Tutorials That Works: Polymer Clay Eyeballs

I decided I needed a good eyeball for a figurine I was making. I wanted it to be a good, glass-like eyeball, really add some pop, especially since the figurine has buggy-out eyes.

I encountered a few variations of this tutorial on Pintrest for how to make glossy doll eyes.

THEY WORK!
These were the tutorials I referenced:
http://mistymooncreations.blogspot.com/2010/10/glass-eyes-for-your-dolls-tutorial.html
http://munchkinscreations.com/Eye1to3.html
http://makeitwithme-kell.blogspot.de/2011/09/how-to-make-fimo-clay-eyes-for-pin-up.html


I made a full eyeball, since they needed to bug out.
I used some texture making tools, a pin and ball burnisher to "draw" the details of the iris in place.

I covered and cured the the balls following manufacturer's instructions. One eye cracked. I remember a few years ago some artists were having this issue– white beads cracking, there was something wonky in the formula. My white clay was from that time, and it was that brand. (my clay is several years old, Im sure this issue has been corrected-cracking upon curing is not normal.) Since the crack was on the back side of the eye, and would be covered with eyelid, I wasn't too worried about it.

I used watered-down acrylic paint to color the irises.

waiting for the liquid clay

After they dried I used some foil to brace the balls from rolling around.

I heeded the warnings about messing up the liquid clay, so I worked in the kitchen right next to my pre-heated oven.

liquid clay in place

right out of the oven, very cloudy

Everything worked just as described. I found that I did have to move my heat gun a bit closer than 3 inches to get the liquid clay to clear up.

had to move the heat gun a bit closer than 3 inches

the irises got all glassy!

And here you can see the eyes in place.