[IC] DCS Delftware - GB 1-30 April 2021 - 29/03 update: Pricing + RAMA

[Zephyraeon]

Any updates on this?

Sorry - got a bit busy IRL. I should have the updated kit renders posted this weekend, assuming all goes well. The pantone deck has arrived and I will be changing the blue - going to wait and see how the renders turn out to confirm this though. Thanks for your patience!

Small update - I tidied up the sublegends, created the novelties but while waiting for renders I asked Gok and a couple others for feedback and as a result I’ve got a few more things to try to make this set even better. It’s going to take some time to get everything ready so give me a couple more weeks for the big update.

[wil]

forgot how good this looks. an instant purchase.

[Pluto19]

with crp r2.2 coming soon, ~assumingly~ the r2.2/r3 molds have improved and stem twist and crucifix tightness has been tighted up, it would be cool to see delfware done in CRP.

[synthtastic]

Really looking forward to updates on this set. The sublegend tease looks amazing.

[alphabirth]

This set is classy AF!  I really hope it gets off the ground!

[dibkib]

I love how unique this is

[CustomerSupport]

Sub legends would be amazing, def interested

This. Love the idea!

[niakulah]

Any updates on this?

Sorry - got a bit busy IRL. I should have the updated kit renders posted this weekend, assuming all goes well. The pantone deck has arrived and I will be changing the blue - going to wait and see how the renders turn out to confirm this though. Thanks for your patience!

Small update - I tidied up the sublegends, created the novelties but while waiting for renders I asked Gok and a couple others for feedback and as a result I’ve got a few more things to try to make this set even better. It’s going to take some time to get everything ready so give me a couple more weeks for the big update.

Sorry to be "that annoying guy", but any updates on this?

[Zephyraeon]

Any updates on this?

Sorry - got a bit busy IRL. I should have the updated kit renders posted this weekend, assuming all goes well. The pantone deck has arrived and I will be changing the blue - going to wait and see how the renders turn out to confirm this though. Thanks for your patience!

Small update - I tidied up the sublegends, created the novelties but while waiting for renders I asked Gok and a couple others for feedback and as a result I’ve got a few more things to try to make this set even better. It’s going to take some time to get everything ready so give me a couple more weeks for the big update.

Sorry to be "that annoying guy", but any updates on this?

I've got most of the design sorted but I'm stuck on the design for the modifiers which is preventing me from updating the renders/IC post. I have a new font for the alphas which would mismatch with default text legends, but icon mods are too straight/precise to fit with the theme. I'll probably design some new icon or text/icon mods but I haven't had time recently. The IC responses I've had so far also are spread fairly thinly making it hard for me to make a decision.

[CustomerSupport]

I have a new font for the alphas which would mismatch with default text legends

You're saying text mods would mis-match with the alphas?

Looking at the renders, I personally don't see an issue with icon mods from a theme perspective. IMO, custom icons (that is, icons adapted to a certain style thematic to the set) are almost always a turn-off for me.


EDIT: That said, this set (since it is icon-based to begin with) may be a great opportunity to create custom icon mods that work well. Rooting for you, OP!

[Kimmy83]

This set is perfect for my Foxlab Key65.
Hope this IC finally turn into GB.

[GaNeBaL]

I'm def in on the color and sub legends. Kitting is 10/10, would really like to see something like this come out as CRP.

[alphabirth]

Text + Icon mods would look the most consistent with the rest of the set, IMO.  Especially if there were some custom icons with them.  Especially if mods were in Dutch.   

[niakulah]

Still hoping this will go to group buy. At this point I'd even get it without any sublegends. Just love the colours and the fact it will be PBT(?).

[pants_3000]

I'd get this in an instant if there is a colemak set.

[Zephyraeon]

Still hoping this will go to group buy. At this point I'd even get it without any sublegends. Just love the colours and the fact it will be PBT(?).

I'm still pushing on with this behind the scenes! I was hoping to have my big update ready by now but university exams have delayed things a bit. The assets are almost completed, waiting on renders to finalise everything and then will update here. Things might be progressing a bit slowly but I want to make sure the set turns out as good as it can. Small heads up that the colours will change slightly to reflect the theme better, but it should still look just as good 

I'd get this in an instant if there is a colemak set.

After the next render update I'm going to update the IC form to see if there's enough interest in other kits (e.g. colemak++, international ISO, mac), so it could happen.

Text + Icon mods would look the most consistent with the rest of the set, IMO.  Especially if there were some custom icons with them.  Especially if mods were in Dutch.   

I've drafted up some text + icon mods and just waiting on renders to see how they look as part of the set. Dutch mods would be pretty awesome! I was looking at the layout of keyboards used in the Netherlands but it seemed like they use similar layout to US-ANSI so I didn't investigate further. I'll see if there's interest in something like this when I update the IC form next. Depending on the manufacturer's MOQs I might be able to split out alphas/mods so everyone has a bit more choice in what they get.

[Puddsy]

if this isn't dead DM me here on discord (Puddsy#3434) i like this set a lot and want to make it a reality

[Zephyraeon]

I've just updated the new post with updated renders, and a new IC form. Please fill the IC form out again - questions are all optional. Mainly hoping to figure out preferences for factory + interest in other kits.

[konstantin]

Love the full new set of sublegends, but I can't say I'm a fan of the new typeface used for the main legends. It looked a lot cleaner and more refined (to quote the OP) with the regular Cherry / Helvetica Rounded Bold font and icons, in my opinion. The sublegends were sufficient to give it a quirky and playful look; now it just looks weird.

[Zephyraeon]

Love the full new set of sublegends, but I can't say I'm a fan of the new typeface used for the main legends. It looked a lot cleaner and more refined (to quote the OP) with the regular Cherry / Helvetica Rounded Bold font and icons, in my opinion. The sublegends were sufficient to give it a quirky and playful look; now it just looks weird.

Thank you for the feedback, if the consensus is to move back to a more 'default' font, I can do that - let me know in the IC form (already got one response stating this).

I'd like to explain why I picked this specific font though - the sublegends I've designed have all come from examples of delftware I've searched through the internet for, and although I was using vector images to mimic these, I've tried to keep them looking a little 'off' to mimic the small deviations that come through when you're handpainting such intricate designs. In order to fit the theme I spent many hours looking through various websites, even trying my hand at designing a new font from scratch, in order to look similar to how the signatures on the bottom looked. I referred to this image constantly:


Instead of trying to go for something completely crazy, I felt using something with a handwritten style that was close to the GMK legends was the way to go, as delftware is handpainted, it felt wrong using such a consistent looking font. I understand with this hobby that consistency is usually king, but in my opinion, this set isn't about being consistent but about the beauty in something that is handmade.

TL;DR: Let me know in the IC form and I will change it back.

[IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES]

I like it as youve got it now but I’d buy either way. Love it.

[konstantin]

Thank you for the feedback, if the consensus is to move back to a more 'default' font, I can do that - let me know in the IC form (already got one response stating this).

I'd like to explain why I picked this specific font though - the sublegends I've designed have all come from examples of delftware I've searched through the internet for, and although I was using vector images to mimic these, I've tried to keep them looking a little 'off' to mimic the small deviations that come through when you're handpainting such intricate designs. In order to fit the theme I spent many hours looking through various websites, even trying my hand at designing a new font from scratch, in order to look similar to how the signatures on the bottom looked. I referred to this image constantly:

Show Image

Instead of trying to go for something completely crazy, I felt using something with a handwritten style that was close to the GMK legends was the way to go, as delftware is handpainted, it felt wrong using such a consistent looking font. I understand with this hobby that consistency is usually king, but in my opinion, this set isn't about being consistent but about the beauty in something that is handmade.

TL;DR: Let me know in the IC form and I will change it back.

Thank you for the explanation. I definitely understand where you're coming from, and why the change makes sense given the inspiration of this set. I also applaud your efforts; creating a typeface is no easy task! You've certainly done a good job of mimicking the hand-painted look of the lettering, so I would say that you've achieved your goal there. Now, of course, this is just one man's opinion, but I believe there's a fine line to be drawn between sticking close to the source material and respecting the aesthetics and conventions of the medium (in this case, Cherry-style plastic keycaps). And in this case, the different overall font crosses that line just slightly.

Again, just my opinion! I think you've done a great job regardless of which style you decide on in the end :)

[Zephyraeon]

Thank you for the feedback, if the consensus is to move back to a more 'default' font, I can do that - let me know in the IC form (already got one response stating this).

I'd like to explain why I picked this specific font though - the sublegends I've designed have all come from examples of delftware I've searched through the internet for, and although I was using vector images to mimic these, I've tried to keep them looking a little 'off' to mimic the small deviations that come through when you're handpainting such intricate designs. In order to fit the theme I spent many hours looking through various websites, even trying my hand at designing a new font from scratch, in order to look similar to how the signatures on the bottom looked. I referred to this image constantly:

Show Image

Instead of trying to go for something completely crazy, I felt using something with a handwritten style that was close to the GMK legends was the way to go, as delftware is handpainted, it felt wrong using such a consistent looking font. I understand with this hobby that consistency is usually king, but in my opinion, this set isn't about being consistent but about the beauty in something that is handmade.

TL;DR: Let me know in the IC form and I will change it back.

Thank you for the explanation. I definitely understand where you're coming from, and why the change makes sense given the inspiration of this set. I also applaud your efforts; creating a typeface is no easy task! You've certainly done a good job of mimicking the hand-painted look of the lettering, so I would say that you've achieved your goal there. Now, of course, this is just one man's opinion, but I believe there's a fine line to be drawn between sticking close to the source material and respecting the aesthetics and conventions of the medium (in this case, Cherry-style plastic keycaps). And in this case, the different overall font crosses that line just slightly.

Again, just my opinion! I think you've done a great job regardless of which style you decide on in the end :)

Yeah, I see your point and I'm glad you brought it up. I work in data analytics so if the data says to change back, I will.

Also, wanted to clarify the typefaces in the renders were not designed by me (but I have paid for licensing to use them). I got about 4 letters into my font before I realised what a gargantuan task it was to design a font where every character fits together and decided on another approach.   ;)

[goddream]

it just gets cuter and cuter

[Agilr]

.ooooh yes

[huangm49]

The left tab in base looks a bit too busy, with both the icons and the "tab", maybe change sizes or opt for one or the other?

Otherwise, can't wait for the set!

[santela]

I'm more of a darker keycap guy, but this idea is great and the keycaps look awesome!

[euphxenos]

Are the old renders still available somewhere for comparison?  I seem to recall liking the previous renders better than the new ones, but it would be easier to judge if I could actually compare them side by side (and I think only the new renders are in the OP now).  Am I misremembering, or were there blue mods or a blue mod kit in the previous set of kits?

[niakulah]

Are the old renders still available somewhere for comparison?  I seem to recall liking the previous renders better than the new ones, but it would be easier to judge if I could actually compare them side by side (and I think only the new renders are in the OP now).  Am I misremembering, or were there blue mods or a blue mod kit in the previous set of kits?

I liked the old ones better too. They were a lighter blue and yes there were blue mods.

Edit: I'm doubting myself now about the blue mods, but I think it makes sense since there are blue mods "leftover" in the new numpad kit.

[1391401]

My only thoughts are the blue looks wrong.  I'm using a pixelbook chromebook so maybe the color reproduction of the screen is poor.

I think the color has changed? because looking at the "big update" the color looks really good now!

[Jojjelito]

This is pure class! Filled out the form; I like both font options. Goding to get all the kits, wish for NorDeUK of course, but can live in pure ANSI or US-ISO land too. Fingers crossed!

[synthtastic]

Glad to see this is still alive. Absolutely fantastic. Wasn’t a fan of the new font upon first glance, but it’s growing on me for sure. The sublegends and novelties are amazing!

[alphabirth]

Super stoked to see this moving forward--this is one of the ICs I'm most excited about right now.  Filled out the form.  I'm on the fence about the new typeface...  I kinda like it on the alphas, but it seems like a bit much on the mods.  Maybe in Dutch it would look better, as Dutch looks weird already.  I also preferred the lighter shade of blue from the previous renders; even if the new shade is technically closer to real ceramics, I think the old shade is closer to my perception of what I think ceramics should look like.  Either way, I'm in for this set! 

[Zephyraeon]

Are the old renders still available somewhere for comparison?  I seem to recall liking the previous renders better than the new ones, but it would be easier to judge if I could actually compare them side by side (and I think only the new renders are in the OP now).  Am I misremembering, or were there blue mods or a blue mod kit in the previous set of kits?

I liked the old ones better too. They were a lighter blue and yes there were blue mods.

Edit: I'm doubting myself now about the blue mods, but I think it makes sense since there are blue mods "leftover" in the new numpad kit.

I've taken the older renders down to not cause any confusion (they didn't have the sublegends or anything and yes, the blue has changed). There never was a mods kit, only accent keys (maybe I included too many numpad accent keys... I'm not a numpad user), at the time GMK Classic Blue was in IC and I didn't want to do anything too similar (still got compared to it a lot though lol).

For the blue colour change, I preferred the old one at first glance but after a while it looked a bit over saturated, especially for this theme.

Super stoked to see this moving forward--this is one of the ICs I'm most excited about right now.  Filled out the form.  I'm on the fence about the new typeface...  I kinda like it on the alphas, but it seems like a bit much on the mods.  Maybe in Dutch it would look better, as Dutch looks weird already.  I also preferred the lighter shade of blue from the previous renders; even if the new shade is technically closer to real ceramics, I think the old shade is closer to my perception of what I think ceramics should look like.  Either way, I'm in for this set! 

Jury's still out on the typeface (IC form results pretty evenly split), but if I do keep the current typeface I will still be revisiting the mods. I was stuck on them for around a month so just decided to get something done so I could get the new renders out, but most of the feedback I'm getting is that they don't really work.

I'm still leaning towards keeping the new typeface - if people want a PBT blue on white set with a standard typeface they also have ePBT TA Origins to choose. I'll make a final decision shortly, going to post on reddit for the first time sometime in the next few days and will see how the IC form responses are looking then.

[kidpid]

2.25u & 2.75u novelty spacebars would be nice!

[alphabirth]

Bueller?  My wallet is ready for this!

[Kokaloo]

Forgot about this one, can't remember if I filled out the form or not so I'mma do it again rofl. Really hope this still goes through!

[boneandbee]

Love the inspiration and the sublegend details! The novelties are also very cute

[niakulah]

Just noticed that the numpad kit doesn't have any R5 keys. 108 key/1800/CP/96% boards would need this above the numpad.

[low_key_keyboards]

This is 100% the set I didn't know I needed.
Love the sub legends that aren't a language. So rare to see.

[zoo]

All in if sublegends feature Zapf Dingbats

[Zephyraeon]

I've been a bit quiet here as I've been waiting to see what the quality of various factories are like. Based on the IC form there isn't really a clear favourite for factory or typeface so I've been biding my time to see how other sets are coming out.

I've bought an Adelie to put these caps on so I'm going to ensure this happens (with 40% support too!) but the only two factories that seem to offer both 40% compatibility and reverse dyesub are Infinikey and KAT. I'm not super happy with the quality I've seen for either of these manu's yet so haven't settled on a final factory. Hopefully will come to a decision by the end of the year.

As for other changes to the set:

• Going to move to a slightly lighter blue colour which is closer to the original blue
• The 1u ortho enter keys will be moved to R4
• The accent keys will be removed from numpad kit and 2u enter accent key added to accent kit
• Modifiers will change from text+icon to icon + bottom row, still working on these

I'll refresh the renders in the next few weeks with these changes and will hopefully have factory + vendor announcements too.

Thanks to everyone for sticking with me - this IC has been pretty long but I've wanted to make sure that the final product is as good as it can be (for a non-GMK set anyway).

2.25u & 2.75u novelty spacebars would be nice!

I'll consider this but didn't want the novelty kit to get too bloated.

Just noticed that the numpad kit doesn't have any R5 keys. 108 key/1800/CP/96% boards would need this above the numpad.

The End and PgDn keys in the numpad kit would be the same profile as the F-keys above, with those plus the top row Del key in the base kit, isn't this enough for those layouts?

All in if sublegends feature Zapf Dingbats

Sublegends will be staying as is, sorry Spent too many hours on them to change them now!

[niakulah]

The End and PgDn keys in the numpad kit would be the same profile as the F-keys above, with those plus the top row Del key in the base kit, isn't this enough for those layouts?

So if I understand correctly, other than the standard Print, Lock, Pause, you have Del, /, End, and Pg Down.

108 users have no choice but to use Del, /, End, Pg Down. The other 3 keys are already used.

CP/1800/96% could choose between those 7 keys. But with the exception of certain boards like the Austin, they don't have a nav cluster, and don't have a row of keys down the right side. Which means that most layouts wouldn't be able to have Home, Page Up, Insert anywhere on the board ans still keep the numpad intact with this current kitting. KAT kits typically have the whole nav cluster in R5 profile in the numpad kit.

Have a look at say, the NYM96 and Leopold FC980M and see how would you fill those with your current kitting?

[Zephyraeon]

The End and PgDn keys in the numpad kit would be the same profile as the F-keys above, with those plus the top row Del key in the base kit, isn't this enough for those layouts?

So if I understand correctly, other than the standard Print, Lock, Pause, you have Del, /, End, and Pg Down.

108 users have no choice but to use Del, /, End, Pg Down. The other 3 keys are already used.

CP/1800/96% could choose between those 7 keys. But with the exception of certain boards like the Austin, they don't have a nav cluster, and don't have a row of keys down the right side. Which means that most layouts wouldn't be able to have Home, Page Up, Insert anywhere on the board ans still keep the numpad intact with this current kitting. KAT kits typically have the whole nav cluster in R5 profile in the numpad kit.

Have a look at say, the NYM96 and Leopold FC980M and see how would you fill those with your current kitting?

This set is currently designed around being cherry profile, the row-by-row profiles are as follows: R1, R1, R2, R3, R4, R4

This means that both the F-row and the num-row rows are the same profile and keycaps here can be mixed and matched without messing up the row profiles. So for FC980M you already do have Ins/Del/PgUp/Home in the base kit, and End/PgDn are in the numpad add on kit.

For 108 key keyboards (I'm assuming that's just regular full size with 4 additional keys in the F-row above the numpad) you would be restricted to using only Del/Pipe/End/PgDn, or some of the novelties if you bought that kit too, but every other necessary key is included (and these 108 keyboard layouts don't appear to be standard so I can't plan for those anyway).

[Surefoot]

I'm not an ISO user so I've used other light ISO compatibility kits to determine what keys to include. If you would like more ISO compat, please let me know what keys you'd like, and I'll see what I can do. Ultimately it comes down to kit pricing when I decide on a manufacturer.

It would be very nice to have minimal UK support so 2", 3£ and '@ #~ keys (we can live without the ¬ really..). This is a great set and would be fantastic if it's the same manufacturer as Mito Pegaso as that set turned out fantastic.

[ronny boi]

I thought ePBT has the 1.25u R3 now since skadi used it?

[Ciantha]

The compatibility in the base kit is beyond cool. Ortho in base 
Well done  This is a must buy for me.

[Havattack]

Stumbled across this today, might be of interest to those eyeing this here set https://www.etsy.com/listing/909482771/limited-edition-fine-china-set-artisan?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=keycaps&ref=sr_gallery-98-38&pro=1&frs=1

[Zephyraeon]

TL;DR updates from today:
- Factory will be SP, DCS PBT dye-sub with doubleshot ABS accent keys (couldn't find any reverse dye-sub factories I was happy with)
- Typeface has been changed (again) to Gorton
- DCS samples have arrived! Pics in the main post
- Final blue (almost) decided on - two options to pick, see the colours section of the main post and let me know in the IC form which one you like.
- Some proxies announced (see the main post)
- Dedicated discord server to ask questions
- Some slight kitting changes based on feedback
- Updated renders coming soon

Hope everyone had a great time over the holiday period, even those of us who couldn't spend the time with their families because of quarantines.

[Zephyraeon]

Stumbled across this today, might be of interest to those eyeing this here set https://www.etsy.com/listing/909482771/limited-edition-fine-china-set-artisan?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=keycaps&ref=sr_gallery-98-38&pro=1&frs=1

Those look amazing, if anyone has bought and has a pantone deck I would love to know what blue was used.