Alright, in the quest for the perfect eyes, my friend and I have changed the eyes on his main fursuit 3 times now, all with different materials. Now, we're both college students, so we're very, very poor and used to whipping things up on a budget. I found it a little silly to just buy a bowl to destroy it, and so with a bit of ingenuity, I've found a few types of recycled materials that do and don't work.
1] Paper& clear plastic
For the love of god, don't use paper for eyes. you may like it, but it hates you. the first four pairs of eyes I made had the colored part put directly onto paper. two of them were destroyed by contact with liquids. one of them by the condensation carried with the wearer's breath.
The best pair was this:
https://t.facdn.net/7850318@400-1335318695.jpg
This is paper sandwiched between two pieces of clear plastic. good concept at first, the paper didn't melt when it came into contact with water.
The bad news, however, is that vision is... awful. the clear plastic used for packing toys or, in this case, used with plastic drinking cups, produces a slightly wavy effect when looked through. doubled up, it's even worse. I was bumping into people and walls, especially since I can't wear my glasses inside of a fursuit head. I really don't recommend this method.
2] Salvaged colored plastics
Oooh, this stuff is fun to find. I live in a house with two other people, sometimes four other people. depends what weekend. As such, we go through a lot of cleaning supplies. and the great thing about most cleaning supplies is that they come in plastic containers, usually white!
Now, I've used everything from detergent bottles to windex spraybottles, but my favorite material thus far, is clorox wipes packaging.
http://www.couponaholic.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/clorox-disinfecting-wipes.jpg
Of course, I mentioned I'm poor, so I have the very similar lysol wipes packaging instead.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/maniac-panic/HNI_0054-1.jpg
It's not quite as shiny or thick as plastic bowls, but it's definitely a step up from paper. It cuts very nicely with scissors, and has a very slight texture that accepts paint and stickers well. since the can is cylindrical, it has a nice natural curve to it, and the plastic is thin enough to be bent almost any which-way. just be careful if you whittle the edges smooth with an exacto knife like I do, or you'll end up with a similar band-aid on the thumb.
now, they're pretty cool on their own, but you need something to look through, right?
3] Sunglasses
Now, I'm not SO poor that I can't afford a bit of see-through fabric, but I actually had the coolest results with a pair of broken sunglasses. I'm not quite done with the eyes yet, but it's looking pretty sweet:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/maniac-panic/HNI_0055-1.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/maniac-panic/HNI_0056-1.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/maniac-panic/HNI_0057-1.jpg
Visibility's really nice. They're dollar-store sunglasses that my brother accidentally sat on. of course the lenses popped right out, but I knew what to do. this is going to make a really sweet set of 3-D eyes once I add some recessed edges and a few other finishing touches. wish me luck.
1] Paper& clear plastic
For the love of god, don't use paper for eyes. you may like it, but it hates you. the first four pairs of eyes I made had the colored part put directly onto paper. two of them were destroyed by contact with liquids. one of them by the condensation carried with the wearer's breath.
The best pair was this:
https://t.facdn.net/7850318@400-1335318695.jpg
This is paper sandwiched between two pieces of clear plastic. good concept at first, the paper didn't melt when it came into contact with water.
The bad news, however, is that vision is... awful. the clear plastic used for packing toys or, in this case, used with plastic drinking cups, produces a slightly wavy effect when looked through. doubled up, it's even worse. I was bumping into people and walls, especially since I can't wear my glasses inside of a fursuit head. I really don't recommend this method.
2] Salvaged colored plastics
Oooh, this stuff is fun to find. I live in a house with two other people, sometimes four other people. depends what weekend. As such, we go through a lot of cleaning supplies. and the great thing about most cleaning supplies is that they come in plastic containers, usually white!
Now, I've used everything from detergent bottles to windex spraybottles, but my favorite material thus far, is clorox wipes packaging.
http://www.couponaholic.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/clorox-disinfecting-wipes.jpg
Of course, I mentioned I'm poor, so I have the very similar lysol wipes packaging instead.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/maniac-panic/HNI_0054-1.jpg
It's not quite as shiny or thick as plastic bowls, but it's definitely a step up from paper. It cuts very nicely with scissors, and has a very slight texture that accepts paint and stickers well. since the can is cylindrical, it has a nice natural curve to it, and the plastic is thin enough to be bent almost any which-way. just be careful if you whittle the edges smooth with an exacto knife like I do, or you'll end up with a similar band-aid on the thumb.
now, they're pretty cool on their own, but you need something to look through, right?
3] Sunglasses
Now, I'm not SO poor that I can't afford a bit of see-through fabric, but I actually had the coolest results with a pair of broken sunglasses. I'm not quite done with the eyes yet, but it's looking pretty sweet:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/maniac-panic/HNI_0055-1.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/maniac-panic/HNI_0056-1.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/maniac-panic/HNI_0057-1.jpg
Visibility's really nice. They're dollar-store sunglasses that my brother accidentally sat on. of course the lenses popped right out, but I knew what to do. this is going to make a really sweet set of 3-D eyes once I add some recessed edges and a few other finishing touches. wish me luck.