Pupil symmetry?

[Bobster]

When I received Mimi13 the second week of December there were a few things that I did not like about her. Those things are fixable, so it was not that big of a deal. However I still had this feeling of something being wrong with her that I could not shake. I had her out this morning before work and noticed that her pupils are not the same size. I was looking her square in the face and it jumped out at me. I check Elena and her pupils are so close that I can’t tell if there is any difference from a casual glance. But Mimi’s are a 1/3 of a mm bigger on one side or smaller on the other side. Is this normal or did some one at Volks mess up on her eyes?

Bobby

[Chiaki]

Sometimes happens. For example I know a girl whose Jun Tachibana eyes are completely different but it's the iris...maybe can be appreciated in these picture when I tried them in one of my dolls:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/455462362_e3ca8e5f10_o.jpg
I can't really tell it but I think even pupils are different too, but maybe it's just an optical effect.

By the way, why don't you post a pic of your eyes? :O

[Bobster]

Sometimes happens. For example I know a girl whose Jun Tachibana eyes are completely different but it's the iris...maybe can be appreciated in these picture when I tried them in one of my dolls:

I can't really tell it but I think even pupils are different too, but maybe it's just an optical effect.

By the way, why don't you post a pic of your eyes? :O

Yea, that the effect. I was trying to figure our exactly what was different about them this AM. I will snap off a photo tonight when I get home. Now that I know what it is, I don’t know if I want to change her eyes. It might end up being one of those things that makes her special. Now I am going to be looking people in the eyes all day to see if real people’s pupils are different sizes at the same time. :)

Bobby

[Manami]

hmmm I think my first girl (a SD13 Cyndy) has different sized pupils too. Her eyes just look a little off if you look too closely. I think it just has to do with the fact that the eyes are hand made. =/

[sgtgeorgecarter]

There's handmade and then there's looking like you have concussion.

Go's eyes are similar enough that it gives him a bit of expression, not like he was just him in the head with a pole. I'd be annoyed if it were otherwise.

[Bobster]

I took a photo of Mimi13’s eyes.

(Link did not work out. Can't make it work. :( I am going to try something else out and edit agian then.)

In person it is most noticeable. In a photo it is not as pronounced. First I used the grid tool in GIMP. With grids it is very hard to see a difference. Then I used the measure tool to check the sizes. Mimi13’s left pupil and iris are smaller in most dimensions by a slight amount. I am going to take some more photos of her tonight to try and track down why she looks so wrong in person.

Bobby

[Bel]

sgtgeorgecarter, I laughed way, way too hard at your comment.

[Karhys]

Hmm, I don't really consciously think about this that much as I don't often see eyes where the pupil symmetry is badly off, but yeah, when it's really off it can totally ruin an otherwise good look for a doll. >_>;

I did have one pair of glass eyes that I bought where the pupils were noticeably different sizes and although the eyes themselves were lovely, it was enough of a problem for me personally that I didn't feel comfortable using them, which was a shame as they were quite pricey. Thankfully the friend I resold them to was okay with the difference and the eyes looked lovely in her boy.

As was mentioned above it's basically just that the eyes are handmade so you're bound to find difference in them, and depending on a lot of factors involved during the making there's always the possibility that they may not turn out perfect. I think you'd likely see this more with the cheaper glass eyes (such as HG) as opposed to the more expensive types (Zoukeimura, Silver, etc). That said, I have occasionally seen Zoukeimura with noticeable differences in pupil size, and the ones I owned that had problems were actually by Silver. But it's way more of a rarity for them than the norm.

I don't mind a little bit of difference in pupil size -- I tend to like asymmetry in a lot of things with these dolls because it's way more natural and realistic looking. But there's natural asymmetry and then there's whacked-out druggie, and the latter is not a look I'm personally going for. :oops

[sgtgeorgecarter]

sgtgeorgecarter, I laughed way, way too hard at your comment.

:) But seriously, that's what some of those eyes look like.

[Manami]

There's handmade and then there's looking like you have concussion.

Go's eyes are similar enough that it gives him a bit of expression, not like he was just him in the head with a pole. I'd be annoyed if it were otherwise.

Never thought of it that way O.o lol

[astrosnik]

I pretty much agree with everything said here. Glass eyes have tendencies to have minor flaws, like size or placement not being exact. You can often disguise flaws by placing the eyes differently, either tilting them upward or adding a side-glance. Humans can definately display these same differences, especially people with vision disparity between eyes or that have sustained injury. (Look at a lot of hockey players eyes, XD)

[Catdancer]

oh that's a big thing of mine..the eyes have to look right...I have a pair of 12mm MP Feather eyes that I used for my Narae when she is in her ghostly form, and when she was on my shelf I kept looking at here thinking something was "off" sure enough one of the eyes has changed.
the pupil was leeching out into the iris, instead of the iris being white its now a purplish blue and the pupil is large...the other eye, the pupil also leeching the iris and turning it bluish but the pupil isn't as big...
kind of P'Od me off..for the price you pay for these eyes, they should do that..and it also did it in a pair of 12mm MP afghan eyes...I won't buy anynore of their soft silicone eyes..
when i set eyes I also look into the mirror with the head to make sure they face the same direction, nothing like a doll with a "Marty Feldman" wandering eye.. :P

[PawPaw]

I've never really noticed that with my boys.. at least not in the same pair of eyes. I've mismatched eyes that have different pupil sizes, but that's to be expected. xD Although, Karrian has a blind eye, so it doesn't really patter for him. :P

[Pookinopolis]

Okay, I'm glad I'm not the only one perturbed by this issue; I have purchased several "pairs of color contacts" for Aislinn. color contacts is what I call her eyes! It kind of freaks her out when we talk about changing out eyeballs for her I notice that there are 2 pairs that drive me nuts and I thought it was Aislinn making a funny face me I thought I might need to bevel an eye well but it turns out that the actual pupils are different sizes! It happened in my Glib ones only though... I recently bought a pair of 18 mm Master Pieces for the new girl coming to stay with us, they look okay so far...I guess sometimes you just get a raw deal. I wonder if you could exchange them (the Masterpieces) if they look funky; bad pair...think the seller would be understanding?

[Bobster]

You can often disguise flaws by placing the eyes differently, either tilting them upward or adding a side-glance. Humans can definately display these same differences, especially people with vision disparity between eyes or that have sustained injury. (Look at a lot of hockey players eyes, XD)

I had not thought about placing them differently to mask the differences. Thanks for the tip. I have found myself looking clerks at stores directly in the face trying to pick out any asymmetry!!!!!! It can be hard to do, since the transaction only last a few seconds in many cases. I wanted to thank everyone who has commented on the subject.

Bobby

[Bobster]

...I guess sometimes you just get a raw deal. I wonder if you could exchange them (the Masterpieces) if they look funky; bad pair...think the seller would be understanding?

I would ask. You might just explain that there are minor differences in the eyes that drive you nuts. Offer to pay the shipping to exchange if possible. Unless they only have the one pair you got, most people are surprisingly accommodating.

Bobby

[StephG]

I've had a couple pair of eyes with different sized pupils - it makes me crazy, especially when I really like the color. Then there're the MP eyes that start to bleed out of the pupil, causing them to be oddly sized - just as some of you have commented on. By then you've had them awhile and you're stuck. I'm buying more and more solid glass eyes, to try to avoid these problems, but I'm having issues with the glass eyes not filling the openings well enough in some cases. Anyway, yeah, the different size pupil thing makes me a bit nuts.

sgtgeorgecarter, your comment made me laugh out loud! :>)

[Tenshi]

oh that's a big thing of mine..the eyes have to look right...I have a pair of 12mm MP Feather eyes that I used for my Narae when she is in her ghostly form, and when she was on my shelf I kept looking at here thinking something was "off" sure enough one of the eyes has changed.
the pupil was leeching out into the iris, instead of the iris being white its now a purplish blue and the pupil is large...the other eye, the pupil also leeching the iris and turning it bluish but the pupil isn't as big...
kind of P'Od me off..for the price you pay for these eyes, they should do that..and it also did it in a pair of 12mm MP afghan eyes...I won't buy anynore of their soft silicone eyes..
when i set eyes I also look into the mirror with the head to make sure they face the same direction, nothing like a doll with a "Marty Feldman" wandering eye.. :P

Oh dear. . .I have MP Feather eyes in my Puki Sugar right now, and now I'm afraid that's going to happen :damnit. You're right, it's not right to pay $30+ for a pair of teeny-tiny 9mm eyes and have them waste away like that!

[Fairlight]

Just for reference...I have MP silicone eyes in a number of my dolls (eyes have been there for up to almost two years), and that problem hasn't happened to me. Doesn't mean that it won't happen in future, though! I have noticed that there are sometimes irregularities in both the the silicone and hard glass eyes when they're new, unfortunately.
The MP eyes are apparently made in a way that can lead to the leeching of color, fading, etc. Kinda depressing really...

[Carolyn.S]

Apparently just about any of the normal materials for holding in eyes can degrade silicone eyes. Sculpey, BJD eye putty, white tack for posters, etc.

And glass eyes are usually hand made and it seems like the less expensive they are the worse the match may be. However the cheapest glass eyes use printed pupil and iris and don't have that problem (example the inexpensive glass ovals at Kemper).

Carolyn

[lin]

I also have some MP eyes with "bleeding" pupils. They rest are ok so far; wish I knew what causes it so I could avoid it.

[Tro-chan]

I recently bought a pair of 18 mm Master Pieces for the new girl coming to stay with us, they look okay so far...I guess sometimes you just get a raw deal. I wonder if you could exchange them (the Masterpieces) if they look funky; bad pair...think the seller would be understanding?

I guess it would be worth a try, but I'm not so sure... Customer service does not seem to be their strong point... Or quality control... Or keeping to a promised timeline :|...
However, with uneaven eyes, it could be as simple as trying them in another doll. The difference in eye shape could hide the problem completely.

[Sameyu]

I've never of this before. Does this only affect glass eyes?

[MaggieMoonbeam]

I would think it would be an issue with any handmade eyes. Karhys, does Moca ever have problems of differing pupil size with the DropRops? I've noticed that almost ALL the eyes for sale on Y!J have pupil disparity. That seems to be the only place to buy Silver eyes that I can find, and I think they sell their "seconds" on Yahoo!Japan. I understand they sell at the Dolpas in Japan, but I can just imagine in all that mob scene trying to look closely at a pair of eyes. Grab it, pay, and go, I expect, is the method!

[Karhys]

The impression that I've always gotten is that this is more of a problem with glass eyes due to the way that they're made. I could of course be entirely wrong but... :oops

I also get the impression that Silver have a slightly lower level of quality control for eyes they're prepared to sell, hehe. I bought eyes from them directly at Dolpa (for full Silver price, around 6,800yen) and they seemed quite good at the time but in the end the disparity with the pupils bothered me enough that I resold them. But also I reached their table quite late in the day -- it's possible that those eyes were left because everyone else saw the pupil disparity and rejected them. ;) There were very few pairs to choose from by the time I got there!

I've never seen that problem with Moca's eyes, but I think she has really high standards for what she'll consider 'sellable'. She once sent me a pair of eyes as a gift because she said they had air bubbles and so she couldn't sell them -- I've stared at those eyes a LOT and be blowed if I can see these supposed air bubbles anywhere!

So I think it also really depends on the quality control levels of the people selling the eyes as well. Like for example how recently there's been more complaints about Zoukeimura eyes having flaws or mismatched pupils or whatever, when before it was rarely an issue -- one has to assume this would have to do with their standards of acceptability for selling having gone down.

[mxiong]

Just for reference...I have MP silicone eyes in a number of my dolls (eyes have been there for up to almost two years), and that problem hasn't happened to me. Doesn't mean that it won't happen in future, though! I have noticed that there are sometimes irregularities in both the the silicone and hard glass eyes when they're new, unfortunately.
The MP eyes are apparently made in a way that can lead to the leeching of color, fading, etc. Kinda depressing really...

I noticed that their eyes don't match very well and the quality is lacking, so I decided to not buy from them after I receive my last order of eyes. They have pieces of lint that are sealed under the silicone. The iris is not very circular. Sometimes the pattern cuts off like the area printed on was on the "edge of the paper". And I think the woman who takes the calls is annoyed by my requests and order confusions.

[rkold]

The impression that I've always gotten is that this is more of a problem with glass eyes due to the way that they're made. I could of course be entirely wrong but... :oops

I also get the impression that Silver have a slightly lower level of quality control for eyes they're prepared to sell, hehe. I bought eyes from them directly at Dolpa (for full Silver price, around 6,800yen) and they seemed quite good at the time but in the end the disparity with the pupils bothered me enough that I resold them. But also I reached their table quite late in the day -- it's possible that those eyes were left because everyone else saw the pupil disparity and rejected them. ;) There were very few pairs to choose from by the time I got there!

I've never seen that problem with Moca's eyes, but I think she has really high standards for what she'll consider 'sellable'. She once sent me a pair of eyes as a gift because she said they had air bubbles and so she couldn't sell them -- I've stared at those eyes a LOT and be blowed if I can see these supposed air bubbles anywhere!

So I think it also really depends on the quality control levels of the people selling the eyes as well. Like for example how recently there's been more complaints about Zoukeimura eyes having flaws or mismatched pupils or whatever, when before it was rarely an issue -- one has to assume this would have to do with their standards of acceptability for selling having gone down.

To add to what Karhys has said, I've bought full price eyes from Silver at Dolpa and while I've not yet had huge problems with the pupils being different sizes there have been bigger air bubbles than I would like on 6800 yen eyes :sweat Though I admit some of her colors are just lovely. Oddly, I've actually had better luck a few times with the seconds a few times.

Sometimes Silver, Hitomiya, Glassxeyes, etc are only selling seconds at events. ^_^;

One of my last pairs of zoukeimura eyes I received with a FCS order had different sized pupils. Personally, I think it was the amount of orders Volks had received. I'd placed my order during the October Sato event which was extremely busy and they got a lot more orders for Yuki and Yuh than they had anticipated as well.

[Hunajasieni]

I have noticed this with some glass and acrylic eyes I have had. If it won't be better by changing positions of eye (sometimes this does it, it looks better on other side, up side down etc.) Sometimes the pupil is different size sometimes they are not in middle, in wrong place. I cannot deal with eyes like that so I sell them/get new ones asap. :s

At least dollzone and angel of dream has those "cheap acrylics" wich have this problems. Dollmore also sometimes, and sometimes the pupil looks like faded.