Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
T HAS BEEN SAID THAT EYES ARE WINDOWS INTO so that in theory the eyes will set in the sockets at certain angles and to
the soul. As taxidermists, we probably understand this more be symmetrical with each other. Im sure, however, if youve mounted
than anyone. Through our hands-on experience, we know that on different companies forms, you have noticed that eye sockets vary
the eyes of a startled animal have a completely different look greatly from each other, specifically, the depth of the sockets, the angles
than those of a relaxed animal. Very slight position changes, such forward, and the angles down. To have consistent eyes, you must be
a raising or lowering an eyelid an eighth of an inch, can produce a to- able to adjust the eye accurately for each of these variables in each mantally different expression. As sculptors, my wife and I spend countless ufacturers eye sockets.
hours studying minute details in animals that will give lifelike expresFor example, you can now find a submerged gravel bar in the midsion to our sculptures.
dle of the lake where you limited-out on walleyes last week. Using modThe purpose of this article is to deal with the setting of expressionis- ern technology and a GPS system, a satellite sends a signal that directs
you back to your secret hot spot. Taxitic eyes from a scientific perspective.
dermists need a similar guide to tell us
Many articles have been written on
what our actual positions are for eye
how to set eyes and eye anatomy. This
Ive had some old-timers tell me theyve been
setting. This technology is now here
time, were going to look at a new,
doing it forever and dont need lines to make
with the Symmetry Set eye system.
technologically advanced, patent-pendHeres how it works.
ing product that is designed to help
eyelids. In the same way a craftsman uses modFirst, insert the Symmetry Set eyes
you set a more symmetrical, expresern, technologically-advanced tools to make
into the eye sockets. Using calipers,
sionistic eye faster than you can now.
make sure theyre the same distance
Impossible? Read on.
high quality furniture with a precise fit, these
back from the front of the nose. SecWe will use a white-tailed deer as
lines allow you to achieve museum quality in a
ond, level the pupils. On dark eyes a
our primary subject for this article. The
commercial time situation.
flashlight is often used to see the
process is broken down into two catepupils, but not for these eyes. The
gories: eye orientation and membrane
Symmetry Set eyes have a white pupil line the thickness of a ballpoint
attachment.
To achieve proper eye orientation, we must position the eyes sym- pen painted on the outside of the glasssuper accurate, super fast.
To depict expression perfectly, every detail of the eye position needs
metrically in five different ways: (1) distance back, (2) level, (3) angle
forward, (4) cant down, (5) depth. Most taxidermy forms are designed to be perfect. If each glass eye is not correctly positioned in its respective
Page 2
BREAKTHROUGH Issue 84
EYE SETTING
eye socket, a mount will not be able to achieve a perfect attitude, even
if the eyelids are correct. It the eye is in the head too deep, it will ha ve
a sunken or dead appearance. If the eye is placed out too far, the mount
will have a bug-eyed look. This depth problem is now solved. The symmetry-set eyes have graduations painted onto the outside of the glass so
you can measure each eye's depth in the socket. This assures that both
eyes are oriented to the exact depth desired and are depth-symmetrical.
Now, we have to orient the eyes front to back. If the eye sockets are
not angled forward the same, the eyes will have a different appearance.
How do you know if one eye socket is 40 degrees forward and the other is 50 degrees? Oftentimes, a customer may look at a mount and say,
"Somethings not right with those eyes. I dont know what, but theyre
messed up somehow." That something is the fact the eyes are angled
forward differently, thereby giving a goofy appearance.
To solve this problem, we marked 40 degrees and 45 degrees right
on the eye. Here's how it works. Look at both eyes simultaneously with
your head centered above the nose. Rotate the eyes forward until you
see the 40 degrees or 45 degrees line (your choice). Again, this system is
simple, fast, and accurate.
It might be helpful for you to
understand how I figured out ex- 1
actly where 40 degrees or 45 degrees are on the eye. I calculated
the placement of each of the lines
based on the number of degrees
back from the center of the eye,
which would be the horizon if the
eye was placed on a plane coincident with my line of sight. An offset was then entered into the equation to account for the fact that my viewing plane is parallel to the eyes
plane, and offset by half the width of an average deer's eye.
1. To check my math, I glued a glass eye to a protractor and set it
at 40 degrees.
3-4
BREAKTHROUGH Issue 84
EYE SETTING
setting system can accommodate you. All you do is tilt them down until the thicker cant-down line is plumb, and youre at 13 degrees. If you
would like to just add a slight downward cant, tilt them down until the
thinner cant-down line is plumb, and youre at 6 degrees. We realize
that different people want different things and we have designed the
Symmetry Set eye series to give you great flexibility.
Now that the eyes are symmetrically oriented in distance, depth, level, angle down, and angle forward, we can go to the next criteria, membrane attachment. To create eyelids, you simply press clay (or epoxy) up
to the eyelid lines. We have incorporated into the eye the two most
common deer expressions for you to choose, alert and relaxed. If you
prefer, you can use the eyelid lines as a guide for your own custom
openings.
Ive had some old-timers tell me theyve been doing it forever and
need lines to make eyelids. In the same way a craftsman uses modern,
technologically-advanced tools to make high quality furniture with a
precise fit, these lines allow you to achieve museum quality in a commercial time situation.
After you have finished a mount, even though you were sure the eye
set was symmetrical, have you ever noticed a pupil being higher in one
eye and lower in the other? The eyelid lines on the Symmetry Set system enable you to have perfect symmetry between the left and right eye
openings within fractions of a millimeter without having to rely on your
judgement. Again, the Symmetry Set eyes are digitally crafted for absolute perfection.
If youre still wondering if the Symmetry Set system can improve the
quality of your work, Ive saved the best for last.
Even when youve done everything perfectly, the eyes can still be off.
Why? Because after you applied the skin and the skin dried, components move and shift. By utilizing the next day witness line (the thin
line inside the relaxed eyelid line) you can easily see the distance between the actual eyelids and the line. You can make adjustments as necessary after everything is finished moving. This makes the eye setting
process distortion-proof.
When you are satisfied that all is well and the eye-set is done, just
dampen a paper towel, rag, or cotton swab with lacquer thinner or acetone and wipe the eyes. The lines will come off effortlessly.
When first viewing the Symmetry Set eyes, many taxidermists are
taken aback. The sophistication and complexity may at first appear overwhelming. When we were designing all these features, we knew that
they had to be as perfect as possible, and that would make them easy to
use, even if they were intimidating to behold. To accomplish this, we
needed to do two things. First, we needed a team of experts to help
shape the eyelids and proof our work. Second, we needed to use modern scientific technology that could consistently produce accurate symmetrical lines that would be perfect time after time.
Tohickon Glass Eyes. Our process utilized state-of-the-art imaging software and custom built automation machinery. Antonio Alfaro,
general manager of Tohickon Glass Eyes, has perfected this process for
the Symmetry Set eye series. for other species of animals (see end of article). We chose Tohickon because it is not only the most artistically advanced eye company on the market, but also the most technologically
advanced.
Whitetail Experts. Our team of consultants included
five World Champions as well as other commercial taxidermists we felt
were experts. These included Chuck Watson (Illinois), Dean OBrien
(Minnesota), Louis Gagliano (Pennsylvania), Don Stevens (Alabama),
Andy Nimmons (Georgia), Jason Snowberger (Pennsylvania), and Brian
Harness (Arkansas). We asked each of them to set a species of animal
eyes in clay in their respective areas of expertise, as if they would for
their best competition pieces.
Exquisitely
handcrafted
hunting
trophy
panels
6. Next, they airbrushed white paint over the exposed glass eye and
clay lids.
Page 4
EYE SETTING
8
15
8. The results were lines exactly where theyd placed their eyelids.
9a-b
9a-b. Photos illustrate this process. Photo 9a shows a finished startled alert deer (left) and Photo 9b shows a normal relaxed deer (right).
The customer who wants an upright, both ears forward, ready-tobolt look could choose the alert eye set. If he wanted a semi-sneak with
one ear back and one off the side, he could choose a relaxed eye set.
There is no limitation to the expression you can achieve while maintaining total accuracy and symmetry.
10. We tested the same
process at our facility in Wisconsin, 10
but this time we inserted a glass
eye into a real dear head.
11-12-13-14. Photos show
this was done in both the alert
(11-12) and relaxed (13-14) eye expressions.
15. After letting the paint dry, we then re-inserted the painted glass
eye into the real deer, slipped the nictitating membrane over the fresh
white paint, and
marked the exact
16
placement of the
membrane on the glass
eye
1 6 . Following
that, we cut the real
nictitating membrane
out of the deer and
applied it to the glass
eye. This exercise allowed us to compare
our handwork against
an unrelenting standarda real membrane.
Perfecting these
eyes posed a problem for me. The eyes are so precise, it forced me to
have to perfect the eye sockets in my forms. How do I do that?
17
11-12
ALERT
13-14
RELAXED
Page 5
EYE SETTING
18
19
to view the rest of our work with greater scrutiny. My first employer
out of high school gave me some words of wisdom I've never forgotten. "Brian,"he said in a matter-of-fact manner, "the world is always
moving ahead and if you stay the same, youll be left behind." Success
comes to those who live on the cutting edge; mediocrity is meant for
those who cut it with a dull knife. The Symmetry Set eye system will
put you on the cutting edge and help you to sharpen the rest of your
skills as a taxidermist. n
Antonio Alfaro, general manager of Tohickon Glass Eyes, has perfected this process for the Symmetry Set eye series.
Page 6
BREAKTHROUGH Issue 84