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So far I’ve just used the “standard profile” eyes from Dreaming Tree, which are a thicker style, but they’re still much thinner than Windstone eyes. To counter this, it looks as if ordering them slightly larger than you think you’ll need is the best. 9mm eyes fit the small dragon sockets well. They’ll do for griffins, but I’m going to try a set of 10mm on a griffin next. The semi-metallic paint style is absolutely gorgeous and my favorite of the three offered. Pupils: round seems to be easier to set because you don’t have to worry about accidentally tilting them out of true, whereas a slit pupil eye would take some fiddling to get just right. Slit pupil width also seems to vary slightly depending on what “series” eye you get: some have fairly wide slits, while others have narrow ones.
So far everything I’ve ordered from her has been very nicely made. I can definitely recommend her work, even though I have yet to actually use a pair in a PYO! I started out with an order of 8mm eyes for dragons, and they’re just too small. So I ordered some 9mm that will be in in a few weeks. But so as to not waste the 8mm eyes, I’ve been mucking around with sculpting materials lately, trying to build a few little dragons. Slow going! I have no idea what I’m doing yet. 😕
I’ve run into the same kind of thing. Sometimes the paint job mutates and the eyes you originally picked don’t work any more; other times this really great idea comes up, and no eyes on hand match it. It gets frustrating, although I will say that the challenge has occasionally led to an interesting solution (usually involving interference paint, a lot of squinting, and some swearing).
There are some nice eyes available through dreamingtreestudios, but they are definitely not as thick as Windstone eyes and it’s harder to get them “focused.” Windstone eyes are fabulous for the way you can set them in the sockets and bam! Dragon or griffin or ki-rin is looking right at you, eyes perfectly focused on you no matter how you turn the piece. They also fit, and fill, the sockets just right.
That said, if you are not as picky-choosy about eye focus as I am (it’s a thing with me), you can check out the Dreaming Tree website. She has a lot more eye colors and styles available than are shown, but that will give you an idea, and if you write and ask she’ll e-mail you the updated “catalog.” There are eyes with two, three, and even four colors; slit-pupilled eyes; mecha eyes; metallic, semi-metallic, and plain eyes. Other folks on the Forum have used her eyes, with some very nice results. I’ve just ordered some more eyes from her; I’m trying to figure out what the perfect size is for Windstones, and I’ll also be experimenting to see if I can make the eyes work better by putting a little putty in the sockets behind them. I still think it’s going to end up being like the Wall-Eyed Goof-Up Old Warriors, though: an eye that’s too thin just won’t have that wonderful illusion of focus, no matter what you do with it. 🙄
Gosh, that’s funny: out here, “mosquito hawk” means one of those big bugs with the long legs that looks like a gigantic mosquito. I remember hearing dragonflies referred to as “darning needles,” but I’m pretty sure that was in a Peanuts cartoon. “No-see-‘ums” can refer to Culicoides flies or buffalo gnats. Sopulgids, especially the larger variety found in the deserts, are referred to as “sun spiders,” “wind spiders,” or “HOLY *BLEEP* DID YOU JUST SEE THAT?”
Here’s one for you: we always called it “soda pop,” because Mom used to have a horse by that name. No wonder I get funny looks when I call it that. 😉
Surfing slang is on the wane overall, but it’s left some marks. “Dude” means guy, “tubular” means remarkable, wow, or amazing. “Wipeout” can be used to refer to a unfortunate and painful crash in sports other than surfing: skateboarding, dirt biking, roller-blading, etc. We also would say that such a person had just “munched it” or “gotten waxed.”
We used to say “going down to TJ” when someone was headed across the border to Tijuana for recreation. There, one could pick up a nice case of Montezuma’s Revenge, which I suspect everyone knows about.
“Freaking” is used for emphasis, as in, “It’s freaking hot today!” That term is probably used elsewhere as well, but “Majorly” used to have a similar usage and may have been more of a California thing. It’s fallen out of favor.
I could go on for a while about Valley Girl slang, but that’s (fortunately) out of date now. It was all the rage in high school. Like, ohmygaw, gag me with a spatula!
Pam Thompson wrote:We have some old warriors painted in amethyst, but the castings were bad. They have been sitting around for months because no one knows what to do with them (and no one has the heart to give the final word for their euthanasia).
Gosh . . . if the flaws were subtle enough that they weren’t noticed until they went to have their eyes put in . . . could they be modified a hair (add something weird, like bits of green or turquoise somewhere . . . or stray orange scales?) and done as a raffle like drag0n suggested? I’d try for one, certainly. I have a soft spot for imperfect creatures, particularly ones that are potentially facing euthanasia. (Ask me sometime about the blind chicken I raised . . . .) 😳
Blackdesertwind, I’m certain that that first orange kitten will be medium-haired, or possibly a little longer than that. Looking at that tail, and those tufts in front of his ears, he’s going to have some length to his coat: no shorthair, him. Exactly how long his fur will be, though, I couldn’t say. He looks like quite a character! 🙂
I bought her first book at Comic-Con a few years back and it was GREAT–actually jump-started my sketching again, and that was a godsend! I’ll definitely be ordering this second book! 😀
I’m sure glad that you’re feeling better! I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they’re able to give you both good answers and good solutions. 🙂
Oh, I don’t like that you’re going through this. Hang in there, grayfire! 🙁 And feel free to bite the doctor on the leg if you need to get their attention. It always works for me . . . .
I don’t know if this is better put in this thread or on Purpleturtle’s art thread, but regardless, I just have to pipe up in praise. For anyone who is considering one of PT’s sculpts, the answer is yes, they’re just as amazing as they look in the photographs! I have her Sea Dragon and this guy is incredible. She produces a very high quality in terms of proportion, symmetry, detail, and finish. And then there’s the paint job, which is truly professional-level with its shading, use of interference, and attention to detail. I haven’t seen one of her PYOs in person yet, but I think it’s a pretty safe bet that they are just as gorgeous. So if you’ve been considering bidding on one of her works, go for it! 😀
I’ve messed around a little bit with Apoxie Sculpt and I think I like it, although what I know about sculpting you could put in a thimble and still have room enough for your finger. My one unpleasant surprise with it is that it is very sticky! Even when it’s setting up pretty solidly, boy, don’t drop it on anything or it will try to bond instantly with it. It has tried to eat the wooden dowel I used to smooth it. I made the mistake of setting a bit down on a paper plate to harden, and it’s going to take sandpaper to get the paper off now. Although it does bond with flat-back crystals very readily while still sticky, without needing any glue. Just be sure you drop the crystal exactly where you want it the first time, ’cause it doesn’t wanna give it back! 🙄
I have thoroughly enjoyed nearly every book written by Andre Norton, but some of my favorite sci-fi titles of hers are Star Man’s Son, Star Rangers, Galactic Derelict, Voodoo Planet, The Stars are Ours!, The Zero Stone, and Lord of Thunder. If you have a used-book store in your area, odds are very high that they have at least a handful of Andre Norton books on the shelves; thumb through a few and see what you think. 🙂
I know these have already been mentioned, but I’d also give a big thumbs-up to David Brin’s Uplift Wars series, David Weber’s Honor Harrington series (the first book is On Basilisk Station), Anne McCaffrey’s Pern and Crystal Singer series, and C.J. Cherryh’s Foreigner series. Very, very good authors all!
