MannequinFan Eyelids Now for DS Dolls!! Woot Woot!

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:52 pm

Everhard wrote:In my opinion, closing eyelids is the first and most important step in improving the realism of life size dolls. This is very good work.

I agree. Next step.... autonomous blinking!

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AhMyDolless · Post by **AhMyDolless** » Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:56 pm

I guess. Looks kinda spooky when eyes are closed.

MannyCan · Post by **MannyCan** » Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:29 pm

AhMyDolless wrote:I guess. Looks kinda spooky when eyes are closed.

I think it looks spooky when the eyes are staring blankly off into the distance.

But really, this is a first step to giving DS more emotional range. The "natural looking-ness" will get better and better. That's my feeling.
(sorry for my inadequacies

)

MannyCan · Post by **MannyCan** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 12:05 am

Ok I finally finished Nadia's new pictorial.
You can see it here:
viewtopic.php?f=143&t=98247
Hope you enjoy it - remember to leave a comment!

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Jimbofod · Post by **Jimbofod** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:15 pm

I have a technical question. It seems the eylids are hard. Plastic? Is there any danger of them scratching up the eyes underneath? If so, perhaps a thin layer of cloth/felt inside would be protective enough. I'd hate to see you go through all this and end up with eye scratches.

Cheers!

Jimbofod · Post by **Jimbofod** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:20 pm

Mr Franz wrote:
Everhard wrote:In my opinion, closing eyelids is the first and most important step in improving the realism of life size dolls. This is very good work.
I agree. Next step.... autonomous blinking!

blink.gif

Have you seen the recent videos of the DS robotic head prototypes? They will be quite beyond this, with animated facial expressions and more, controllable remotely or also presumably with pre-programmed actions. Actually, it's very impressive, and you can tell they made big improvements even from an earlier prototype video where the face was controlled with a Playstation controller.

RealDoll is working on similar technology driven by an app to control everything.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 5:02 pm

Yeah saw those. Impressive, but probably cost prohibitive for most folks. I was thinking more along the lines of something simple just to create a basic blinking action. Maybe some limited facial expression too. Love to see my doll smile once in a while. Even if it were just a manual adjustment.

Jimbofod · Post by **Jimbofod** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 5:06 pm

Mr Franz, this is a good point. It would be nice to have this option as a middle ground between fixed expression and fully roboticized. Maybe the roboticized version could also be sold with motors removed and a couple simple mechanisms to hold expressions in place, priced somewhere inbetween.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 6:51 pm

Jimbofod wrote:I have a technical question. It seems the eylids are hard. Plastic? Is there any danger of them scratching up the eyes underneath? If so, perhaps a thin layer of cloth/felt inside would be protective enough. I'd hate to see you go through all this and end up with eye scratches.

Cheers!

Hi Jimbofod,

The eyelids are 3d printed with ABS plastic. They are smooth inside so they slide over the eyes without scratching.
I imagine if you were to have them in constant motion they may eventually cause some wear, but moving them occasionally isn't going to cause that to happen. Also, the eyes I make use glass lenses not plastic, so the eyelids could never scratch them.

MannyCan · Post by **MannyCan** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:42 am

Jimbofod wrote:I have a technical question. It seems the eylids are hard. Plastic? Is there any danger of them scratching up the eyes underneath? If so, perhaps a thin layer of cloth/felt inside would be protective enough. I'd hate to see you go through all this and end up with eye scratches.

Actually I should have mentioned this so thanks for asking! If you continue to use the DS factory eyes, I would recommend sanding the inside - 200 then 600 then 800 grit. Then the inside feels as smooth as glass.

: Sanding Lids.jpg (1.24 MiB) Viewed 1853 times

See here are the originals (bottom) and the sanded pair (top). It might not look like it from the pictures, but the top pair is REALLY smooth on the inside. I can't feel the ridges at all.

As most DS owners know, the DS eyes retract in order to move them. If you're coordinated you can actually retract the eye before moving the lids. MannequinFan was smart in making the lash ledge a tad longer. This REALLY helps when you want to move the lids without damaging the lashes. Smart design.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:26 pm

Hey MC thanks so much for the nice review and all your kind words!
Also thanks for all your help. I don't have a DS doll head so all your suggestions along the way were invaluable. I'm very glad they worked out!

Regarding the sanding...
A quicker and easier way to smooth the inside if you are concerned about it is to just use a little acetone on a paper towel and give them a polish.

If you look at the 3d print under great magnification, you will notice that each layer strand is actually very smooth since it is extruded from melted plastic, so it really isn't going to cause scratching.

Jimbofod · Post by **Jimbofod** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:03 pm

I'd love to get some of these for my sKayla head, but I imagine they would need to be customized as smaller to fit smaller eylid openeing, not to mention probably a different eye shape?

MannyCan · Post by **MannyCan** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:45 pm

MannequinFan wrote:Regarding the sanding...
A quicker and easier way to smooth the inside if you are concerned about it is to just use a little acetone on a paper towel and give them a polish.

Lol - I totally forgot you're used ABS!! I'm typically PLA (Amphora/Co-Polyester filaments).

Yes - Acetone would work easier than what I did for sure .. but sanding it wasn't too bad as it was a small part.
Good tip tho for folks that wanna get a smooth finish.

Jimbofod wrote:I'd love to get some of these for my sKayla head, but I imagine they would need to be customized as smaller to fit smaller eylid openeing, not to mention probably a different eye shape?

Actually one of MF's first versions was smaller. You should send him a picture with measuring tape across the eye.

foozzys · Post by **foozzys** » Tue May 22, 2018 2:52 am

how to you secure the eyelids in? I did this a few years ago, but I don't have a 3D printer, so it wasn't as fancy, but the shape was identical, made of foam, and painted, but the paint chipped off and looked like shit and i ended up ruining the whole head, lol

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Wed May 23, 2018 3:01 pm

foozzys wrote:how to you secure the eyelids in? I did this a few years ago, but I don't have a 3D printer, so it wasn't as fancy, but the shape was identical, made of foam, and painted, but the paint chipped off and looked like shit and i ended up ruining the whole head, lol

Hi Foozzys,

The eyelids slip between the eyeballs and the dolls eyelid which holds them in.
The new eyelid design also has little tabs at the corners that will hold them in a closed position even without the eyeballs in place, but that is only for the larger TPE doll version.