Which do you prefer plastic,acyrlic, silicone or glass eyes?

Definitely will be glass eyes!
They are LOVE!!!

 

Any. I have acrylic eyes that I adore, and glass ones I think are the bees knees. I tend to judge on the actual eyes in question, not on the materials they're made of ^^'

 

For me, acrylics and glass are okay for temporary eyes; just to try out a color or give them something to have in their heads while we wait for their real eyes to come in, but for the boys' permanent eyes it has to be urethane. I love the depth, clarity and vibrance of color, and they photograph well, even in bad lighting... which I have a lot of. I personally can't stand silicone. X_x They're tacky, so they pick up dust and lint like crazy, and it also makes them harder to position, since they won't slide around in the eye well, and it always seems like I have to use gobs of eye putty to get them to stay in place.

 

I get glass when I can afford and like the color, but mostly acrylics because I can afford more then one pair and can allow for trials of different ones until the right one is found.

 

Sorry if this is already an existing topic...^^; I did a search and couldn't find anything. And sorry if this is in the wrong place...I was going to post this in buying/shipping advice or whatever...but it doesn't seem like the right place so I'm just sticking this in here for now. xD

So I'm in the midst of planning my first BJD (Soom Kanoa 3) I already have the wig and the outfit picked out...but I'm having trouble with the eyes. You see, there are three different kinds of eyes out on the market, which are glass, acrylic, and silicone eyes.

So I'm wondering...what exactly is the difference between the eyes? I know the material they're made out of is obviously different, but other than that, does it really matter what type of eyes you get? Like, which one is the easiest to photograph? Which ones are easiest to take care of?

Any help is greatly appreciated! Sorry for asking so many questions.

 

You forgot urethane! I'd say look around the picture requests threads maybe, there are lots of threads with pics of eyes.

I think it depends a lot on what sort of look you want. Some of the glass ones photograph beautifully but don't look very realistic to me, even when there is threading. Some of the acrylic ones look very realistic (and some look cheap) but don't look as wet as glass and might not photograph as well (though I personally haven't had much problem with that). Some silicone ones look very realistic (and some don't) and photograph well but they attract dust - but they also can fit irregular eye sockets better because they are smooshy. Some urethanes I've seen don't look so realistic, some look very realistic, and they're usually very beautiful but very expensive (IMO). Word is that urethane is top of the line, as best as I can figure out.

I personally have acrylics in both my boys right now, and will be replacing them with silicone from the same company with the same level of realism, because I've been told silicone photographs better (and Riddick needed a slightly lighter color anyway). I also have a cheaper looking acrylic pair which is not so realistic, and a glass pair which is nice but doesn't have any threading so is very not realistic looking. I've not seen urethanes except in pictures, as they're out of my price range.

I prefer the realistic ones, but each person has their own preferences. Even the ones I don't prefer for my own dolls I think are beautiful in other dolls.

 

There's a fairly long thread here: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24400

 

AmyAngel - Thank you for your answer!

Personally I am looking for a somewhat realistic to realistic eye that looks like it has some sort of life to it, as opposed to a glassy soulless look. It's also important to me that it photographs well.

And wow, after googling urethane eyes, I must say that I am impressed! But they are very expensive...xD $50-60USD for a pair of eyes...yikes! I thought silicone eyes were expensive at $20-30USD.

Prysm - Ah, thank you for the link. ^^ I will check it out right now.

 

I find that urethane or high-quality glass photograph best, but I find that urethane tends to be more realistic -- Gumdrops and mystic urethane eyes have very realistic threading. Urethane also comes in a wider variety of colors than glass.

Some acrylic eyes look fairly realistic but I find that they're not as clear as glass or urethane and don't pick up the light as well. Sometimes the domes seem kind of cloudy to me.

I don't have a whole lot of experience with silicone eyes. The softness of them doesn't work well with the way I position eyes so I tend to avoid them because I can never get them in straight. ^^;;;;

There's a lot of request threads for different types of eyes in the BJD-Opedia section.

 

It's partly going to depend on the individual maker--there can be a lot of variation within eyes made of the same material. Good acrylics can have great color and detail, but some acrylics can look flat. Glass eyes have great shine, but they can also lack detail sometimes...it can take some trial and error to figure out which eyes you really like and what looks good in a particular doll. Some of my guys have acrylics and some have silicon and glass. I've never tried urethane, though I've been wanting to. $50-60 for a pair of eyes isn't really all that up there--acrylics are the least expensive, but the rest aren't exactly cheap.

 

I've been through acrylics, glass, silicone and urethanes, and depending upon the doll it varies what I like in them.

For example, I do not like using glass in my Soom Lazule, because the glass looks less realistic. There's something just off about it and clashes with with his mature and realistic sculpt. So he usually wears acrylics or silicones with highly detailed and realistic pupils (such as Eyeco's Softglass line).

My other two dolls go through all sorts of eyes depending upon my mood. My DZ girls' scuplts are less real and more anime-ish looking than my Super Gem boy, so it doesn't bother me if I put in glass or urethanes with solid-colored pupils. The solid-colored pupils have more of an anime/cartoony look to them, and seems to inhance my girls' inherent "doll-ness."

The only thing I haven't tried is glass or urethane eyes with highly visible threading. I just don't find those appealing, and have never bought a pair.

 

My previous answer would be glass, but nah, ony urethane. I am actually starting to dislike glass-- sure, they have a nice depth, but they are so... dead, unrealistic. I think that urethane eyes mix the best of both acrylic and glass eyes-- they can be detailed, realistic like acrylic, but also have that nice depth like glass eyes.

 

I haven't owned any glass eyes yet but from what I can tell from pictures they really are beautiful. I did order some glass eyes from Dollmore last week, they should be arriving soon Does anyone have eyes from them? If so, what are they like? I know it's a but silly to be asking this now of all times but I'm a bit curious.

 

canadian_otaku86 ~ i have glass eyes from Dollmore :3 they were a free gift! i love them, even without the light shining on him, they show up wonderfully in my boy. its great cause his eyes are small and he has long lashes so eyes dont show up well.

this be them


that said, their acrylic eyes are fantastic too, i have three dolls wearing DM acrylics and they glow just as much as the two who have glass.
scary heads aside, the MNM Ville Valo and the MD Ryu are wearing DM acrylic eyes. the Sapphira has glass.

i really love the glass, but i if i have to have acrylic, i'll be going with Dollmore.

Silicone eyes are very pretty and realistic btw. i have them in my MNF Shiwoo atm.

 

I really like the Soom silicone eyes....not only do they look awesome in photos, but they also are so easy to put in the doll. (and unlike the glass with stems...they don't break) one of my friends also had their Luts acrylics crack after awhile because they had packed the eyes in with sculpy!

 

I like glass...better. so pretty.

 

The thing I love most about glass eyes is the clarity compared to other types. I find that glass eyes usually tend to have more crisp and intense color.

Silicone is nice, but can be cloudy with damage. Acrylic has wonderful selection of types, but gets damage ruins the whole eye. But glass seems to be the most durable for me. ^^;

 

Wow, they do look nice, even the acrylics too, thanks for showing me . I know that when I started this hobby, I always wanted to own at least a few pairs of glass eyes (ever since I saw Volks' glass eyes ) and I figured Dollmore's prices were fairly reasonable. Very nice doll collection, btw

 

Silicone and acrylic photograph pretty well, and look more realistic than some glass eyes. But glass eyes with good threading (like Ginarolo's 400 series) can look realistic, too.

Silicone is easier to position, especially if your doll has a strangely shaped or shallow eye well. However, they collect dust, hair and lint much too easily for my taste.

Acrylics have been known to melt, crack and scratch easily, but come in a wide range of styles and colors. They're also great for testing out colors, since they're rather inexpensive.

What really brings me down on the side of glass is the color permanence issue. Silicone, acrylic, and, I'm told, urethanes, have a high potential of changing color over time. I've seen purple irises in acrylics turn brown and silicone eye whites turn yellow. Glass keeps its color better than the others. While it's true these dolls haven't been around long enough to be able to tell how they will hold up over time, if I find a pair of eyes that are just the right color I don't want them to change a few years down the road.

 

I find myself on the side that takes companies individually. I've loved glass for a long time, they age well and track beautifully. However, finding a truly realistic pair is difficult at best, you will generally have one color in the iris and some rather unrealistic threading. If a hyper-realistic look is desired I'd say that urethane and some silicones beat glass. As stated in many previous responses acrylics can be beautiful and come in the widest range of colors/lowest price.
I just dragged out some artistique, eyeco, and masterpiece acrylics I had laying around to compare them (I'll try to edit this later with photos). The artistique have lovely colors, but one is already cracked and pixelation is definitely there if you look close (the newer, larger pair don't have the pixelation problem). I found absolutely no pixelation in the eyeco or masterpiece, both feel sturdier and have a better shine than the artistique. In fact, the eyeco ( A044) are amazingly detailed, clear, and track beautifully.
I also have a pair of eyeco silicone eyes handy in "smoke." Beautiful color/reflective quality and quite moldable, however they aren't domed so they don't have much depth.