[IC]GMK Singularity - approaching event horizon

[spingo]

GMK Singularity
GMK Gravity Well

Kits

Deskmats

MVKB x Salvun Artisan


Designed by MVKB produced by Salvun.
*Still need to test the coating and laser engraving so the final result could be slightly different.

Renders

Petrichor x Alchemist Keyboards

8XMKii x KBDFans


Even Horizon x MVKB

NK65 x NovelKeys

Tilted40 x Swishy
Color Swatches

Vendor List
US: NovelKeys
CA: Desk[H]ero
UK: ProtoTypist
Euro: KeyGem
CN: KBDFans
SA: Fancy Customs

Pricing
TBD

Design
This set's aesthetic is inspired by black holes and the their effects.
The novel G at the center is shaped as a black hole but still reads as the letter G. The surrounding legends stretch and twist as they are pulled by gravity.
I've chosen to go black on black to emphasize the novelty alpha set and fit the aesthetic of the design.
F=G(m1m2/r2) is the equation for gravitational force.
The ANSI enter key is an astronaut looking at the black hole at the center of the alpha set while you can see the black hole reflected in the visor.
The ISO enter key is a ship sling-shotting around a black hole.
The simple column novel keys can be viewed as simple illustrated galaxies circling a black hole.
The last novelty is a gravastar. It's an alternative to the black hole theory. I'm not a physicist so I can't begin to understand the difference but it's illustrated as a star within a star within a star.
The set includes black hole themed R4 labeled keycaps.

Updates
Renamed kit to GMK Singularity to better fit the theme.
Had to reduce the kitting, especially to meet future MOQs.
Dropped accretion due to its lack of support in IC.
Made Solar the base kit based on IC support.
This kit's original color scheme was based around Horizon and I just can't drop that color-way.
There is a second deskmat in design phase being created by JPHarringtonJr
Interested collaborators please message me on Discord.
Special thanks:
Mario, beyond helpful!
dotNick helping me get comfortable with designing a set.
SpikedSynapse, Beesley, and the rest of the mad lads on the Keycap Designer Discord. You guys are awesome!
Imperfect Link for an amazing product and amazing tech support. goated.
Everyone in my discord and all their feedback.

[DirtyGingy]

So, are you going to try to get GMK to do new Alpha molds?

[spingo]

Short answer: yes, if it has enough support yadda yadda.

I know it drives the price up but I do like the GMK sets I own now. If it ends up being cost prohibitive or even just physically prohibitive I'll move onto another solution or bite the bullet and move on.

[anson42]

I'm in for the arrow keys doing the Spider Man pointing at Spider Man meme. Oh, wait, I can do that now! Seriously though, I like where you're going with the set and would love to see it come to fruition with GMK or someone else. GLWIC.

[MartinThePolarBear]

Love the concept, but like previously mentioned, if GMK isn't willing to or reasonably quote you on new alpha molds, you could consider KKB or DMK. I think DMK actually did something recently where they mirrored the alphas and ePBT did something similar with ePBT Cool Kids

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[keepoto]

alphas dont seem that doable with GMK (or any doubleshot manu at all); it's a cool concept but you have to factor in usability for ordinary users as well

colours remind me of some nice GMK sets so it's definitely a pleasant combination, and isnt too "similar" to any set on top of my head

the R2 novs seems a bit more difficult to understand intuitively or at first sight compared to other novs

since this is a concept test no comments on kitting but the huge numpad enter looks a bit wack haha

edit: also logically shouldn't QWE etc rotate more than RTY etc?

[keepoto]

Love the concept, but like previously mentioned, if GMK isn't willing to or reasonably quote you on new alpha molds, you could consider KKB or DMK. I think DMK actually did something recently where they mirrored the alphas and ePBT did something similar with ePBT Cool Kids

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

those were all dyesub

[noxtace]

This is actually a love at first sight set for me. I really hope you can pull this off with gmk. If gmk can’t do it, maybe try hitting up dcx? But their font is a bit meh.

The only gripe i have with this set is the ‘G’ key. The letter and the icon itself I dig, but that purple base looks very off. I’d rather have the base stay white.

[Manukbs_]

It's complicated, and it needs more work, but do it, it's a really cool concept

[Rafa_n]

alphas dont seem that doable with GMK (or any doubleshot manu at all); it's a cool concept but you have to factor in usability for ordinary users as well

Why do you say this? They will require new molds, just like any other novelty.
It will be a bit more expensive, but very doable.

[Fraaaan]

I'm not sure why everyone is raising concerns over new molds when it's something GMK regularly does without problems. A set with custom alpha legends, Chaos Theory, literally shipped a few weeks ago and it's a similar idea to this. Is it going to be expensive? Sure. But people who say GMK can't or won't do this don't really have any idea what they're talking about. People also make custom novelties for tons of keysets. As long as it's possible, and the vendor is willing to pay, GMK will happily do what is requested of them.

Familiarize yourself with GMK's mold restrictions and guidelines and get to work on some new legends. For example, 3 out of 4 of your novelties don't look possible to doubleshot, but I'm just eyeballing it as someone who's never worked on creating legends so maybe I'm wrong. If you need more info, contact vendors and GMK. It seems like this comment section is full of ignorance so take all advice given with a grain of salt.

The kitting needs a lot of work but I'm sure you're aware of that. Please check other GMK keycap sets from the last few months to see how kitting is generally done.

edit: here's a google drive link for anyone who can't open the one above

[Jae-3soteric]

It’s no more difficult to do than the Chaos Theory reverse alphas in theory so it’s def possible. It will mean all new moulds for those keys though which will increase the cost.

It’s def a really cool concept (and as a science fan one I really like) just needs some fine tuning in the details. Could def make use of some of GMKs new effects as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[vhaarr]

Familiarize yourself with GMK's mold restrictions and guidelines

Can you host that document in a way that makes it accessible? Link just asks me to log in with an MS account and when I do I get an error message saying I don't have access to the document.

[Jae-3soteric]

http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/65c8c3f01a4bf/Guidelines_for_Custom_GMK_Keycap_Set.pdf
This should work. Let me know if it doesn’t


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Fraaaan]

Familiarize yourself with GMK's mold restrictions and guidelines

Can you host that document in a way that makes it accessible? Link just asks me to log in with an MS account and when I do I get an error message saying I don't have access to the document.

My bad, wasn't aware of this. I uploaded it to my Google Drive, it should work for everyone now.

[spingo]

I'm in for the arrow keys doing the Spider Man pointing at Spider Man meme. Oh, wait, I can do that now! Seriously though, I like where you're going with the set and would love to see it come to fruition with GMK or someone else. GLWIC.

I found out any set can do this when I designed them lol. It's a hidden meme on a board.

[spingo]

Love the concept, but like previously mentioned, if GMK isn't willing to or reasonably quote you on new alpha molds, you could consider KKB or DMK. I think DMK actually did something recently where they mirrored the alphas and ePBT did something similar with ePBT Cool Kids

I want to avoid printed legends to avoid any kind of fading or bleeding. I've had some so-so experience with pbt printed caps.

the R2 novs seems a bit more difficult to understand intuitively or at first sight compared to other novs

since this is a concept test no comments on kitting but the huge numpad enter looks a bit wack haha

edit: also logically shouldn't QWE etc rotate more than RTY etc?

I agree - I know novelties need some fine tuning. They may end up scrapped in a later update but as of now I do like the concepts. And thanks for the heads up on readability of the R2 novelties.

This render is a modified render kit someone made for free download. I plan on picking up KRK so I can better represent what I want in the design. I hear good things about KRK.

Yes, logically you would see the outer rows skew more but it doesn't translate well in design-anese.

[Cylent]

You specifically asked for feedback and criticism, so I won't sugarcoat it.

This "IC" is raw and extremely undercooked. At this point you must know that this is essentially just a blank concept post, not an IC. The kitting is a joke and the novelties leave a lot to be desired. There are no renders, and given that you stated you intend on buying KRK, you're aware of these issues. Your concept image should have been posted in a discord chat rather than on geekhack, but here we are.

On the idea itself, it's interesting but half-baked. The most interesting thing about the concept is the altered alphas, and honestly the set would be more interesting as "black hole" or "wormhole" concept.

As others have pointed out, unless you are really, really intent on having GMK manufacture this, I recommend going the dyesub route. It will allow you to do more detailed novelties and edit more of the legends without the exorbitant cost of new molds. For example, your current concept has only the alphas being altered by the "gravity well." Why not the mods and other keys? Could you create custom mods that better fit the theme? There's a lot further you can go to push this idea to its logical conclusion. Personally, going with GMK and going for only new molds on the alphas feels like a waste of a decent idea. And to address your other comment OP, dyesub is not the same as pad printing.

I recommend that you take some feedback from this "IC," buy KRK, and get some feedback from other designers in some of the discord communities. I know I've been pretty mean in this comment, but consider it tough love. Feel free to reach out on discord, I'm happy to help.

[keepoto]

What is wrong with you people this is literally a check of interest, stop enforcing disco gaming adventures

[xLeHoy]

I like the idea for sure. Will be hard to pull off but good luck!

PS: Complaining about the kitting for example is pretty much unwarranted criticism as this is an Interest Check about the general idea

[Fraaaan]

What is wrong with you people this is literally a check of interest, stop enforcing disco gaming adventures

The person you're getting upset about is contributing way more to this IC than you ever could.

You literally said this:

alphas dont seem that doable with GMK (or any doubleshot manu at all); it's a cool concept but you have to factor in usability for ordinary users as well

This is the biggest load of crap I've read on this website since Kokaloo's last comment. Why would these alphas not be possible to doubleshot and what the hell is "usability for ordinary users?"

[spingo]

You specifically asked for feedback and criticism, so I won't sugarcoat it.

This "IC" is raw and extremely undercooked. At this point you must know that this is essentially just a blank concept post, not an IC. The kitting is a joke and the novelties leave a lot to be desired. There are no renders, and given that you stated you intend on buying KRK, you're aware of these issues. Your concept image should have been posted in a discord chat rather than on geekhack, but here we are.

On the idea itself, it's interesting but half-baked. The most interesting thing about the concept is the altered alphas, and honestly the set would be more interesting as "black hole" or "wormhole" concept.

As others have pointed out, unless you are really, really intent on having GMK manufacture this, I recommend going the dyesub route. It will allow you to do more detailed novelties and edit more of the legends without the exorbitant cost of new molds. For example, your current concept has only the alphas being altered by the "gravity well." Why not the mods and other keys? Could you create custom mods that better fit the theme? There's a lot further you can go to push this idea to its logical conclusion. Personally, going with GMK and going for only new molds on the alphas feels like a waste of a decent idea. And to address your other comment OP, dyesub is not the same as pad printing.

I recommend that you take some feedback from this "IC," buy KRK, and get some feedback from other designers in some of the discord communities. I know I've been pretty mean in this comment, but consider it tough love. Feel free to reach out on discord, I'm happy to help.

Thanks so much for writing this out!

I bought KRK this morning and have been working on the actual kit. It looks more like an actual IC. I promise to update at least the base set with a proper kit tonight.

I'm reworking the novelties but because of the idea of going GMK I didn't want to mod more than I felt was necessary to get the design I wanted. Being my first IC and all I don't know how much this many molds will bump cost. If it's crazy I'll abandon GMK. It was my first choice but I'm not married to it.

I also like the challenge of restriction to breed creativity. There's also something about mold injected caps that I prefer and I don't know what it is. It doesn't mean it has to be GMK but it was a desire.

I do appreciate the feedback and I don't think it was mean spirited. I'll keep designing and updating as frequently as I can. Hopefully I can win some people over by design.

I've reached out to a few designers on discord but haven't had a response yet. I have had some luck on Reddit.

I'll think over what you said, thanks again.

[Cylent]

I bought KRK this morning and have been working on the actual kit. It looks more like an actual IC. I promise to update at least the base set with a proper kit tonight.

I'm reworking the novelties but because of the idea of going GMK I didn't want to mod more than I felt was necessary to get the design I wanted. Being my first IC and all I don't know how much this many molds will bump cost. If it's crazy I'll abandon GMK. It was my first choice but I'm not married to it.

Please don't rush to update this post asap. Allow yourself to fully cook a meal before updating/posting a new IC thread. Posting a standardized KRK base kit render overnight won't change much. This is why I said you should go into discord and get feedback from other designers. It's important to take your time and let ideas marinate, rather than rushing to make constant small updates.

IIRC for new molds for GMK it's $150/mold if you want it to be exclusive, $75/mold if the molds are open to other designers to use (assumes prices have not increased in the last couple years). That's about $3,000 if the design is public and it's just for alphas, not including numbers, mods, novelties, etc. That's either an upfront cost or will be baked into the kit cost - either way, since you'll likely be running at 250 MOQ, it will make your base kit noticeably more expensive. In today's market, that may be a meaningful barrier. Again, it's doable, but will limit your design choices considerably.

[spingo]

I bought KRK this morning and have been working on the actual kit. It looks more like an actual IC. I promise to update at least the base set with a proper kit tonight.

I'm reworking the novelties but because of the idea of going GMK I didn't want to mod more than I felt was necessary to get the design I wanted. Being my first IC and all I don't know how much this many molds will bump cost. If it's crazy I'll abandon GMK. It was my first choice but I'm not married to it.

Please don't rush to update this post asap. Allow yourself to fully cook a meal before updating/posting a new IC thread. Posting a standardized KRK base kit render overnight won't change much. This is why I said you should go into discord and get feedback from other designers. It's important to take your time and let ideas marinate, rather than rushing to make constant small updates.

IIRC for new molds for GMK it's $150/mold if you want it to be exclusive, $75/mold if the molds are open to other designers to use (assumes prices have not increased in the last couple years). That's about $3,000 if the design is public and it's just for alphas, not including numbers, mods, novelties, etc. That's either an upfront cost or will be baked into the kit cost - either way, since you'll likely be running at 250 MOQ, it will make your base kit noticeably more expensive. In today's market, that may be a meaningful barrier. Again, it's doable, but will limit your design choices considerably.

I hear ya. I think I'll cook it a lot more before you hear much on it. I did end up talking to a designer and he was a boat load of help. So, thank you everyone who took the time to respond to me and I hope to update you in the near future. A lot of new ideas have come to me and what you say is true.

[mr_foggy]

needs work, but it’s a very cool idea. totally doable with gmk, too.
just stay away from pbt and you’ll have my attention.

[conternecticus]

Definitely needs work on kitting, but the core idea (colors and alphas) is very nice. Will there be any collabs? GLWIC!

[spingo]

Definitely needs work on kitting, but the core idea (colors and alphas) is very nice. Will there be any collabs? GLWIC!

I would love to collaborate with some people

[QweertyBree]

Really love this concept and wishing you all the luck in finding out how to make it come to life. I would love to follow your progress if you plan on posting it anywhere. I've thought about getting into designing myself but haven't dedicated time or mental resources to it yet. But I am really psyched for this idea.

[spingo]

Really love this concept and wishing you all the luck in finding out how to make it come to life. I would love to follow your progress if you plan on posting it anywhere. I've thought about getting into designing myself but haven't dedicated time or mental resources to it yet. But I am really psyched for this idea.

Updates here will be sporadic. If there's anything big I'll update the post but ideally I'll be running a proper IC in the future with kits, color ways, and support.

Because it's so early I am currently compulsively checking on the thread and IC form while I'm making changes.

[SirYeetWilliams]

this is dope if it's doable

[spingo]

Updated main post showing some renders, design choices, and showing off a new novelty key design.

[Klexos]

It's exciting to see the changes made after your initial posting of this. Although the concept might not be as baked as this community desires, I enjoy seeing the apparent enthusiasm you're putting towards designing this and how you're taking input. Good luck moving forward!

[offbrandbiscuit]

This is the one

[mgsickler]

I really like this idea and find it fun. I do think that you should lean more into the gravity well idea, and have the legends become distorted and not just angled. Almost like they're being sucked in.

[spingo]

I really like this idea and find it fun. I do think that you should lean more into the gravity well idea, and have the legends become distorted and not just angled. Almost like they're being sucked in.

Appreciate it! That is a design I've been playing with. I figured if just offsetting the legends requires a new mold, might as well go for broke .

I'm nearly done with the novelty set, hopefully have an update by this weekend and I'll be revisiting the alphas as well as some more color combinations. It's really starting to come together.

[spingo]

Update:
Added Novelties and refined base kit.

Working on:
Alpha set with more gravity distortion.
Numpad set.
Spacebar set.
Possibly another novelty design or two.

[spingo]

Update:
I've settled on a color way I find very pleasing. Color seems to be the new thing we can't agree on. I'm still open to suggestions; but, I'm kind of in love with this one.
Added another Novelty.
New renders.

Working on:
Alpha set with more gravity distortion.
Numpad set.
Spacebar set.

[MoltenKhor]

The discord link seems expired, i should have some ideas for a cable

[spingo]

The discord link seems expired, i should have some ideas for a cable

Should be fixed now, sorry about that.

[Ns-ark]

love the concept, can you add more color scheme for the G , like gray on black

[Ns-ark]

or something like red on black, because the accretion disk around a black hole may appear red due to the color of the star

[spingo]

or something like red on black, because the accretion disk around a black hole may appear red due to the color of the star

I did have a red/orange variant but it wasn't favorable to most. The preference is for the purple layout.
https://imgur.com/8Ilr1rQ example of the red layout that didn't make it.

I don't think it would be too much to add one extra red accent G though.

[NixieType]

I'm not sure why everyone is raising concerns over new molds when it's something GMK regularly does without problems. A set with custom alpha legends, Chaos Theory, literally shipped a few weeks ago and it's a similar idea to this.

The hobby is no where near the state of when chaos theory ran. Even the most basic sets with good kitting and low prices are concerned with hitting MOQ these days.

[spingo]

I'm not sure why everyone is raising concerns over new molds when it's something GMK regularly does without problems. A set with custom alpha legends, Chaos Theory, literally shipped a few weeks ago and it's a similar idea to this.

The hobby is no where near the state of when chaos theory ran. Even the most basic sets with good kitting and low prices are concerned with hitting MOQ these days.

I'm seeing that too. I'm not overly optimistic that this will get made but I sure hope it does. I'll keep on designing regardless but seeing them come to life; das a dream. Might need to teach myself how to market effectively.
 
If nothing else the skills gained through this experience have been pretty cool. And I have a few new friends to talk with; so, still a win.

[EdgeOfInfinity]

imo i think the alpha legends all being the same color would be better. or maybe having them be a gradient outward from the "G", somewhat similar to the darker alpha legends, but having "R, D, C, U, J, N" be the next color, etc. cool idea tho!

[NixieType]

OP if you want some feedback regardless of logistics, I would say that the set needs to be more cohesive. The idea is great, but personally I think it looks not so good. Distorting the legends instead of outright tilting them would be nice. Think about how event horizons stretch things out due to the gradient in the gravitational field (maybe not too stretched though). The other thing is the colors. The theme for the colors is certainly there, but they just don't look right together. Maybe pick a color and have a slight gradient change in either the legends or the base (but probably not both) as you move closer to the gravity well. One last thing I would say is to work on the novelty legends. They're not awful or anything, but I wouldn't call them great. That's okay though, since everyone needs to start from somewhere. Keep at it and I think you can make something nice, even if it has to be done with dye-sub PBT.

[spingo]

imo i think the alpha legends all being the same color would be better. or maybe having them be a gradient outward from the "G", somewhat similar to the darker alpha legends, but having "R, D, C, U, J, N" be the next color, etc. cool idea tho!

Appreciate the feedback. I've done a few renders like that with the legends getting "brighter" as it distances from the G. I'll post some of those later.

OP if you want some feedback regardless of logistics, I would say that the set needs to be more cohesive. The idea is great, but personally I think it looks not so good. Distorting the legends instead of outright tilting them would be nice. Think about how event horizons stretch things out due to the gradient in the gravitational field (maybe not too stretched though). The other thing is the colors. The theme for the colors is certainly there, but they just don't look right together. Maybe pick a color and have a slight gradient change in either the legends or the base (but probably not both) as you move closer to the gravity well. One last thing I would say is to work on the novelty legends. They're not awful or anything, but I wouldn't call them great. That's okay though, since everyone needs to start from somewhere. Keep at it and I think you can make something nice, even if it has to be done with dye-sub PBT.

Appreciate the feedback! Definitely still working on the set.
I've done a few renders with distorted legends. They look cool in my head and when I render them they make me laugh because they look so ridiculous. Mainly because I've over done the distortion. I posted the funniest one I did to my discord last night. Looked really bad lol. While gravity as the concept for design was my initial starting point, I have to admit to myself that the set has become a black hole/cosmos themed set; can't pretend otherwise.

While color choice is going to be a hard thing to hit for everyone due to how subjective it is, I do want to appeal to the greater majority here. I personally love the color scheme but am not willing to die on color-choice-hill, per se. I'll keep adjusting and checking on feedback for sure. The IC comments affect color changes the most. Usually, I see a quick response when I've changed the colors and the color way previous to this one was the most popular which was almost all WoB.

While I'm happy with the novelties so far there are 2 I'm not in love with. R4 1u legend with the arrows pointing to the center and R4 1.5u with the "waves". Like you said, these 2 aren't awful, they're just not great. The hard question, but the one that gives me more direction, is: What about them do you feel is not achieving greatness? Are they too plain/too complex? Hard to read? Inconsistent in style? Can't put your finger on it?
I don't expect you to actually answer that, but those kinds of answers help me a lot with design but I think most people won't know why they don't like it; they just know they don't like it.

As I said, I'll keep working on it. I do hope I can scratch an itch for most people. I still enjoy this process very much and I'm having fun designing as it is.

[Uguubox]

One of the most creative/ambitious sets I've seen to date!

I'm going to be controversial here and say I don't mind limited kitting if costs for making new moulds are high, it's a trade-off. I really like the horizon kit so I think that should be in the base kit. I also think it'd be cool to see the alpha keys most immediately around the black hole (F T Y H B V) being even more stretched or manipulated to the point of being unrecognizable. As it is, the simple rotations of these keys most immediate around the black hole to me subjectively convey something more like EPBT COOL KIDS. Note that since EPBT COOL KIDS already exists, though your set is thematically different, visually differentiating it on the alphas in more ways than just rotation and stretching may be desireable.

[tuesdaygloom]

I really like the idea of having alt kitting for different color options for the distorted legends. Would love to see something with some pink maybe.

[spikedsynapse]

I think your ideas are great. I love the concept.

I do feel i need to point out that this looks like a challenge to make the most expensive set possible from GMK. Are you working with someone at GMK to price this as you make the changes? Additionally, there will be a lot of work doing this color matching.

I love that you are going for this, but I expect with a MOQ short of 10k you are not going to be able to make an affordable set.

If you would like to join us in the Keycap Designers discord we can help you with some feedback from people who have run multiple sets.  https://discord.gg/FmtA3KsfDG

Good job designing this, I would love to see you get this made

-Spikey