Painting eyes/pupils on 1/6 figure heads

[parallax1987]

Hey everybody. Looking for some advice on how to paint on eyes and pupils etc, on 1/6 scale figures. I have a couple of head sculpts that I really cant afford to pay the amount that some collectors charge, so Im looking to do it myself. Anyone with any advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[shells075]

Use a toothpick to paint the pupil and remember to put a glint in the eye to make it look more life like.

 

[Murderofcrows71]

Actually the glint in the eye thing had been a big debate in the past. Pretty much stopped Sideshow from painting eyes that way. Start with a darker shade of the color you want for the basic circle and a much lighter shade on the bottom half of the circle. Be careful to leave a little of the darker color around the edge. Center the black dot for the pupil and when dry clear coat or use a gloss on the eyes, then they will catch natural highlights and look more alive.

 

[parallax1987]

Thanks! Guys that helps out! What I'm wondering too is how do you get the eye to be a perfect circle as well as the pupil? Do you draw it on first and then paint over it? And what kind of tools do you use? Thanks guy!

 

[shells075]

Eyes are a pain to paint especially on 1/6 scale, you need a steady hand or be naturally gifted sort of thing. You will need to buy some super fine brushes and some decent acrylic paints. I find getting the iris and pupil to look good is very difficult, I would like to know how companies like Hot Toys get their eyes looking so life like. Remember to use some gloss varnish to give the eye that shimmering look.

I would also say maybe practice on an old sculpt or something until you hone your skill.

 

[rhboyd]

I did up some visual instructions based on directions from Jacob Rhamier (Rhamier84)

 

[RiggsMcClane]

Or buy eye decals from hunterdnrc. lol

 

[Stevejack2]

Or buy eye decals from hunterdnrc. lol

Yeah I was shocked when I found out how many custom painters actually do it this way, and of course all the production companies. I bought some from hunterdnc but haven't used them yet (I kinda want to learn to paint eyes). I also had trouble choosing which size decal to use, for the sculpts I was painting I needed an in-between size which wasn't on the sheet. An iris that's too small looks strange to me.

All the tips above are great. I'm learning too, and I use 000 and smaller brushes for eyes (every company uses a different sizing scale though which is a PITA). I tried the toothpick method which was handy for control, but I still prefer a very fine paintbrush.

I also bought a desk magnifying glass with built in LED lights that looks something like this:


Best thing ever for painting fine detail with tiny brushes. It just swings out of the way and acts as a great lamp when you're not using the magnifier.

If you don't already have tiny brushes, the smallest brush I've seen is 100/0 which I have on order but hasn't arrived yet. It was by a company called Artetje I think? I do have some Royal & Langnickel 20/0 and 30/0 brushes which are also good for eyes. When I see some of the pros painting they are using quite large brushes on the eyes and doing a far better job, so I'm sure skill trumps brush size at the end of the day.

When I find some time I'm going to spend a day just painting eyes onto a sculpt over and over again. A hairdryer between coats, and at the end strip off with acetone and re-paint. Hopefully 30 or 40 goes at just painting the eyes on will get me to a decent point

 

[parallax1987]

Who is hunterdnc? Is it someone on here or is it a website? And how much do they cost? Thanks so much you guys this helps out a lot! And thank you for posting that pic of "how to" with the head sculpts. Only question is the primer part? Do you apply the primer to the head sculpt?

 

[RiggsMcClane]

He's a member here who makes sixth scale paper accessories, tattoos, etc. I think they're around fifteen bucks for s large sheet of various eye colors. Here's a set I used: https://www.facebook.com/Sculptgeek/photos/a.1382145418479167.1073741844.311654318861621/1382145425145833/?type=3&theater

 

[Jameson Rook]

To add to what folks are already saying- I gave up painting eyes few years because I find them way too time consuming, not that I can't do a decent at them. I too ended up buying decals from hunterdnrc and even ordered custom eye sizes to suit my needs. I then seal them with Tamiya X-22 gloss. Honestly, I would rather spend the time perfecting eyelashes since they're also time consuming.

 

[Murderofcrows71]

I have the decals too, the are nice but present a whole different set of issues getting them on and in place. I've had the ink wash off mine while trying to place them a few times