece eyes which was badly made and was 'silvering'

I like my glass eyes, the one from Volks are pretty, but I don't mind getting them from other companies as long as the colors are bright and the threading is even.

I have actually very few company-made acrylics, and have only one pair of company made acrylics that I favor. (Which was taken out of a second-hand baby doll. *LOL*) Most low-cost Acrylics lack Shine and Depth which putt most people off when they buy Acrylics. I'd say shop around! Photos on websites can only show so much, you need to see Acrylics eyes in person to see which have the high shine and depth.

I think that I remember a company called "Glastic eyes " that made very high quality acrylic eyes.

I would like to buy a pair of Zoukes just to inspect their clarity and depth. But they are expensive to just buy for curiosity.

 

Glass eyes, and more specifically eyes by Japanese maker Miyabi. All of their eyes are one-off sets, though they usually make about four very similar sets per release. The threading is beautiful, and they usually incorporate several different colors into the iris with amazing watercolor-style blending. I have yet to find a comparison! The only thing is waiting around for them to release exactly what you're looking for. They have a customized request order, but my Japanese isn't good enough to order it :/

Second would have to be Japanese maker Silver--her eyes are gorgeous too, but often combine only two colors and that very distinct--one for the iris and one for the rim. Still they are very high quality and I prefer them to Zouks, which have always seemed kind of flat to me.

That said I do have some Ginarolos, which look beautiful in a couple of my yo's. It's pretty hard to find nice eyes for dolls with 10mm and under eyes, though I did get a nice set at Dolk for my yo size Erzulie.

As for other kinds of eyes, urethanes are good but for me I don't like the unnatural glowy light-up thing they do. I keep a pair of ED 21's as backups for some of my yos, and have some ED black urethanes for a future doll I plan to get. Also ordered a couple pairs of Mystics, and can't wait to see how they look! Would have jumped on the Dollflower order but just didn't have the funds this year ^^;

I've given up on silicone--even the really nice eyes from Eyeco and Masterpiece started bleeding out on me in under a year, and it sucks having to buy new eyes so often to make up for it. Acrylic is also no-go for me--they just look kind of plastic-y and fake and don't do anything for my dolls. I do however have a pair of Souldoll acrylics that are quite nice. I'm not sure what Souldoll does differently but their acrylics are unlike any other that I've seen so far.

 

soom eyes and certainly Leeke

 

I don't know too much about eye companies but i like silicone eyes for the way you can fit them into any weird doll eye and acrylic eyes for the look and price.

 

Don't know much about companies for eyes, but I love glass eyes. I want to get some urethane eyes someday. I know Leekworld and CoolCat has some good eyes I like. And BlueBloodDoll has some good eyes that they sell too.
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My favourite eyes of firm Souldoll. They make a doll live, and look expressive. Also I like Soom eyes. They are just beautiful.