Painting Eyes

[Peterjay 0]

I finally wore out my old Griffin Superior vise recently, and while I was out of action trying to decide on a replacement and waiting for it to arrive, I thought it would be a good time to finally bite the bullet and learn how to hand-paint my own eyes. I’ve always used the adhesive stick-ons, but felt there was something “manufactured” about their appearance, and they lacked the personal touch that tyers like Capt. Bob Lemay get with their hand-painted eyes. They also don’t adhere all that well to contours and require a heavy coat of epoxy, etc., to make a smooth head.

 

I was aware that a friend of mine (Joseph Manette) had done an article in FFSW about painting eyes, so I dropped him a line to pick his brain a bit. It seems that Joe uses brushes, a technique he’d picked up from Mike Sisco, a well-respected Connecticut tyer and a talented artist.

 

I hauled out my supply of acrylic paints and a bunch of old flies and gave it a shot. It soon became obvious that I was no Rembrandt and I probably wouldn’t live long enough to gain any kind of skill with a brush, so I went out and bought a bag of wooden corn skewers and used a pencil sharpener to create a bunch of “pens” of various sizes to use in place of the brushes. That worked a little better, but I was still wrecking most of the eyes, and was having a lot of trouble getting pairs that matched.

 

It finally dawned on me that if I could find a way to make up the eyes in advance, I’d have an easier time matching up pairs, and could toss the rejects and eliminate the hassle of wiping them off and starting over.

 

After a lot of experimenting, what I eventually found was that the eyes could be painted onto pieces of polyethylene bags, lifted off with the tip of an Exacto knife and carefully applied to the head. It helps if the head is a little sticky from a coat of Flexament, but it usually isn’t necessary. The eyes adhere pretty nicely once they’re in place. The process is a little tricky, but with practice, it isn’t all that difficult.

 

A few notes:

 

The thicker the paint, the easier the eyes are to lift off the plastic, but if the paint is too thick, it’ll leave a crown, making the pupils difficult to apply. I’ve been doing them in layers, sometimes three or four. That will also ensure that the eyes will be opaque, which is what I want most of the time.

 

I've been experimenting with using layers of glitter paint, etc to add a little sparkle.

 

I’ve also been fooling around with mixing a little Liquid Fusion (water-based urethane glue) into the paint to add strength and make it a little easier to lift off the eyes.

 

I’m still experimenting and learning, but I’m pretty happy with the way it’s turned out so far, and it's been a lot of fun.

[Fred H. 0]

Great job , very creative . You should have saved this and sent it in for a magazine article.

 

Fred

[Piker20 0]

Yeah a great idea. How are you fixing the dried eyes to the head? And love the flies you posted, how are you achieving that body? Floss and then a clear coat over the top?

[Chefben4 0]

I think I remember Kirk making them on a piece of glass! Well done PJ. I like the fly, I think you should tell us more about it!

 

Body epoxy coated braid or something? Look durable.

[Peterjay 0]

Thanks for the compliments guys - this has been a lot of fun. Fred, I agree, this might make a good magazine piece - I’ll put it on my winter project list.

 

Piker, the eyes adhere pretty well onto the heads when pressed on with the fingers. If the head’s a little sticky, it helps. The coating will shine them up nicely.

 

Ben, I’m not surprised that Kirk is way ahead of me on this. (as he usually is LOL) I made some really nice eyes on glazed tile, which is similar to a glass surface, but I wanted to mass-produce a lot of colors/sizes, so storage was a real issue. The plastic bags make it a lot easier. I just tape down the top of the plastic while I’m painting the eyes on, so I can keep it tight.

 

The flies are just my standard striped bass streamers that I tie in a zillion color combinations/shapes/sizes. Any blue/white/flash combo with a red head can be absolutely killer for bass and tuna, though I have no idea why. Guess they’re just universal saltwater colors that work on a lot of species. I’m a compulsive tinkerer, and I’m always fooling around with different ways to make the bodies, but all of them are built from nylon sewing thread, heavily cemented, and wrapped with colored thread or whatever. Next comes a coat of acrylic glitter paint ($2/bottle at Walmart) followed by coats of epoxy or Liquid Fusion. You can also use dry glitter or whatever floats your boat. I usually make up a whole bunch of bodies in advance and let them cure for a day or so on my drying wheel before I do the actual tying. The main thing is to build them up, give them some sparkle, and coat them to make them durable.

 

I also like to dress up the heads a bit, sometimes with glitter paint, sometimes with Krystal Flash or Sulky Holoshimmer. (the Holoshimmer is great stuff to experiment with - I’ll post some pix when I get a chance)

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Peter, those are great looking! Like Ben, I'm curious about those beautiful flies and that flawless body.

 

Ben, you're part right about me and the glass. I use glass to mix my paints on when I paint poppers and blend the paint and then slide a razor under the dried paint and it slides right off. Never had done pre-made eyes before, my hand painted eyes are getting a little more inconsistent as I age and require now 3x magnification glasses - not sure what number Peter is up to but I'm sure that has an effect.

 

However, I recently found a solution. A friend of mine has a sign making company and used his "period" making die cutter to punch periods on the vinyl material. They are perfectly round, very opaque in color and conform to the curved shape of thread heads and popper bodies.

 

Below are pictures of the vinyl eyes. I'm waiting for some more samples from my friend that I'm going to send to Cascade to see if he's interested . I've got to say that the eyes Peter makes are really good and natural looking compared to these. But I think I'm hooked on vinyl.

 

Kirk

 

 

 

[Peterjay 0]

Kirk, many thanks for the kind words - it means a lot to me, coming from a master craftsman such as yourself.

 

Kirk asked me if I'd tried fabric paint and used the bottle tips as an applicator - I bought a couple of bottles a while ago, but outside of a quick test, I haven't really used them yet. I do know that they're going to require a bit of thinning. I already had a wide variety of acrylic paints on hand, so that's what I used.

 

I'm really interested in Kirk's method of punching holes in plastic material - I've searched high and low for some tool that will do the job, but outside of standard paper punchers (too big for most of my flies) and outrageously expensive professional-grade cutters, I've come up empty. I wouldn't mind making some stencils and giving them a shot, and Kirk's popper eyes are just plain beautiful.

 

Kirk, I don't know what my magnification level is these days, and it would probably scare the hell out of me if I did. I'm sure all this bench work is taking a toll, but I'm gonna keep at it as long as I can get around the house without holding onto a dog's tail.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Awesome post! Seems I read about a similar idea some years ago. Boyd Pfeiffer or Fishy Fullum perhaps. They were using the acrylic fabric paints on a sheet of wax paper to make eyes, but I don't recall how they were attaching them.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Hey Peter,

 

It is my friend that is providing the vinyl eyes, he gave them to me at the end of that class I taught a few months ago but I'm just gettin-ron-tu-usin them.

They are "kiss" punched so they stay stuck to their backing just like the regular holographic eyes sold. The thing I like about this vinyl is their ability to conform to the curved shape of thread heads and popper bodies as opposed to the stiffer paper ones that you have to kind of bend between your fingers to take on a curved shape. I've done that for years and it works but these are much simplier. I asked my friend if he could try to find some shinier vinyl or holographic to put in his puncher.

 

Here is a picture of the sheet he gave me and a little practice sticker on a piece of balsa. I was checking to see if I needed to apply CA if the CA would melt the vinyl. Passed the test.

 

Kirk

 

[Peterjay 0]

Jim, waxed paper was the first backing I tried, but it didn't work too well. A friend of mine uses it when he makes tiny epoxy crabs, (on #8 hooks no less) which is where I got the idea. Maybe I'll give it another try, now that I've picked up a little experience.

 

Kirk - those babies look great - I think you're really onto something there. One of the reasons I like the paint eyes is that they likewise mold so well to the fly head - mylar stick-ons have always given me fits. Unless you use a small eye on a large head, they look like hell IMO.

[dreamcaster4639 0]

Hey Peter,

 

It is my friend that is providing the vinyl eyes, he gave them to me at the end of that class I taught a few months ago but I'm just gettin-ron-tu-usin them.

They are "kiss" punched so they stay stuck to their backing just like the regular holographic eyes sold. The thing I like about this vinyl is their ability to conform to the curved shape of thread heads and popper bodies as opposed to the stiffer paper ones that you have to kind of bend between your fingers to take on a curved shape. I've done that for years and it works but these are much simplier. I asked my friend if he could try to find some shinier vinyl or holographic to put in his puncher.

 

Here is a picture of the sheet he gave me and a little practice sticker on a piece of balsa. I was checking to see if I needed to apply CA if the CA would melt the vinyl. Passed the test.

 

Kirk

 

How thick is that vinyl? I have a guy that makes car decals and stuff for me I wonder if he could produce little circles for me?? Great idea I am not very good with painting eyes.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

The car decals could work. The vinyl is pretty thin.

Peter, I found on the thread heads if I put a coat of nail polish first and let it dry, they stick better. Then on the acrylic painted bugs, they conform and stick good but the next day, for some reason, some of them came unstuck either the bottom or top edge. That is why I tested the CA. Now, when I stick them on, and they're conformed to the head, I just put a drop of CA on them and use a toothpick to spread along the circumference and dab off the excess with a paper towel.

The first time I used these, I put the colors on one at a time but now, I make up the eye on the sheet and then stick the assembled eye on to the body and just put the body between my thumb and index finger with the fingers on the eye and just push as I roll back and forth and they stick really good.

 

Kirk

[Scud 0]

Hey peter. I was at joanns fabric with the better half and they make hole punches in different sizes even 1/16. They are made by Fiskars. Check them out. Not sure of all the sizes but they had a few.

[Scud 0]

Just found 1/16, 1/8 ,1/4 on there site. Check it out.

[Panama Red 0]

I've been wanting comment for a few days now...However, Mid shift leaves me with an overwhelming desire to sleep as soon as get home from work

 

PJ, those eyes are fantastic! And the flies aren't too shabby either, beautiful! Seems your artistic abilities as an author and photographer transfer well to the vise (or vice ). Could be a pulitzer in it for you, or at the very least a free pass on entry fees at this years parade.

 

Kirk, jeezo brother another technique worthy of high praise and accolades from the fly tying masses. Your work is always a joy to look at and those eyes really create a focal point for the fish (and fisherman ( ) . You should market them under the name "Marsh Master" fly tying products...I see millions in the making. AND since I named them....I'll take my cut in product

 

Ben...I'm having a beer @ 0730 in the morning. Just though you would be proud...