# Easy cheap realistic eyeballs!!!!!!



## Fangoria

I got this thing, I don’t really like to get screwed pricewise when I get Halloween anything. Cheap is good in my books, and a lot of the stuff a person makes themselves ends up better and more satisfying than what you can buy outright. I thought to myself, “self, I need a jar of realistic looking eyes.” So, being the cheap [email protected]##$ that I am, I made a batch of eyes that look pretty good if I say so myself.

You will need:
1.	A package of ping pong balls
2.	Deep Red blood color gloss paint
3.	Yarn the same color as the paint
4.	A printout of iris from the web (I think I got these at easy eyes)
5.	A tweezers
6.	A scissors (run, do not walk to get this)
7.	A paintbrush
8.	Clear nail polish/Nail hardener (I used hard as nails) make sure whatever you use that it is glossy, you don’t want dried up eyeballs, gloss makes them pop!
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Make it one stop and hit Wally world. Though, when I went to evil mart, they were out of ping pong balls due to the popularity of beer pong!


This is my first tutorial so I hope you understand my instructions!

1st, take the scissors and pop your right eye out of the socket. (Sorry, couldn’t resist. I’m a 31 year old toddler)

First, take a ping pong ball and find the logo. The logo will end up being the point directly opposite your iris. I will call this the top for now. Beginning with the top, paint ball covering all but the bottom ¼ of the ball somewhat feathering the bottom portion. (check my crappy out of focus pictures for visual) If you put the ball logo side down on the floor, you should just be able to see a corona of red. If needed put on extra layers of red to cover the logo. 
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Next, cut out an iris of your liking. I found after some experimenting that if I cut just the circle out, it was easier to work with than cutting the circle iris out and cutting the iris in striations toward the pupil. Take your ball (I use a piece of scrap Styrofoam ,shot glass, I also turned an Elmers glue stick into stand) and put a generous dab of clear polish on the white center, bigger than your pupil. (this doesn’t have to be perfect, there’s plenty of leeway on this project) Using your tweezers, place your cut out iris on the middle of your white circle on top of your polish. Carefully push on top of the paper iris and shape the iris to the round of the ping pong ball. After you have the iris secured enough that it doesn’t lift (the clear polish doesn’t need to be totally dry) take a healthy dab of clear polish and cover your newly laid down iris. You don’t have to go nuts with the polish, but if in doubt add more. (if your iris starts lifting, no problem, just blow on the area while pressing down with your tweezers. This worked for me) You can not ruin the eye by putting to much gloss on it. Let that dry.
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I next took my eye and applied a smooth layer of gloss to the white areas left on the eyeball. Grab the red yarn and get a teeny amount of fiber, the less the better, only a couple of strands. Lay them in the wet polish and position them so they lie on the eyeball. Do not lay the strands over the iris. Over the red portion is fine. I laid the strands from iris to bottom. The great thing is the variations in the yarn look awesome.
The final step is to brush the clear polish all over the eyeball. I also found that I could build up the polish in a dome shape over the iris, reducing the indentations left by the paper and polish in earlier steps. Have fun, most of all, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

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## Fangoria

More pictures!!!
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## Fangoria

more pics
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## Mr_Chicken

Ah, yes. I've been wanting to try the yarn trick.
I haven't seen nail polish used before...good idea!


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## MorbidMariah

Very nice! I love the yarn-veins!


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## DaveintheGrave

Cool eyes!! Very realistic!


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## Guest

Looks GREAT!!!!


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## Homestead Haunt

Very nice.....very big!


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## Terra

Love the yarn idea!


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## Deviant

ya they are very cool!!


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## alucard

Look great! Love the yarn trick, looks very real!


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## Tumblindice

I'm inspired!


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## DannyK

these look great, and combining them with Daveinthegrave's eye motion set-up would really add an awesome/creepy/realistic addition to any ones home haunt. I love the fact that you used the yarn as veins, and the printouts look much better than I have expected them too. Maybe even adding some more yarn to the back...or maybe some painted surgical tubing...as an "optic nerve" would be a cool addition...now all im picturing is eyes popped out of sockets... 

well, anyway very well done!! 

-DK


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## voodoo willy

Very nice!


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## HalloweenPropMan

Very nice! The yarn puts them over the top.


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## Ghost of Spookie

Thanks for posting all the pics. Love how it turned out. I bought some blank eyeballs to make a jar of eyes myself but haven't had the time to sit down yet. Really appreciate your sharing your tips.


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## MeJayBe

Agree with Prop Man on this one, the yarn threads for the veins really bring out the detail. A very clever and inexpensive way to make eyeballs. Thank you!


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## Dragonomine

Fabulous job!


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## NeekoSpoon

These look fantastic! Great work. I want to try it and have already begun but here's my first two snags that I wonder if anyone can help me solve. First when I started painting the nail polish on the printed iris it washed it away. All of the image was wiped clean. The iris was not fresh off the printer although for lack of a color printer I printed a sheet at wal-mart's digital photo thing (part of the big sheet with more eyes that was posted elsewhere in the forums here.) I thought the kodak prints they made were waterproof... I know that doesn't equal any liquid proof .. but I had my hopes. I tried dripping some nail polish onto the other iris I had cut out rather than brush, it didn't wash it away but still released the "ink". My shoot from the hip idea one is to pick up some spray varnish and take that to the whole sheet before I cut out anymore. Would that do any good or just make it worse? Also would anyone have any tips on avoiding bubbles in the nail polish? oh and what's a good size proportion to get the iris's about normal sized? the sheets I got they look a little small, but passable


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## Fangoria

Well, my thought is to try whatever you like to get it the way you want it. The cheapest route I think would be to get a friend to print off a sheet of iris' on the computer, then you don't have to worry about another thing not working. Bubbles in the nail polish, I was not to concerned with this detail, I try to think, well, if I ripped an eye out, would it look somewhat like this or is anyone other than us Halloween freaks really going to care or be close enough to see the small bubbles? My thought is to maybe use a pin to release the bubbles while the polish is still wet, if that doesn't work, I don't know the answer to this one. Like I said, as long as you are having fun, do whatever you want to try, thats what makes these fun!


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## DeepSix

I've seen something like this before on a special effects make up thing, only instead of ping pong balls they used those little styrofoam half shells used for packaging. They also used yarn (or red thread), and painted the iris on. I dont'remember what they sealed it with but I'm sure any sealer works. It would be a good alternative for someone looking to use the eye for their costume.


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## Fangoria

You have to remember one thing, styrofoam will be eaten by some paints and sealers, not just anything is going to work, but hey, that's how one comes up with cool results.


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## Halloween Princess

I am trying these today (or at least starting), so I'll share how they turn out.


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## Halloween Princess

Well, I thought I was going to make these today but can't find the printable irises. Can ayone direct me to them?


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## Winklesun

Haunters Hangout Easy Eyes
I spent all day doing eyes, eyes and more eyes.
I use white sculpey for the eyeball and jewelry glaze for the sealer.


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## HauntDaddy

my what nice eyes you have.........the better to see you with my dear


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## Deslock

When you have the iris of the eye positioned correctly glue it with some ol' fashioned Elmer's white glue. Then once it's set and dried try very lightly, and I mean_ lightly _rub some more Elmers over it and let it dry again. Then Poly away. That should fix the problem.

Hope that helps !!!.


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## Madame Turlock

Awesome job! Thanks for posting.


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## Halloween Princess

Thanks winklesun. I have the red painted. Will move onto the next step tomorrow.


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## Marduk

Thanks so much for sharing this thread. They look amazing! I bought my balls tonight. Looking forward to giving this a go!


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## Madame Turlock

I'm so excited....got a box of 36 ping pong balls today! I guess you could say I'm easily entertained. Thanks again for sharing.


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## Winklesun

Guess I am easily entertained also because I spent the weekend doing eyes.
Whatever is left over that doesn't go in props I will display in a jar and dig into when I need more. 
The printed iris is so much easier than painting it on!!


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## Madame Turlock

I've been meaning to learn how to make irises on Photoshop for a long time so I decided now is the time to dig in. I'm going to experiment with making decals and test how the decals react with the nail polish. If that doesn't work I might try using polymer clay and sealing them with an acrylic spray or dipping them in a liquid acrylic floor wax. The clay would provide the option to make a smaller version (even miniature eyeballs) for other projects. It's certainly worth the time experimenting.



Winklesun said:


> Guess I am easily entertained also because I spent the weekend doing eyes.
> Whatever is left over that doesn't go in props I will display in a jar and dig into when I need more.
> The printed iris is so much easier than painting it on!!


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## kitsch_witch

Eeeeewwwww... in a good way  Thanks for the tips! I'll be making a basket full of these for my little killer Easter Bunny.


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## SolaraLover

awesome job!! my 8 year old wants me to make some!! Thanks for all the details!!


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## Turmoil

Your eyeballs look very good and i am with you about being cheap and homemade props being better than store bought things


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## Ecula

Wow! Have to try sometime. Very great!
And using that yarn. VERY smart!


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## Brimstonewitch

Thanks for the "how to". I was able to make these eyes and went a step further with the yarn idea and make the gooey part of the eye as well. Working out details to make it gory and not fuzzy though.


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## BevAnn

Holy hell!! That looks VERY real!! 

%#^$%&)- another damn project to have done in 2 weeks time.


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## Brimstonewitch

LOL thanks  hardest part of that project was getting the printer to print them at the right size  little time consuming attaching the yarn but well worth the time. I just did it while I played EQ2 and watched TV.


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## esotericobserver

I love cheap homemade props too but these are just amazing!!!! I love how realistic they look. Thank you so much for the tutorial. I can't wait to make them!!!


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## StanFam3

I purchased the supplies to make these tonight. I'm so PSYCHED!!! These are going to just be perfect.

Thank you for the help and inspiration!


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## savagehaunter

WOW that yarn trick really does the job right.


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## The Reapers WS6

lol,, and i told my wife i was done making props this year....


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## Terror Tom

Those are awesome looking eyeballs. I need a jar of these! The red yarn really looks like blood vessels. Now to raid the teenage daughters stash of nail polish!!!!


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## Ed of the Dead

Great stuff! Just in time, as I was wondering how to get some eyes into my zombies!!


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## Gramma

*great eyeballs*

will have to try makeing some myself. last year I used a string of battery operated LEDs and ping pong balls to make lighted eyeballs in a bush, but i just used markers for the irises.


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## The Reapers WS6

My kidz and I did 6 this weekend,,,, spent less than 2 bux on 6 PP balls,, the only hard part was getting the iris to stick to the ball via the clear nail polish,, we used hot glue, which did ok, but still dosnt look as great as the OP's on this thread. Next time i am going to try to copy and paste the iris's onto a self adhesive label and try that route. All in all this was a great, fun project that even my 5 and 11 year olds did excellent with. They were very excited about their great results!


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## Brimstonewitch

Reaper's WS6 - Post a picture! We'd love to see. 

I know the iris' were difficult at first. Maybe this will help next time...after cutting my iris out I held it by the edges in a little bowl of water for a few seconds just to soften it up. Then I pat dried it with paper towel. 

Before I applied the iris to the pp-ball I put a quick coat of polish on the back of it, and centered it on the pp-ball. It still had a bit of a crinkle that I could smooth out by smoothing it gently. 

To keep the color of the iris from smearing I kept dipping the polish brush into the polish and dabbed it on the iris until I had covered it. Some of the color would bleed into the polish based on the eye I used. The thick coating helps give it some of that realism I think.

These were really fun and I creeped everyone at work out which made it better.


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## Fangoria

Having the great response I have gotten really makes the time it took to make this tutorial worth it. Thanks to everyone and I hope your Halloween goes well! One thing I did is to make an assembly line to kick out as many as possible. Paint 5 red, go back to the first, apply another coat, ect, ect. Have fun!!


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## The Reapers WS6

Ill get some pics up tonight,,,


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## UCIooBAkeeP

I really love these I have four of them going right now. my problem is i can't find the centers on the website shown on your sheet  Can you post the link or a closer picture of the centers so i can have some printed? THanks!!!!!


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## UCIooBAkeeP

got them now WOOT !!!


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## Fangoria

Haunters hangout.com is the site I printed these eyes off of.


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## not2scary

I love this! The yarn fibers really make it. Printing the iris's from the net is a great idea. 

Thanks so much for the tutorial.


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## Saikotic

I am using this guide to create a character with eyeballs on my fingers. Thanks for the guide... my first attempt at eyeballs was to try to hollow out superballs. That was a nightmare. I then found some gummi eyeballs, but trying to cut those open was quite impossible.

I'll post pictures after I finish the eyes and the character for my haunted house. I hope they turn out decent as I'm not altogether artistic.


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## Bilbo

Latecomer to this thread... have to say adding the yarn elevated this from "just another" tutorial to an absolutely incredible how to.


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## Mad Mad Mark

very nice eyes. About two weeks ago I bought 6 pr. of eyeballs on ebay and believe me , yours look much better! I like the bit with the yarn. Oh yes, bout the ebay eyes....they are coming from Hong Kong , it's two weeks and counting. I may receive them by next Halloween !


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## Fangoria

Thanks for the compliments!


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## The Archivist

Pictures came in huge! I like the idea, and saw the same thing over at Haunter's Hangout.


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## helenback

The better to see you with!


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## TK421

*What a great idea! Really cool with a great look! The yarn is a stroke of genius!!*


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## BevAnn

I tried these last year, and alas, mine looked like crap.

I could NOT get the iris of the eye to lay flat on the ping pong ball. I fought and fought with it and eventually just threw them out.  I'm sure I was doing something wrong. cuz these look SO good!!


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## Winklesun

I've done a lot of these. Moisten the paper a bit and it is easier to shape on to whatever you are using for the eyeball. (I made different sized eyes out of sculpey) 
You can also clip the very outer edge of the iris with scissors to get it to curve a bit.
If you still can't get it maybe the iris is a bit big and using a bit smaller one might help?


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## BevAnn

Winklesun, cutting the iris a little might help, as might getting it a little wet first. I'll try that. 

I did keep the sheet of iris' and remaining balls - I do remember now that I think about it - I had printed the iris' on heavy paper (it was simply what was loaded in the printer at that time) and I think if I'd printed it on cheaper thinner paper, that would have helped too.

I'm just now getting into Halloween mode...maybe I'll make the eyeballs the first on my list for 2010


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## Winklesun

Good Luck!


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## Themes N Things

Awesome looking eyes! The use of Ping Pong balls was a great idea. I was wondering what to use for my skeleton and I am going to try using your idea! Also, loved the use of the yarn in the eyes - made the eye so realistic! Thanks!


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## Curlgoddess

What a great idea!!! I may use this myself =) Thanks for sharing!


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## Marie Roget

I can see these as the cappers for blinking light strings in our front yard bushes. Great idea & great how-to pics, thanks!


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## relics

*Featured on HauntersDigest.com*


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## Deslock

BevAnn,



> I could NOT get the iris of the eye to lay flat on the ping pong ball. I fought and fought with it and eventually just threw them out. I'm sure I was doing something wrong. cuz these look SO good!!


Try making a very small piece of "pie" shaped triangle cut on the iris first, then it should curve perfectly. It will take some practice to get it just right, but it *will* work for you. I love to make models, and we do this to make circular decals to snuggle down properly on curved surfaces.

Hope that helps,

Tie.


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## Winklesun

If you slightly dampen the paper iris first that helps too.


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## Hauntcast

I've never seen this technique. I love it.


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## dragon975

Thanks I´ve been looking for this, now I can make my jar with eyes. Does anyone know where to get the pictures of the eyes???
The yarn is an incredible idea


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## Winklesun

http://www.hauntershangout.com/home/easyeyes.asp


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## Hauntityourself

They look great!


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## Hauntityourself

*Video Tutorial for Eyes*

I did a video tutorial a while ago on how to do this after seeing your tutorial I decided to upload it to youtube last night. If you wanna check it out here:


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## Fangoria

To much yarn seems to detract from the reality of the eyes, but premade eyes kinda defeat the purpose.


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## GiggleFairy

Loving this tutorial. I've got a ton of ping pong balls left over from making large bones and now I have a use for them. I'm sooooo excited! (runs to get scissors and yarn)


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## Crunch

If I needed Eyeballs for anything, this is the way I'd do it or sure!


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## Caitsith

Throwing out my crappy plastic eyeballs as we speak! Great tutorial! Video how to a big plus. Thanks for posting it. Cait


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## 13ghosts

I LOVE the yarn idea!! I might just have to borrow this one, I only have a few eyes left over from last year, yarn sounds so much easier than painting the whole thing. Thanks so much for posting


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## Hearts1003

DamoTheRed gave me the link to your thread & THANK GOD HE DID! BLOODY FANTASTIC! YOU'VE JUST MADE MY HALLOWEEN THIS YEAR! My 1st zombie & witch thank you! A MILLION THANKS EYEBALL GOD!


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## RCIAG

Yep, the yarn puts them over the top!

I should also point out that if you print the irises on an _inkjet_ printer (what most of us have at home, the smaller HP/Dell/whatever printers we use for daily stuff), liquids will make the color run. 

But that may not be a bad thing in some cases. Like Bob Ross said, "There are no mistakes, just happy little accidents!"


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## budude

RCIAG said:


> Yep, the yarn puts them over the top!
> 
> I should also point out that if you print the irises on an _inkjet_ printer (what most of us have at home, the smaller HP/Dell/whatever printers we use for daily stuff), liquids will make the color run.
> 
> But that may not be a bad thing in some cases. Like Bob Ross said, "There are no mistakes, just happy little accidents!"


Yeah - was wondering how folks were wetting the paper and not having the ink run - not many folks out there with color laser printers these days!


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## Winklesun

My ink has never ran. I just dampen the back slightly and it has been fine. 
Maybe it is the printer/ink combo. The ink says fade, smudge, water resistant. 
(but it is still an ink jet printer)


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## Bruja

Love these they look awesome


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## valcourso

Wow! It's very impressive. There are so many things I would love to do...


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## DeadED

LOL Could you see the faces of people when you pop these out of a Pong gun covered in Vaseline? Bet they would be alittle suprised when they go to trow it back. LOL


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## Xane

It depends on if your printer uses dye or pigment inks. Most HP and Canon general use printers use dye inks for colors, and pigment for black. Canons tend to have a big black pigment tank -and- a small black photo (dye) tank because pigment black looks lousy for photos - if you pick anything other than plain paper mode it uses the dye. HPs you usually switch out the black tank for a photo tank that has dye black, light magenta and cyan. Some HPs claim to be more durable/moisture resistant than others.

Epson Claria inks are dye but supposeldy more water resistant. Epson DuraBrite inks are all pigment, even the colors. Brother and Lexmark tend to follow the HP method but you should look up the specs for your specific cartridges for any brand.

I'm not sure what the current generation of Kodak stations use (dye, pigment, or dye sublimation which is something different). Since the Kodak printed ones melted in the nail polish I'd guess they're probably dye sub or some kind of solvent dye ink.

If you're having trouble with the ink running you could always print out a very nice copy on matte photo paper then take it to a copy shop and have them print it out on a laser copier. You could even use adhesive label sheets - laser prints look fine on the cheap ones whereas inkjets tend to look lousy unless you use special photo paper coated labels (don't run inkjet labels through a laser printer). If you want things to look more "perfect", check out a craft store for a small scrapbooking circle punch. Or you could try printing onto a clear label sheet if you have any around (they're rather expensive to go out and buy for a one sheet project).


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## clyparkr

ohhhh man i am so hitting up walmart or kamart tonight to try this


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## SolaraLover

Funny I found this thread again today...I was cleaning out my van for the pumpkin farm last weekend and my son found the packages of ping pong balls I bought LAST Sept. when I first found this thread!!!!!! So we are making the eyes starting tomorrow!!!!
Happy Halloween !!!!


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## JustJimAZ

http://www.usphome.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=78051
I was thinking these Ice ball trays might make good eyeball molds. Maybe they could be molded out of latex or silicone caulk?

It depends on whether they are the right size.

Anyone ever tried that?


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## chop shop

I havn't tried the ice trays, but I have tried a half round measuring spoon. I filled it with clear hot glue, then put it in the freezer, then popped it out. I use those as place setters for the eyes in clay sculpting. I think the trays would be good though.


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## JustJimAZ

Hot glue and a measuring spoon - that's a great idea! I would think the hot glue would be a bit opaque and make the eyes look dead. Is that right?


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## thalius Darkrune

I made some of these and the ink bled from the iris print out..  not sure what the problem was. any suggestions?


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## Breaker Mahoney

Try using laser outputs for the pupils as opposed to inkjet printouts.
Better fidelity and resolution. I stopped using ping pong balls, as a fully grown adult's eye measures 24-25 millimeters. So, a fully developed adult eyeball is about two-thirds the size of a ping-pong ball. Any sphere around an inch in diameter will work nicely, you can even make your own mold. 

I am board with Chop as far as the hot glue gun goes. Seals nicely and is clear enough if you use a gloss coating on top. I also recently invested in a 1/2 inch metal punch. Cutting out a perfect circle with an Exact O Knife can be challenging.

Last year, this post go me thinking in all kinds of directions, thanks Fangoria for the info. Terra also has a great eyeball tutorial out there as well as pupil artwork.


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## katshead42

Those look great. I'm going to try to make some this year.


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## Fangoria

I tried making my own clay crafted eyeballs and it looked to me very fake and that the imperfections were glaring at me. ( get it, eyes, glare!!!) Anyhow, doing something is better than nothing right? I just try to have fun doing it, and so should everyone who sees this tut. Not worry that its not anitomically correct, leave that up to the doctors. Be creative and have fun most of all!!!!


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## Breaker Mahoney

I agree the key idea is about having fun. But striving for more realism in sculpting is not a bad thing either.

I think your tutorial is incredible. It helped me and a lot of others out a great deal. Thank you for putting all the time into it. Some haunters build differently. That's why we exchange ideas here.


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## star_girl_mag

VERY clever. I like!


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## VinceMacPaul

To prevent the ink bleeding issue while applying polish to the iris. I'd suggest taping the iris face down on clear scotch tape and carefully cut around it leaving just a smidgen on the diameter before attaching it to the ping pong ball. To compensate for curvature, cut 6/8 slits radiating out from the pupil and start from the middle while attaching it. The final coat of nail polish should hide any imperfections. Just a thought.


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## Hearts1003

I did this last year for HALLOWEEN! Mine turned out GREAT! For a first timer that is. Yours are MUCH better! Thank you so much for this!


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## clnkblank

Can wait to try this. Thank you so much for sharing. I to was wondering about the ink bleeding so that for that suggestion as well.


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## Juluspahl

Picked up stuff to make 30 of em! Thanks!


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## carmilla1970

EEEW!!! BRILLIANT, not sure I have a steady enough hand to do it though!


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## Nightmare-Dude

Very cool and realistic!


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## JeT

I too like the yarn trick. I would maybe suggest using polyurethane in place of the nail polish
because it will wear longer and it will give a bit of a yellowish tone to the eye so as to give it that dull half dead look . I also like using the iris chart that's very clever.


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## Hollows Eva

oh theese are brilliant! Ive been looking for something like this for ages - easy and affordable, as im both creativly challenged and cheap lol...

Im making theese today -waiting for red paint to dry now, and i used an egg-tray for the balls to sit in, that way i dont accidently knock them over amnd have red paint everywhere (this would happen !)

Thanx so much for shraing this!


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## lady jack o lantern

Using the invisible scotch tape over the iris and pupil then cutting it out and attatching it to the ball worked great  so i was able to paint it with clear nail polish without worrying about it running, what a great idea vincemacpaul


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## backyardbutcherprops

wow great job


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## Bryan316

Take your iris page to a Kinko's and print it on a color laser printer. Won't bleed from the glue or paint. Maybe cost you $2 for them all.


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## Dr. Sizzle

*Eye Ball smear no problem*

An Easy fix if your iris is smearing is to use Krylon UV Clear coat on the whole sheet before cutting it out.
2-3 thin coats completely dry will stop the smearing. Don't put it on too heavy because it might stiffen the paper a little.

Also a nice effect if you are adding LEDs is to drill a hole in the from of the eye slightly smaller than the iris.
This will allow the light to shine through the iris' more brighter then the cornea. you can also paint the inside of the
ball with white to block light in areas.

The yarn is brilliant BTW.

Tom


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## Mourik

Gonna give this a try.


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## Crematory

Wow you're so artistic! Those turned out realistic for sure! Not sure my skill level allows me to do something that good but I'll definitely try some of your techniques in the next couple months.


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## JustJ

I love these....great idea!


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## Ilean

Brilliant!! Just brilliant!! Eye will have fun with this!! *Evil laughter*


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## amandaggogo

Looks wonderful! Will probably try this for halloween this year!


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## moonwitchkitty

ooohhh I love it!! were did you get the cut outs?


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## Rich B

moonwitchkitty said:


> ooohhh I love it!! were did you get the cut outs?


http://www.hauntershangout.com/graphics/projects/easyeyes/easyeyes.jpg


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## moonwitchkitty

Rich B said:


> http://www.hauntershangout.com/graphics/projects/easyeyes/easyeyes.jpg


Thank you


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## moonwitchkitty

VinceMacPaul said:


> To prevent the ink bleeding issue while applying polish to the iris. I'd suggest taping the iris face down on clear scotch tape and carefully cut around it leaving just a smidgen on the diameter before attaching it to the ping pong ball. To compensate for curvature, cut 6/8 slits radiating out from the pupil and start from the middle while attaching it. The final coat of nail polish should hide any imperfections. Just a thought.



good idea thank you


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## moonwitchkitty

tried it and it works awsome thank you !!


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## Cassie7

Fantastic paint job and the addition of the yarn threads used as veins is brilliant! Amazing job!


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## laurengary111

The yarn for the veins was brilliant ! I'd have just tried painting them in myself. This is just way too cool.


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## buckley

Great Job !!


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## Goog

This is amazing. I can't wait to try!


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## Old Man Bakke

This is what I have learned and would do next time….IF I was to endure this again.

-I used Dollar Tree fake eyeballs and rubber bouncy balls and painted the white. This became a problem. Both balls had a very distinct edge where the halves were put together at the “factory”. Even after sanding, the edges were very apparent after applying red paint. Hindsight I would have spent the extra money to buy high quality Ping Pong balls AND not paint them.

-I painted my balls which also was a problem when I applied the clear nail polish. The nail polish made the paint wet and tacky again and stuck to my fingers which led to lots of touch up.

-I printed the irises on sticker paper…which was awesome!

- After a few applications of the sticker iris, I began cutting a very small triangle in the circle which worked great! Pushing the sticker down from one side of the “Pac Man” cut and pushing the slack and wrinkles out to have it close up the triangle cut perfectly w/o any wrinkles.
The ½” iris seemed to work better than a “size appropriate” for the ping pong ball. Reason being it led to more white area of the eyeball area that could be handle more red veins (yarn). Furthermore, I wouldn’t have only painted ½ of the ball as opposed to ¾.

Bottom line-Use ping pong balls, sticker paper for iris and paint just past the ½ point on the balls……….and be patient and let stuff dry.

But they came out great for my Apothecary Jar.

This is just my take on things and hopes this helps others!


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## dixiemama

Very cool! We used polish to make the fake eyeballs we purchased look better but these looks great! I am def. going to use the yarn and pain trick too. Thanks!

PS: I will be sure to run when getting the scissors...thanks for the tip!


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## Kmzthk

This is so cool!! Will try it Wednesday!


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## spookyone

omg that looks way better then then the real deal lol awsome thanks for sharing this with us!!!!!


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## klwdesigns

ugh, what a complete PITA. I spent 6 hours making these. I would NOT recommend this project to anyone, unless the process is more cleverly defined.


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## klwdesigns

*eyeball make, too way too long*

ugh, what a complete PITA. I spent 6 hours making these. I would NOT recommend this project to anyone, unless the process is more cleverly defined.
The 3 in the back on the right were from Michael's. 4 for $1. I added clear gloss and glued on some yarn. Not as real looking, but way quicker.
View attachment 210766


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## UCIooBAkeeP

You did an amazing job!


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## jacamh

I'm in love!!!! I made potion jars out of old Starbucks glass jars these will go perfect in them


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## Zombiarty_Marie

Thanks for those tips. It makes it seem a bit easier.


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## niteryder

Very impressive. I had to do a double take when I first looked at the picture. I will be doing some of these for sure!


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## Haunted Higleys

Never thought of using yarn. Thanks for the tip. They look great!


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## McBernes

You have beautiful eyes...lol there I said it. Really nice tutorial. I bookmarked this so I could reference it quickly.


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## coxboy316

Going to give this a try for some props I am going to build


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