I have the expression I want, but the eyes look lifeless.

I tried "Eye Wince" and "Blink", and 'Nose Wrinkle", but they still looked "dead", LOL

She's an Angel praying, and so I guess she is technically dead, but she's not supposed to look dead,  hehe

Here is a screenshot of the image from my pose window. Can I get some suggestions on how to fix the eyes so that they have some life in them?

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi

I Usually find that a few tweaks to the eyebrows will do the trick. A little bit of arch and just a touch of the 'worry' morphs should do it. :)

<-insert words of wisdom here->

Try moving the eyes themselves, eg so that they look slightly up and slightly to the side. people rarely stare straight ahead!

what redhawk said...i find that works too. also, try to "not" be symetrical. maybe just put a hint of a smirk on one side of the mouth (smile,frown, whatever).

you'll get it, you're almost there.

Comitted to excellence through art.

Yes, eyes are indeed poseable and lots of people don't even know it!

During prayer, the eyes are usually pointing upward. Select the left eye and adjust the Up-Down setting to a negative value to move the eye upward. The side-side setting can be adjusted a tad as well if you want the eyes to look slightly sideward.

Then, apply the same settings to the right eye. Adjust a bit if necessary if the eyes look cross-eyed (sometimes they do just a tad).

I like to position the eyes so they are looking at me if it is a portrait or pinup
type picture.  Most people look at the camera if they know their picture is
being taken.  Don't change her pose and try moving your character's eyes
so she looks like she is looking back at you and see how that looks.  That too
avoids the staring straight ahead look. And it makes the character look like
she is intelligent enough to be aware of her surroundings, in this case you
taking her picture.  Look at your avatar.  The little girl looks sassy because
she is looking at you and saying "Look at me!"  She has more life than
the picture of the girl just staring blankly off into space even though she
is more cartoony looking.

Quote - I like to position the eyes so they are looking at me if it is a portrait or pinup
type picture.  Most people look at the camera if they know their picture is
being taken.  Don't change her pose and try moving your character's eyes
so she looks like she is looking back at you and see how that looks.  That too
avoids the staring straight ahead look. And it makes the character look like
she is intelligent enough to be aware of her surroundings, in this case you
taking her picture.  Look at your avatar.  The little girl looks sassy because
she is looking at you and saying "Look at me!"  She has more life than
the picture of the girl just staring blankly off into space even though she
is more cartoony looking.

I don't want this particular image's  message to the observer to be "look at me".  The full image is of an angel in prayer,  so I want her staring up into space and not at the camera.  It's just hard to get her eyes to look like she's actually "alive" while doing that :(

I'll try the various suggestions given, thank you all :)

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi

To reiterate what some of us said about posing the eyes, here's a slight comparison

The "Before" picture shows the neck and head bent backward a little, but the eyes and facial expressions are at default.

The "After" picture shows the eyes posed upward by -10, and sideways about 2 or 3. In addition, the eyebrows are dialed to look sort of "worried" or pleading; and the mouth is opened a little as if in thought.

It's very subtle settings that can help convey emotion felt during prayer.

Hope that helps!

Deecey, thank you for that comparison.  I'm about to go and have a nap, but I'll try this later today.

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi

add good shadows, too. eyes, nose and hair would benefit greatly from fine detail of realistic shadows. poser does poor shadows by default, hence one might consider another renderer.

another slight hint..if someone is interested in something, the eyes will dialate slightly (this is why Arab shopkeepers, and some poker players wear sunglasses, honest, I'm not making that up..;), and this is read subconsciously by people. It's a very subtle thing to get right (too much, and they look like they're 'on' somthing..;), but it's an idea.

Here's a thought; put the camera above and in front of the eyes, then still have her looking at you..if you want to go 'Cecil B Demille', you could add dramatic license with some lights here and there (I know you can add lights in Poser, I've just never tried..;) hey, free advice, and worth what it cost..;)

I wish I'd said that.. The Staircase Wit

anahl nathrak uth vas betude doth yel dyenvey..;)

And, ....if all else fails, call in a NECROMANCER.
David P. Hoadley

  STOP PALESTINIAN CHILD ABUSE!!!! ISLAMIC HATRED OF JEWS

or a young priest and an old priest..;)

I wish I'd said that.. The Staircase Wit

anahl nathrak uth vas betude doth yel dyenvey..;)

...or maybe have Mike and Dork flash her wearing nothing but trenchcoats.  That might put the ZEST back into things! ;-D
DPH

  STOP PALESTINIAN CHILD ABUSE!!!! ISLAMIC HATRED OF JEWS

LMAO, you guys crack me up!!!!

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi

Or show her a picture of Jesse, and ask if if she thinks it looks like ....Alan Alda!

  STOP PALESTINIAN CHILD ABUSE!!!! ISLAMIC HATRED OF JEWS

When people view things close up their eyes converge ie get closer together, and when they are looking out in the distance their eyes diverge. the eyes in your pics were neither convergent or divergent so maybe that is part of the problem. I think the other thing is to have one eye slightly closed more than the other maybe? People are rarely all that symmetrical. Perhaps also have her looking at something to one or other side as well instead of staring straight out the middle. Love esther

MY ONLINE COMIC IS NOW LIVE

I aim to update it about once a month.  Oh, and it's free!

Thank you for all of the suggestions!  They were all of great help. I finished my image and ended up with something I'm quite happy with.   If anyone is interested, you can view it here:

http://excalibur.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1280491

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi