Using Pre-Set Eye Mannikins

 

An advantage of using Pre-Set eyes is that eyes dry exactly how they are placed. The reason why eyes set in clay move while they are drying is because of the moisture trapped under the skin. As the clay dries around the eye, the moisture from within the clay is released through the hide (which has already started to dry). The result is that the moisture from the clay rehydrates the hide and the hide must dry once again. The drying and rehydrating sequence continues numerous times throughout the drying of an eye set with clay. The result is that the skin around the ears moves and distorts (that's why you have to check and readjust eyes as they dry). The beautiful thing about Rinehart Pre-Set eyes is that there isn't any clay in the eye. Thus, there isn't andy moisture to release and cause deformity in the eye. The result is a lifelike eye set that will dry without shrinkage or movement.

Step 1: The first step when using Pre-Set eye mannikins is to level the mannikin on a mounting stand. The mannikin can be leveled by using pupils as reference or using pupil-alignment marks indented above the tear ducts. It's important to keep a level base.

Step 2: Before you begin mounting with a Pre-Set eye mannikin, you can create the desired expression in your deer by removing material in the front or back corner of the eye.

Step 3: If you would like the eye to be rotated to the side (away from the nose), trim some material away from the inside corner of the eye (near the tear duct). This will expose more of the inside corner of the eye, creating an outward rotation to the eye.

Step 4: On the other hand, if you would like the eye to be rotated in toward the nose, trim some material away from the back of the corner of the eye. This exposes more of the back corner of the eye, creating an inward rotation.

Step 5: Each Pre-Set eye has a molded eye lid. However, you can enhance the fold in the eye lid by using a dremel tool to enhance the eyel lid slot. This enhanced eye slot allows you to press the hide into the slot, creating a natural fold in the upper eye lid.

Step 6: Using a lip-locker dremel bit, dremel into the tear duck to create a slot. Notice that the nob on the end of the lip0locker is inserted at the end of the tear duct and remains recessed. Take sandpaper and scuff the foam surface around the eye.

Step 7: Press Critter Clay into the tear duck slot. The Critter Clay allows you to press the tear ducts in deep, forming a tight wedge that holds the tear duct in place.

Step 8: Apply hide paste over the entire head, neck and shoulders. Don't worry about getting hide paste on the eye because it wipes off easily with water later.

Step 9: First, position the skin around the Pre-Set eye. Using a small round-headed pin, secure tear duct corner by depressing a pin through skin and into mannikin. Be sure the pin goes through the skin at the very edge, closest to the eye, and is fully depressed into the mannikin.

Step 10: Next, secure the upper corner of the eye with a pin. The upper corner is secured in the same way as the tear duct corner. Secure the pin at the very edge of the eye lid skin and depress the head of the pin until it rests on the mannikin.

Step 11: Finally, secure the back corner of the eye by placing a pin through the skin and into the mannikin. Again, press the pin through the very corner of the eyle lid and depress fully to the mannikin.

Step 12: The eye is fully secured with the three pins in place (tear duct, upper and back corner). To put expression back into the eye, use a modeling tool to press the skin between the pins, into place. The skin will adhere to the mannikin, leaving the eye lid secured.

Step 13: Press the tear duct into the Critter Clay filled tear duct slot. The counter sink two small pins through the tear duct skin and into the tear duct (this holds the tear duct skin in the tear duct slot).

Step 14: between the tear duct slot and the eye, press a small t-pin into the tear duct crease. Press the t-pin until it is resting firmly against the skin, holding it in place throughout the drying.

Step 15: Finish the expression in the eye by pressing the skin into the eye lid that was previously enhanced with the dremel bit.

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