This animatronic was developed as a concept piece as part of a larger project.
It is a fully remote control eye containing 4 servos and animated by a puppeteer live via radio control. All blinking and eyelid tracking programmed in the radio.
The mechanism was designed and 3D modelled, 3D printed and constructed by myself. The eyeballs are solid resin with painted irises, a clear resin lens for depth and acrylic fibres added for veins.
The skin was originally sculpted in clay, molded ultra-cal 30 and cast in a strong, yet soft and stretchy silicone. The silicone was intrinsically painted into the mold for the darker spots and patterns, then airbrushed to add variations in the skin and shading
The final eye
This is the skin after painting to add variations in skin tone and bring the skin to life
The skin as it is straigt out of the mold looks a little flat
The original skin sculpture
Prototype eye mechanism
Eye paint tests
And here we have a specialty "Cats Eye" effect.
When hit with a direct light we get a reflection in the pupil.
