The Eyes Have It...

Have I ever talked about painting the eyes? (other than I used to not do it at first!)  I don't think I have.

For those who can just sit back and paint eyes on a small miniature, more power to you.  I have to admit, there are some very detailed eyes out there, and it does make the miniature.  However, for those of use who are not able to paint the perfect Picasso eye, have to find another way to do it, and this seems to work well for me, that is, I am pleased with the eyes that I do.

First, paint both of the eye sockets white, literally over paint.  Pick your eye color, and put that as a dot in the center of the white you just painted.  Now, come back and clean up the white over paint by using a flesh color until you get it to look the way you want.  If you make a mistake, paint all white again and start over.  The key is, if you don't get a good eye the first time, do it again.  I've done some 3-4 times before I like it.  Now, if you are really good and have steady hands, you can put a fine black dot in the center of your color, but if not possible, they will still look nice.

Here is a hint - I tend to paint the eyes just slightly bigger than is right for the miniature - when they are dipped, they come out about right.  However, because the miniature is so small, and the eyes can make the difference, larger than life eyes tend to actually make for a really nice miniature.