My second puppet

[puppetbubba]

Puppetlady - yes they are the oval shaped plastic baby doll eye.

Thanks for the tips.  I may try to build up the eye socket a bit differently so the pupil kind of looks in instead of straight out.  Not sure how yet but I love a challenge! 

[StiqPuppet Productions]

She is very cute I like the pink dress on her. 

Puppetlady has it right with pinning and lining up pupils, usually at the very end you add the pupils in the puppet building process.  I also pin everything on before I make any commitments (glued) to the puppet.  I spend more time on my eye's on the puppet than any other part of the puppet because they are the "soul" of the puppet.  If you want to continue to use these eye's that you bought from Ebay.....I would suggest that you get a basic Dremel tool and grind down the edges so that the pupils start looking at each other a little more.....this will reduce the work of having to "build them up."  As a way to see if the eye's are "focused" you should stand a couple of feet away from the puppet and see if the puppet is looking back and focused on you.  Henson described the "focused" method like an invisible triangle made up by the nose and pupils then you know things are lined up well.   The pupils should be slightly crossed eyed without going to far by making it look like a village idiot it should look focused and looking back at people.

BTW a Dremel tool you can get for a pretty reasonable price, you only need a basic one and you can do so much for making puppets with it.  You can use spoons for eyes the tool can be used to smooth out edges.  You can use it to smooth out foam if you are shaping foam.  I could go on with puppet making with this tool but it is worth the investment if you are interested to continue to make puppets.  It is also very handy to do some house repairs or projects.  The best part it is no bigger than a small drill. 

I use scrape booking punches that are circles in various sizes and then I get sticky back vinyl that they use for signs ect....and stamp them out with the circles sizes I like and stick them on.  I find this easy to use and gives nice clean eyes.  You can also get the black sticky back material with fuzzy/velvety side to it works really well to make pupils. 

Hope this helps.......

[puppetlady]

Stiqman-
I too have a series of hole punches but have not found a material suitable for pupils.  Where do you purchase sticky back vinyl for signs?

Where does the dremel work you suggested on the eyes get done?  On the back side of the plastic eye nearest the center seam?  I hadn't thought of that.  Good idea.

[Billy D. Fuller]

Most any sign shop will sell you a roll of the vinyl................. the only problem is you have to buy a full roll. I found these on EBay................. 10 for $10.00 and comes in all different colors.

http://stores.ebay.com/starqualityvinylandcrafts_SPECIALS-ONE-TIME-OFFERS_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ249341013QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Billy D.

[StiqPuppet Productions]

I have been able to buy vinyl like you can buy fabric as much or as little as you want.  I get it at a higher end art supply store that sells more specialty arts supplies (unlike Micheal)  they will sell every colour you can imagine and I have been able to make small props with covering it with this material or add details to them.  It is a very useful item....personally I would walk into a sign shop and see if they would sell you a foot or so.....a little goes a loooooonnnnnnngggggg way especially if you only use it for pupils. 

Yes the Dremel would be used on the back side of the eyes......you would grind them on a slope so the pupils will start coming more "crossed eyed" instead of looking out on each side of the head.  I don't use those eyes so I can't provide photo's of what I am trying to explain....I am not very strong in my writing ability I am more of a visual person.  I guess that is why I am a visual artist and not a writer.  LOL

I hope this makes sense to you.

Daryl H

[puppetlady]

Yep, it makes sense.  Thanks.

[gdub106]

Awesome work Puppetbubba she's adorable! Her hair is so cute!
About the eyes though, the focus is almost there but here's a trick I learned.
The best way to focus the eys properly is to cross them slightly so point the pupils in more towards eachother and you'll get great focus. The key is to make what I think the Henson Puppet Builders called "Bermuda Triangle." Make a triangle between the eyes and the nose.
Here's a good example:

Red's eyes are slightly crossed and you can almost see an imaginary triangle. This trick makes it look like she's just staring right into the camera when you have the right angle! It takes practie but gives great results =]

[puppetbubba]

gdub - thanks for the tips.  I'll use them in my next puppet.  The eyes are definetely the hardest part for me!

[Jon]

Gdub gave you great advice about how to focus the eyes.  No mater the material you use for making your eyes the way to focus them is the same.

I paint the pupils on most of my puppets.  It can be kind of tricky getting the pupils laid out just right.  What I've started doing is using self adhesive felt pads.  You can find them at hardware stores.  People use them for feet on chairs and other things.  They come in a variety of sizes and I use them to focus in the eyes.  If I'm wanting a two colored pupil I use two sizes of circle.  A larger one that I paint the eye color and the smaller inner part of the pupil that I paint black.  I keep messing with the felt circles until I get the puppet looking back at me the way I want it to then I trace the circles and remove the felt disc.

Focusing in the eyes is a lot easier this way.