What do you think about coloured sclera?

I have one doll with black sclera and red irises.
He is a Resinsoul Ming in the process of beig modded into an imp and I figured the black sclera would help with making him seem more inhuman. He is not finished yet and it's hard to say for absolutely sure without a face up, but I do like how they look right now.
All my other dolls represent human characters have regular eyes, though.

 

For me it would be the character of the doll - if they were a fantasy, mythological, science fiction or other fantastical creature, for example, I wouldn't hesitate to go for the colour that fit that creature's look.

It just happens that, while I do have non-humans among my BJD family, they're all fairly humanoid, and none fo them have presented a need for non-white scclera, though I am sometimes tempted by eyes with cogs in, or eyes with glittery or non human coloured irises.... but haven't got an actual use for them so have (so fr) resisted buying-when-I-see-them-in-case-they-aren't-available-later.

Teddy

 

I have four dolls with black sclera and they have them cause that's what I wanted for the characters. So, yeah, I like them and they're using them lol. I have a pair of black sclera eyes that aren't being used right now (got them because I thought they were interesting, but they're also 20mm and I currently don't have any dolls who can wear them lmao). Also have two pair with pink sclera and pink irises (they have a sakura motif), but haven't found the right dolls for those yet...

Here are some pics under the spoiler~

Spoiler

Collusion (Doll Leaves Noir) has a black and red theme, and I wanted him to have creepy eyes, which is why he has these. His eyes are an odd shape, though, so the irises are actually bigger than I'd like, but they work. I might try finding him some smaller iris eyes, though (or making some). His eyes are glass.

(link just in case)

Eilian (Luts SSDF 08Man) and Velius (Luts/CP Delf Dreaming Lishe) also have glass eyes. They have the exact same eyes, just different sides, because Eilian is under contract with Velius and that's Velius' way of making sure Eilian remembers. So, another instance of the eyes being what I wanted for the specific characters.

(link just in case)

(link just in case)

Not sure just how much Ásbjörn (Granado V-07) counts, since his eyes are solid black (they technically have black sclera and black iris with no pupil), but here he is anyway. Again, it's what I wanted for the character (he was blinded by a magic spell gone wrong). I made his eyes out of UV resin, black acrylic ink, and pearl powder to make them sparkly.

(link just in case)

I also have a doll who has craft gems as eyes (so technically not a white sclera, but they also don't have separate iris/sclera like a regular eye), but there's no special reason behind them except that I wanted him to have weird eyes lmao. Figure he doesn't really count, though lol

If I'm buying eyes that have a certain color, it's usually because I want them for a specific character, so that's a big factor. I also consider just how much I like how the eyes look (such as if I'm wanting realistic or more stylized looking ones, which also depends on the character/sculpt).
Another thing you'll need to consider is whether or not your doll has a specific character with a specific look or if they'll get to change their look. One of my dolls is a specific character, but he changes his look because his character is on the run from various authorities. He does have default eyes (haven't found a default wig I like for him yet), but he also gets to wear whatever wig/eyes I feel like having him wear. So, character specific thought went into his default eyes, but not any of the others he gets to use (they're mostly eyes I happen to have cause I thought they were pretty lmao).

There's nothing wrong with buying different eyes to try them out. What you think you want for your doll might not be what works, and that's hard to figure out when you don't have many options to try. Since you're uncertain whether you'll like colored sclera or not, I'd suggest trying out a cheaper option like Dollmore's Mono Eyes if you'd really like to get a feel for how colored sclera would look in your doll (when it arrives, and if they have the size you need). The irises are the same color as the sclera, but they won't break the bank if you want to try them out.

 

My doll collection is big and odd and has a lot of my OCs and RP characters in the mix, so yes at some point I did go for black sclera on a few of my dolls. With eyes I tend to go for what fits the character I'm making, and if I have nothing in mind then I dig randoms out of the eye box until I find some that I like and fit the new blank slate doll.

If you are in the hobby long (I've been in it around 14 years) You end up with extra eyes, wigs and other stuff. Some you might like in/on your dolls some you might just hold onto cuz you like the look of the thing even if the thing doesn't work with what you have now. That goes for if you have small or big collections too, extras tend to just happen. (some companies even send extra random eyes, and wigs) To that end if you really like the pair of eyes, even if crazy colors go for them. Heck you can always have more then one set of eyes for a single doll and make that part of the character, maybe whenever they use some inhuman power their eyes change. /shrug

You asked for pix and though I have a few dolls with black sclera, and many more with white sclera and still very inhuman eyes.
The best photo of a doll with them is my one super hero OC Freak-Show/Ichabod, his even glow in the dark.

 

I do that - but it sometimes takes trying a few sets of eyes before that default set is found, and the others go into storage to tryn on the next incoming doll of the right size (sometimes another doll will claim a pair, sometimes a dol will need a pair in this iris/pupil size, but in that colour, so it all helps with tracking down the right ones)... The same system works with wigs, and clothes... which means Ive got a very large collection of both that are either a shared pool of available clothing for any doll that size, or available for being claimed by incoming newbies, depending on how you look at it.

Teddy

 

I have a character with black beads for eyes. I also made her a pair of glow in the dark black sclera eyes at a con, but she's never worn them.

 

I like the idea of colored sclera but I haven't found a need for any yet. Yes, I have one doll who is considered a perfect candidate for them but he hasn't asked for them. I think it just depends on the doll's personalities and if the eyes would let that personality shine through.

 

I have colored sclera for a couple of my dolls. One is a Capricorn doll in a lilac color and wanted a galaxy look in his eyes. My other is a hybrid I'm planning for a minifee Karsh head I have. I wanted him to have blue scleras with yellow cat pupils. Check out Galaxy nook on Etsy that's where I get all of my colored eyes.

 

I have a pair of ShouShou Doll Goudan twins who have black sclera/red iris eyes in their alternate monster heads. It looks creepy. It’s supposed to.



I think they’re fun if that’s what you’re going for.

 

I have two with pale-blue-on-black eyes... which is a fairly strikingly inhuman look. But then, Meru is an elemental and Huck is a small monster, so "looking realistically human" was never an issue.

 

Most of my doll's eyes have white or off-white sclera, but my Calle has golden eyes with mirror-like pupils.
DV Calle by M C, on Flickr

 

Like most others have said, it really depends on the character of the doll. My dragon girl Enya here looks way better and much more dragony with her blueish scleras.

 

Everyone's dolls look amazing. The eyes bring so much personality to them.

 

I think that black sclera look really cool and otherworldly! I don't usually use them because they don't work very well with my faceup style, but they tend to just look cool.

As for other colors... I'm very hesitant to even try Honestly, the few times I've seen them they tend to look sickly. Pink/red/purple scleras look bloodshot. Orange/yellow/green look jaundiced. Blue could work if they're light enough, though... I've heard that blue is added to white sometimes to make it look "extra white".

I think they all could definitely work with the right character/faceup, but I get the impression that they're the type of eyes you might need to build a character around.

 

lol I'm glad you think so and made you laugh XD He's not a good person, but he's also not necessarily a bad person. He's just made some very questionable choices in his life lmao

You're welcome! Dollmore has lots of nice things, so you should definitely check out the rest of the site if you've never been there. Oh, definitely! Just cause they're pretty outside the head, doesn't mean they will be when inside. Which is why I totally support cheap eyes for testing. You could also try different colored beads, if you don't mind there not being an iris (or could even paint an iris on?). (And thank you so much! They were the first resin eyes I've ever made, so I'm glad they ended up being perfect for him :'D )

 

I recently got a pair of eyes with black sclera.
Honestly...my reason was that I just thought they were pretty. Hehe. I couldn't get them out of my head, so after a bit, I just bought them even though I didn't have a plan for them.

Spoiler: It worked out though because they look quite lovely in my Breccia

It makes it look like her eyes are a galaxy

 

i don't actually own them yet but i have several dolls that will have black/purple/gold sclera, they are all demons of various kinds and i find non human eyes is one of the simplest ways of showing character isn't human, and personally i think they just look cool if there wasn't the risk i'd tattoo my own sclera black lol