Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

A few posts ago, I mentioned a new ocular orb technique. After living with two finished attempts I have decided that I'm not completely satisfied with the results. For one, I haven't figured out how to make the orb come to the edge of the eye lid. I assume (having never dissected an eye) that it's round, so when I made the ball of clay into an orb, it didn't come to the edge of the brow and lid and appears to be looking up as the top of the orb is inset too far. For some reason, it only does this after I drill the hole in the orb to create the iris.

One thing that remains from the new discovery is removing the eye and surrounding area. This makes it easier for me to get to the hard to reach places, such as under the lid and into the iris. I can turn the piece in my hand instead of trying to access these areas while in the head that is attached to the body.

So now I cut the eye, brow and part of the cheek out after it's almost complete and add small bits of clay to the orb with a tiny brush until it meets my aesthetic expectations. It's not as fast as I had hoped, but faster than the old way and the results are still believable.