How to Build a Model of the Eye Ball

A model of an eyeball is easy to create. While any round, blank surface has the potential to be transformed into an eyeball with a few strokes of a marker or paintbrush, modeling clay is an ideal medium for creating an eyeball model complete with all of its parts. It is not very messy, flexible and available in many colors.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil sharpener
• Drill
• Wood glue
• 8- to 12-inch dowel rod
• Wooden stand
• White clay
• Red clay
• Green clay
• Black clay
• Yellow clay
• Blue clay
• Clay modeling tool set
• Clay roller
• White paper
• Plastic gloves
• Bowl (4- to 6-inch diameter)
• Aluminum foil
• Paper towels

Instructions

Creating the Base

1. Tightly wad aluminum foil into a ball slightly smaller than the full size you want your finished eye to be.

2. Sharpen one end of your dowel in a pencil sharpener and stick it securely into the foil ball.

3. Drill a hole in the wooden stand just wide enough for the dowel. Apply wood glue in the hole and insert the flat end of the dowel rod.

4. Put on your gloves before handling the clay and lay paper down where you will be rolling out clay.

5. Roll out some white clay to approximately 3/8-inch thickness. Apply it all around your foil ball, adding more until it is entirely covered.

6. Smooth all of the clay out so there are no seams showing.

Creating the Model

1. Create the optic nerve: Roll out a tube-shaped piece of yellow clay approximately 1/2-inch (diameter) by 1-inch (long). Roll out a piece of red clay big enough wrap this around the yellow tube. Cut off a slice of this tube and mount it onto a small piece of white clay. Add this white clay to the back side of the eyeball, adding blue coils for retinal arteries. Create small red coils representing veins on either side of the blue coils.

2. Create the iris: Roll out some green clay. Trace a 4- to 6-inch diameter circle with a bowl.
   Cut it out. Roll out a smaller circle of black clay for the pupil and attach to the center of the iris. Place the iris front and center on the eye model.

3. Create the muscles: Roll out four squares of red clay about 3 inches by 3 inches. Place them at an equal distance apart on the top, bottom and sides of the eye model. Add long, straight texture lines in the muscle-squares with a sculpting tool. Add some red veins in front of each muscle.

Tips & Warnings

• The instructions here are for modeling clay, but you can also use Sculpey, which can be cooked and would therefore last longer.

References

• Eye Model

Resources

• Sculpey