fake tears that won't run?

February 19, 2009 7:44 PM

I need fake tears for a photo shoot, but they have to stay put. how can I make some fake tears that, like the colors of the american flag, won't run?
posted by mcsweetie to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

Could you make them with a clear-drying plastic that could be dropped at an angle onto wax or clean metal to be pulled off? Then they can be applied with some kind of clearish cement and this could be photoshopped into a more clear part of the image later.
posted by parmanparman at 7:49 PM on February 19, 2009

Glycerin might be a good option. Do you mean stay put like don't run or stay put like upside-down acrobatics?
posted by rmless at 7:54 PM on February 19, 2009

glycerin
posted by Chrischris at 7:55 PM on February 19, 2009

How much artistic freedom do you have? There's always Man Ray's example.
posted by lekvar at 8:01 PM on February 19, 2009

Don't photoshop it. If Time can't get it right with their experts, you won't either.
posted by niles at 8:03 PM on February 19, 2009

This is going to sound weird:
One time I had some fake flowers that had fake dewdrops on them. I think they were made with some kind of clear plastic or clear glue drops. I peeled them off and as a joke stuck one to my face. It looked really real.

So, maybe you could find some fake flowers with fake dewdrops, peel off the dewdrops and use those?
posted by fructose at 8:15 PM on February 19, 2009

A cheap hot glue gun should create the dewdrop appearance fructose is describing. You can get these in dollar stores these days for under $5. Sometimes the glue sticks that you feed into them are yellowish, some are white- make sure to get the white ones.

Try applying glue "tears" to the outside of an upside-down glass bowl, then when they cool, peel them off and put them on your face. For even more realism, I'd create a thin "tear trail" down your cheek, using a thin streak of vaseline applied with a Q-tip or fine brush, then stick the dewdrop at the end of it.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:29 PM on February 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

I was going to suggest hot glue too, but pseudostrabismus beat me to it!
posted by apricot at 8:45 PM on February 19, 2009

adding to the above, apply the fake tears with spirit gum.
posted by zippy at 8:54 PM on February 19, 2009

Those fake dew drops are made with acrylic water. You ought to be able to find it at any craft store, if that's the route you choose to go. (If you peel them off the flowers, they'll have a fabric-texture on the back of them which may show up cloudy depending on your lighting/resolution.) Hot glue won't give you the right consistency or clarity.
posted by phunniemee at 9:03 PM on February 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, you can get bags of 'water pellets' for model railroading and such. It would look better than hot glue, but if you don't need super-duper high quality, hot glue is good. For tear streaks rather than actual drops, you want glycerin, which can be found in drug stores. I like to idea of a streak of glycerin (better than vaseline for this) with a hot glue drop at the end.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:42 AM on February 20, 2009

3rding Glycerin
posted by Black_Umbrella at 9:43 AM on February 20, 2009