eye setting - Revolution Taxidermy Supply

EYE SETTING
I
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. I’m sure, however, if you’ve 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 ufacturer’s 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
I’ve had some old-timers tell me they’ve been
setting. This technology is now here
time, we’re going to look at a new,
doing it forever and don’t need lines to make
with the Symmetry Set eye system.
technologically advanced, patent-pendHere’s 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 they’re 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 glass—super 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
“
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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,
"Something’s not right with those eyes. I don’t know what, but they’re
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 eye’s
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.
2
2. Next, I made a three-dimensional graph based on the average eye
width of a deer, which is 3¼ inches.
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BREAKTHROUGH Issue 84
3-4. Standing centered and looking down the graph, I simply
marked the eye with a silver Sharpie at the disappearing point. By doing
this, it takes into consideration both the shape of the eye and the fact
that I viewed the eye off center at exactly 1⅝ inches.
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5. Next, I had to orient the eyes to correct downward cant. The
eye sockets on different forms vary from about 0 degrees to 15 degrees
downward cant.
For years it has been accepted by many taxidermists that a deer'’s eye
angles downward, even when it is alert and looking forward. Not everyone believes this. As a sculptor and designer of this eye set, I must design eyes and forms so that both Republicans and Democrats can use
them. To accomplish this, I am designing the eye sockets in my forms at
5 degrees down and the eyes at 6 degrees and 13 degrees down, so you
can have it the way you like it.
You may ask, "How do I know what downward angle I should use?
Why is there such a broad range between different manufacturers’
forms?"
Let's presume that a deer's eye is zero degrees down, or the line of
sight is parallel with the ground. Next, let’'s assume the pupil is in the
middle of the eye opening, and both the upper and lower eyelids are
equally distanced above and below the pupil. The viewing plane of the
deer is horizontal.
Let's make a few simple changes and see what happens. First, we'll
bring the upper eyelid down 2 millimeters. Also, let's move the lower
eyelid down 2 millimeters. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the
whole expression just changed. Notice that the pupil is now above the
center in the eye opening. Because of the convex shape of the eye, notice that when the upper eyelid came down, it also went out. Simultaneously, when the lower eyelid went down, it went in. If you can't see
the pupil in the eye, you can easily think the eyes are angled down even
though they are not. This is one interpretation.
To sum up this theory, the downward look of a deer's eye comes
from the placement of the eyelids on the eye in relation to the pupil.
It is very common for the pupil to be above center in the eye opening
of a live deer, even if it is alert.
If you want to strongly angle the eyes down, the Symmetry Set eye
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EYE SETTING
setting system can accommodate you. All you do is tilt them down until the thicker cant-down line is plumb, and you’re 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 you’re 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.
I’ve had some old-timers tell me they’ve 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 you’re still wondering if the Symmetry Set system can improve the
quality of your work, I’ve saved the best for last.
Even when you’ve 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 O’Brien
(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.
6
Exquisitely
handcrafted
hunting
trophy
panels…
6. Next, they airbrushed white paint over the exposed glass eye and
clay lids.
7
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Trophy Room W ood Pr oducts
P.O. Box 32013 • Kitchener, Ontario N2E 2M2
Telephone (519) 635-7505 • FAX (519) 745-4956
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7. After the paint dried, they peeled away the clay.
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EYE SETTING
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8. The results were lines exactly where they’d 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
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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 standard—a 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?
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11-12
ALERT
13-14
RELAXED
17. I had a tool-and-die-maker build me a secret tool, as shown in
the photograph. Note: This is an “offshoot” of an idea Louis Gagliano
told me about.
18-19. When drilled into my prototype deer forms, the tool gives
me eye sockets with the correct depth, width, and angle down of 5 degrees, and an angle forward of 40 degrees.
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EYE SETTING
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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, you’ll 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
Some of the advancements
we made in taxidermy merely
bring us closer to its intended
purpose of re-creating and preserving nature more accurately.
Advancements like the Symmetry Set eyes bring us to a
level of accuracy that forces us
BRIAN JOHNSON lives in northern Wisconsin, with his
wife Doris. They have six children and have been in fulltime taxidermy or taxidermy sculpturing since 1974. They
have sculptured the Final Generation line of taxidermy
forms as well as the complete line of Rinehart 3-D archery
targets. The Johnsons started Revolution Taxidermy Supply
(715-634-7090), which specializes in artistic poses of
whitetail deer and black bear. Brian also started the Wisconsin School of Chainsaw Carving, which was the first
state-licensed school of its kind in the U.S. He is also an inventor with numerous
patents to his name.
Antonio Alfaro, general manager of Tohickon Glass Eyes, has perfected this process for the Symmetry Set eye series.
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