Author Topic: CG visualization of key cap color combinations  (Read 62033 times)

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Offline mashby

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #100 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 09:29:04 »
Was the Toxic green posted? I thought it was going to be a heretofore unseen, startlingly bright green.

He just got samples in a day or so ago. I PM'd Daniel to see if we could get a sample (when it's finalized) so you can use your PMS system to find a match. I'll let you know what he says.

Offline Batmann

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #101 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 09:34:37 »
Toxic green is PMS 389,
since it's a custom colour we had to use pantone for the choice

and also thanks for the colour ring order, that's gonna help a lot  :)

Offline samwisekoi

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #102 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 09:52:57 »
I'm happy to contribute to the cause and order a ABS color ring and ship it to @Krogenar. He can then match the colors and add it to our knowledge of KEYBOARD SCIENCE!  :p

Quick question though, are the SP color rings consistent? It feels like they are a bit all over the map and change over time.

@krogenar, please PM me your address and I'll ship you the ABS ring.

No, they are not consistent.  They contain the chips that SP has in stock at the time they make the rings.  In fact, the rings I bought for Elvish and Retro did not contain any of the colors that ended up in Retro.

SP did send me the extra color samples when I requested them by color-code, but there is no guarantee you will get all the colors you want.

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Offline mashby

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #103 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 10:08:30 »
No, they are not consistent.  They contain the chips that SP has in stock at the time they make the rings.  In fact, the rings I bought for Elvish and Retro did not contain any of the colors that ended up in Retro.

So are you saying colors like RA Red may not be the same color when another batch is run, or that they are always adding and changing colors?

Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #104 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 10:47:30 »
Toxic green is PMS 389,
since it's a custom colour we had to use pantone for the choice

and also thanks for the colour ring order, that's gonna help a lot  :)

Coated or uncoated? African or European?
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Quote from: Samuel Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Offline Batmann

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #105 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 11:10:13 »
I used solid coated for the mockups,
Daniel arranged this with Melissa so I'm not sure what they agreed on except for 389.
Btw is coating relevant for ABS plastic?

Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #106 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 11:41:08 »
Btw is coating relevant for ABS plastic?

I would assume coated, this being plastic and all, but I can't be sure until I see the chips themselves. I use primarily Pantone Solid Coated, and I print mostly on extruded vinyls. Even after matching the chips to Pantone Solid Coated colors, it sounds like they would still only be approximations, since others have pointed out that the color chips differ from batch to batch. Still, it's better than just guessing.

If my color match call seems close, I'll post some photos!
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Quote from: Samuel Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #107 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 11:43:53 »
First, is there any way to change the color of the legends, to get an idea how double-shots would look?

Second, can you do one more?

I call it "Breakfast on Fifth Avenue", inspired by the famous jewelry store in Manhattan located at the corner of E. 57th Street and Fifth Avenue.


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Offline mkawa

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CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #108 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 12:25:07 »
i'm at some point going to make color accurate argb shots of all of the color chips i have, but due to some nasty stuff don't have the time right now

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Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #109 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 12:34:51 »
I can confirm that PMS 389C for the Toxic set is ... wow. A really intense, eye-strain inducing green! Pretty awesome that the GB organizer was able to get SP to do this. That will be one really unique-looking set. Here's the potato pic:



I shot the picture against my Model M as a color reference. PMS 389 is right at the point where it could almost pitch over into a more yellow color, but doesn't. Ballsy color to choose.

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Quote from: Samuel Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Offline samwisekoi

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #110 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 12:37:09 »
No, they are not consistent.  They contain the chips that SP has in stock at the time they make the rings.  In fact, the rings I bought for Elvish and Retro did not contain any of the colors that ended up in Retro.

So are you saying colors like RA Red may not be the same color when another batch is run, or that they are always adding and changing colors?

Always adding and changing colors to the rings.
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Offline Batmann

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CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #111 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 14:17:14 »
I can confirm that PMS 389C for the Toxic set is ... wow. A really intense, eye-strain inducing green! Pretty awesome that the GB organizer was able to get SP to do this. That will be one really unique-looking set. Here's the potato pic:

(Attachment Link)

I shot the picture against my Model M as a color reference. PMS 389 is right at the point where it could almost pitch over into a more yellow color, but doesn't. Ballsy color to choose.

Sounds good and also looks good

Offline mashby

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #112 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 16:30:25 »
No, they are not consistent.  They contain the chips that SP has in stock at the time they make the rings.  In fact, the rings I bought for Elvish and Retro did not contain any of the colors that ended up in Retro.

So are you saying colors like RA Red may not be the same color when another batch is run, or that they are always adding and changing colors?

Always adding and changing colors to the rings.

As long as the color names are consistent, in other words RA red is always the same, then I think having the PMS as a reference can really help. Of course it also means that this process could be never ending if they add and remove colors willy nilly.

Offline kaporkle

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #113 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 20:01:34 »



I used PMS 389 for the green and guessed on the black/charcoal (and I goofed on the front-printing in the upper right, but hopefully that's not a big deal).

Eth0s, I looked up Tiffany & Co. It's a cool idea for a color scheme. Before I hit 'go' on the HQ render, is this the level of saturation that you're after?

Offline Turkishrambo

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #114 on: Fri, 01 March 2013, 20:34:16 »
ohhh man! i  want them even more now! Should post it in the GB thread!

Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #115 on: Sat, 02 March 2013, 15:55:02 »
I got a WASD gamer set from Signature Plastics that was a near perfect match for Tiffany turquoise.

Here are some pics:





As you can see, Tiffany uses turquoise with black legends.  The Tiffany font is distinctive, and would be impossible to reproduce without paying $45 per keycap for Signature Plastics new legend fee.

Also Tiffany uses white as a modifier color, as you can see in the pics. 

As such, the colors of a "Breakfast on Fifth Avenue" set should include turquoise, black and possibly white.

I haven't worked out what would be the best combination of colors just yet, which is why i was excited to try your modeling to see how the various color combo's look.

Now I'm thinking the alpha keys should be black-on-turquoise, and the modifier keys should be turquoise-on-black.  Maybe the only place for turquoise-on-white would be the Esc key.

Here is a pic of a keyboard with a turquoise gamer WASD cluster:

« Last Edit: Sat, 02 March 2013, 16:49:39 by eth0s »
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Offline tjcaustin

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #116 on: Sat, 02 March 2013, 15:58:10 »
There is something masochistic about doing this for a board that has so few custom keycap options.

Are you referring to doing this for a Model M? That's exactly why it should be done... So that more key caps could be made.

The only problem with that really is, like topre, Unicomp is the only one that makes BS cap sets and they're rather slow when it comes to making new combinations.  I think they've been developing a Red Alert set for over a year now.

Offline mashby

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #117 on: Sat, 02 March 2013, 16:33:53 »
I got a WASD gamer set from Signature Plastics that was a near perfect match for Tiffany turquoise.

Those keys look fantastic.

Do you know what color code they used for that?

Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #118 on: Sat, 02 March 2013, 16:48:53 »
I don't have one of those Sig Plastics color-coding ring of fobs.  http://www.keycapsdirect.com/marketplace.php

I guess I should pony up $35 and buy one from Melissa. heh.
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Offline mashby

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #119 on: Sat, 02 March 2013, 17:35:19 »
I don't have one of those Sig Plastics color-coding ring of fobs.  http://www.keycapsdirect.com/marketplace.php

I guess I should pony up $35 and buy one from Melissa. heh.

I just bought one myself. I was just curious if you knew off hand.

Offline Jocelyn

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Re: Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #120 on: Sat, 02 March 2013, 17:53:43 »
I got a WASD gamer set from Signature Plastics that was a near perfect match for Tiffany turquoise.

Here are some pics:

Show Image


Show Image


As you can see, Tiffany uses turquoise with black legends.  The Tiffany font is distinctive, and would be impossible to reproduce without paying $45 per keycap for Signature Plastics new legend fee.

Those caps are beautiful! Btw, the color has been around for almost 200 years and is Tiffany Blue not turquoise :)

Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #121 on: Sat, 02 March 2013, 20:01:01 »
I got a WASD gamer set from Signature Plastics that was a near perfect match for Tiffany turquoise.

Here are some pics:

Show Image


Show Image


As you can see, Tiffany uses turquoise with black legends.  The Tiffany font is distinctive, and would be impossible to reproduce without paying $45 per keycap for Signature Plastics new legend fee.

Those caps are beautiful! Btw, the color has been around for almost 200 years and is Tiffany Blue not turquoise :)

They are pretty awesome, it's true.  I've been thinking about running a group buy to make a whole set out of them, for more than a year.

And, lol, yeah, I know Tiffany & Co., calls it "Tiffany Blue", because I've spent more than a few dollars in their store. :))  But I didn't want any entanglements with them, so I would like to call it "Breakfast Turquoise" or "Fifth Avenue Blue", or something, lulz.  Hmm, for short I guess I could call it BreakTurq, or FAB?

So would you be interested in a whole set of BreakTurq/ FAB keycaps?  If so, what color should the modifier keys be?  BreakTurq/ FAB for the alpha keys, and Black around the outside or white?

I just realized I prolly should start my own thread about this.  Sorry if I thread-jacked a bit.  :-[

 
« Last Edit: Sat, 02 March 2013, 20:03:54 by eth0s »
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Offline kaporkle

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #122 on: Sun, 03 March 2013, 02:39:10 »
I found the RGB values for Tiffany Blue on this page:
http://blog.buyosphere.com/2012/05/tiffany-blue/

According to Matt3o's color tool, the closest match is BEY.


Now I'm thinking the alpha keys should be black-on-turquoise, and the modifier keys should be turquoise-on-black.  Maybe the only place for turquoise-on-white would be the Esc key.
Like this:

Or this:




Offline pasph

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #123 on: Sun, 03 March 2013, 06:23:27 »
Very different colors
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Offline Matt3o

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #124 on: Sun, 03 March 2013, 08:07:12 »
I've updated the tool with better calibrated colors. The closest you can get is probably BFL

http://lab.cubiq.org/wta/?img=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv123%2FDaJuice%2FTiffanyBlue.png

preview

http://lab.cubiq.org/kbcc/#BFL,NN

edit: if you can go PBT, maybe BFV is even closer
« Last Edit: Sun, 03 March 2013, 08:24:58 by Matt3o »

Offline samwisekoi

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #125 on: Sun, 03 March 2013, 10:56:17 »
A couple of things...

First, having bought many things Tiffany over the years, and even owned some Tiffany stock, I have to say that the inclusion of black keys violates their design ethic pretty strongly.  Go buy something.  It will come in a blue box with a white ribbon.  Your GF/Wife will be excited just to see the box.

So having the keycaps in Tiffany Blue with white or black lettering, and possibly a small touch of white with blue would much better suit the Tiffany look.  http://lab.cubiq.org/kbcc/#BFL,WA

Second, we've picked the colors for the Elvish keycaps.  Mr. Kaporkle, feel like doing something with non-Roman lettering?  We have an SVG of the Elvish legends.

See http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=38264.0 for more details (and a bad 3D image.)

Thanks in advance!

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Offline Matt3o

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #126 on: Sun, 03 March 2013, 11:14:04 »
if you release the source code I could create a realtime 3d keyboard generator :P

Offline kaporkle

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #127 on: Sun, 03 March 2013, 14:36:13 »
http://lab.cubiq.org/kbcc/#BFL,NN
I had not seen that before, badass. :cool:

if you release the source code I could create a realtime 3d keyboard generator :P
Since this is a commercial venture I have to politely decline. :]
There isn't any code btw, rather it's all scene files.


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Offline mkawa

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #128 on: Sun, 03 March 2013, 14:40:13 »
conveniently, one of our admins has a lot of experience in automated generation and manipulation of scene files *whistle* ;)

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Offline Matt3o

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #129 on: Sun, 03 March 2013, 16:15:29 »
oh well... I gotta create it myself then...  >:D

Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #130 on: Tue, 05 March 2013, 00:56:33 »
On Matt3o's keyboard color chooser, VBV is closer to Tiffany Blue.  Tiffany Blue is not really blue at all, it's really turquoise.  Tiffany & Co. just call it "blue" for some reason.  Either way, SP has a direct match, as I showed in my pic.  The SP WASD set in my pic is almost a perfect match for "Tiffany Blue".
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Offline Jocelyn

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Re: Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #131 on: Tue, 05 March 2013, 01:36:53 »
On Matt3o's keyboard color chooser, VBV is closer to Tiffany Blue.  Tiffany Blue is not really blue at all, it's really turquoise.  Tiffany & Co. just call it "blue" for some reason.  Either way, SP has a direct match, as I showed in my pic.  The SP WASD set in my pic is almost a perfect match for "Tiffany Blue".

Haha, they probably call it blue because many women who buy turquoise think it's expensive, nice, and luxurious, but it's not lol. When I lived in Pittsburgh, a lot of my girlfriends were like this and Tiffany & Co. probably wants to disassociate from that.

PS - I plan on messaging you in regards to your last reply to me, but I haven't had enough time yet :)
« Last Edit: Tue, 05 March 2013, 04:54:43 by Jocelyn »

Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #132 on: Wed, 06 March 2013, 13:30:45 »
On Matt3o's keyboard color chooser, VBV is closer to Tiffany Blue.  Tiffany Blue is not really blue at all, it's really turquoise.  Tiffany & Co. just call it "blue" for some reason.  Either way, SP has a direct match, as I showed in my pic.  The SP WASD set in my pic is almost a perfect match for "Tiffany Blue".

Haha, they probably call it blue because many women who buy turquoise think it's expensive, nice, and luxurious, but it's not lol. When I lived in Pittsburgh, a lot of my girlfriends were like this and Tiffany & Co. probably wants to disassociate from that.

PS - I plan on messaging you in regards to your last reply to me, but I haven't had enough time yet :)

Hmm, well, I like turquoise, the semi-precious stone, and turquoise, the color.  IMO, any stone can look nice in a piece of jewelry, even amber.  It all depends on the skill of the jeweler.  And any stone can be expensive, when Tiffany & Co. sells it (even amber).  lulz. 
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Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #133 on: Wed, 06 March 2013, 14:00:35 »
Heads up gang, received the SP ABS color ring from Mashby today, and I'll be doing some Pantone color matching tonight when I get home. I will post some matches tonight. I'll try to find a Tiffany Blue.

Also, I was wondering ... has anyone ever considering mounting a semi-precious stone into a keycap? I'm just imagining sculpting the cap so that it has a 'setting' shape; put a little cleft somewhere on it, and then bedazzle the bejeezus out of it.

...



You know what, forget that, that would look ridiculous. I'm just going to splash some glue and glitter on my keycaps, maybe toss some uncooked macaroni on it and call it a day.  ^-^



LOL, other arts and crafts accessories could work -- googly eyes!

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Quote from: Samuel Adams
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Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #134 on: Thu, 07 March 2013, 00:17:42 »
Heads up gang, received the SP ABS color ring from Mashby today, and I'll be doing some Pantone color matching tonight when I get home. I will post some matches tonight. I'll try to find a Tiffany Blue.

Also, I was wondering ... has anyone ever considering mounting a semi-precious stone into a keycap? I'm just imagining sculpting the cap so that it has a 'setting' shape; put a little cleft somewhere on it, and then bedazzle the bejeezus out of it.

...

(Attachment Link)

You know what, forget that, that would look ridiculous. I'm just going to splash some glue and glitter on my keycaps, maybe toss some uncooked macaroni on it and call it a day.  ^-^



LOL, other arts and crafts accessories could work -- googly eyes!



LOL, I dunno if ur trolling me or not.  But that pic is still funny. 

And somebody like girlDC, who is actually a jeweler, will eventually make a solid gold Darth Vader with diamond eyes.  Just wait, the $1,000 keycap is coming.
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Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #135 on: Thu, 07 March 2013, 04:23:31 »

LOL, I dunno if ur trolling me or not.  But that pic is still funny. 

And somebody like girlDC, who is actually a jeweler, will eventually make a solid gold Darth Vader with diamond eyes.  Just wait, the $1,000 keycap is coming.

Nope, not trolling at all. I like the Tiffany color scheme actually. I think there should be more solid color keycap sets, if the color is striking enough.
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Quote from: Samuel Adams
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Offline danielucf

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #136 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 11:41:16 »
Can you add color "VDA" to the tool? It is Pantone color 389 C which will be used for the Toxic set.
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Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #137 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 12:14:18 »
Can you add color "VDA" to the tool? It is Pantone color 389 C which will be used for the Toxic set.

Sure. Way to go, engineering a new color and all!
So far I've got all the yellows (with one or two exceptions) matched. I'll start posting the numbers once I have more of them done.
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Quote from: Samuel Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Offline Matt3o

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #138 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 13:03:55 »
please note that abs colors change from one batch to another, an ABS to Pantone convertion is almost impossible

Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #139 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 13:32:24 »
please note that abs colors change from one batch to another, an ABS to Pantone convertion is almost impossible

Do they change drastically? If they do, then, well then their own color rings are kinda useless too, aren't they? Unless they make new rings on a regular basis, which I would imagine would be pretty costly? I use a lot of fabrics in my work, of all different colors, and they also vary slightly from dye lot to dye lot -- but not by a huge margin. Red doesn't turn into orange or anything.

I'm assuming that the codes SP uses must indicate some sort of formula? I'm guessing the raw ABS comes in pellets of some kind, and they drop colorants by some formula into the molten plastic. Could be that the formula isn't very stringent -- a pinch of this color, a dash of that color, etc. -- but I doubt it. One RA set won't match another RA set precisely, but they'll be very close, right?

For now, I've only managed the yellows, and if I'm not 90%+ confident in the match, I indicate that in my notes. So far only one color chip has had no real Pantone match. Once I'm done I might go into some other Pantone books (uncoated) and see if there's a better match, or explore percentages of a Pantone color. I'm hoping the other colors will be easier to match.
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Quote from: Samuel Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #140 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 13:36:08 »
Very different colors

Yeah, I gotta agree. But if SP was able to make a custom color for the Toxic set, maybe they can match your Tiffany blue?
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Quote from: Samuel Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #141 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 13:39:13 »
please note that abs colors change from one batch to another, an ABS to Pantone convertion is almost impossible

Do they change drastically? If they do, then, well then their own color rings are kinda useless too, aren't they? Unless they make new rings on a regular basis, which I would imagine would be pretty costly? I use a lot of fabrics in my work, of all different colors, and they also vary slightly from dye lot to dye lot -- but not by a huge margin. Red doesn't turn into orange or anything.

I'm assuming that the codes SP uses must indicate some sort of formula? I'm guessing the raw ABS comes in pellets of some kind, and they drop colorants by some formula into the molten plastic. Could be that the formula isn't very stringent -- a pinch of this color, a dash of that color, etc. -- but I doubt it. One RA set won't match another RA set precisely, but they'll be very close, right?

For now, I've only managed the yellows, and if I'm not 90%+ confident in the match, I indicate that in my notes. So far only one color chip has had no real Pantone match. Once I'm done I might go into some other Pantone books (uncoated) and see if there's a better match, or explore percentages of a Pantone color. I'm hoping the other colors will be easier to match.

@ Krogenar: Are you a garmento?  lol, early in my career, I used to do arbitrations for fabric manufacturers and buyers here in NYC.

@Matt3o:  It seems like Signature Plastics can produce the same color over and over again in their ABS plastic on a reliable basis.  So I'm hoping they can reproduce the turquoise color that they produced before.  And I think it's just a coincidence that their turquoise color is almost an exact match for Tiffany Blue.
I ♥ Click Clack.  I ♥♥♥ Bro Caps.

Offline Krogenar

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #142 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 13:53:34 »
@ Krogenar: Are you a garmento?  lol, early in my career, I used to do arbitrations for fabric manufacturers and buyers here in NYC.

No, but I do work very close to the fashion district. I make custom banners and flags, so I use a lot of nylon. Arbitrations between fabric buyers and sellers? Hope they paid you a lot, LOL! ("This isn't Navy Blue, it's Black!") You have no idea how many times that color trips people up.

Quote from: eth0s
@Matt3o:  It seems like Signature Plastics can produce the same color over and over again in their ABS plastic on a reliable basis.  So I'm hoping they can reproduce the turquoise color that they produced before.  And I think it's just a coincidence that their turquoise color is almost an exact match for Tiffany Blue.

It didn't look like an exact match to me; in fact, it was pretty far off. But color is such a subjective thing that it might be good enough for the end user. The only way to get a 100% match would be to match a chip up against a Tiffany bag. And even then, the final color might be slightly different because SP would mix the color up fresh for production. When I used to silkscreen in-house we would run into the same problem. I'd mix a color up by hand (literally mixing it by adding ink, checking against a color, remixing, etc.) and after printing I'd put the ink in one of those chinese take-out containers, label it, and then if the client came back I would at least have a reference to try to match.

But I don't think that would work with molten plastic!  :D
« Last Edit: Fri, 08 March 2013, 13:55:55 by Krogenar »
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Quote from: Samuel Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Offline Matt3o

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #143 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 16:20:43 »
I'm telling you what SP told me. While building my color tools I tried to tune up with SP but it turned out to be very difficult to match the colors. Also the color rings varies over time. So you can try to go close, but a perfect match won't last long. The good news anyway is that SP can match your color if you ask to.

Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #144 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 16:38:11 »
@ Krogenar: Are you a garmento?  lol, early in my career, I used to do arbitrations for fabric manufacturers and buyers here in NYC.

No, but I do work very close to the fashion district. I make custom banners and flags, so I use a lot of nylon. Arbitrations between fabric buyers and sellers? Hope they paid you a lot, LOL! ("This isn't Navy Blue, it's Black!") You have no idea how many times that color trips people up.

Quote from: eth0s
@Matt3o:  It seems like Signature Plastics can produce the same color over and over again in their ABS plastic on a reliable basis.  So I'm hoping they can reproduce the turquoise color that they produced before.  And I think it's just a coincidence that their turquoise color is almost an exact match for Tiffany Blue.

It didn't look like an exact match to me; in fact, it was pretty far off. But color is such a subjective thing that it might be good enough for the end user. The only way to get a 100% match would be to match a chip up against a Tiffany bag. And even then, the final color might be slightly different because SP would mix the color up fresh for production. When I used to silkscreen in-house we would run into the same problem. I'd mix a color up by hand (literally mixing it by adding ink, checking against a color, remixing, etc.) and after printing I'd put the ink in one of those chinese take-out containers, label it, and then if the client came back I would at least have a reference to try to match.

But I don't think that would work with molten plastic!  :D

Well, I worked for somebody else.  It was my first real job, and I didn't get paid very well, but I learned a lot about litigation, and how people in the garment industry try to cheat each other.  It's a pretty crazy business, is all I'm willing to say.  However, there are a lot of really great people in that industry too.  There are even a few honest ones.  :p

As or SP's turquoise keycaps, it's true they are not an exact match for Tiffany Blue.  But I didn't think about trying to get an exact match, mainly b/c it seemed impracticable, and secondarily since it seemed that a slightly different, but very similar shade of turquoise would avoid copyright litigation.  I'm sure you're aware of Christian Louboutin's copyright litigation over his red soles on his women's shoes.  Louboutin has re-filed his French trademark to name a specific shade of red (Pantone 18-1663TP, “Chinese Red”) rather than the color red in general — so his claim to copyright protection seems to be limited to that exact shade of red, i.e., Pantone 18-1663TP.  The same is probably true for Tiffany Blue, but again, it's always an open legal question when dealing with this sort of thing.  Louboutin lost at the trial court level, but has won at the appellate court level.  So, while it may be an interesting hypothetical, to see if one can duplicate Tiffany Blue in plastic, it may cause more problems than it's worth, if one actually tried to sell it.  However, despite the foregoing, I would love to know the exact Panatone color name and number for Tiffany Blue, if you can figure it out.
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Offline kaporkle

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #145 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 22:26:55 »
I hope you don't mind eth0s, I took a little bit of liberty with the scheme taking into account what samwisekoi mentioned.


Offline Hak Foo

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #146 on: Fri, 08 March 2013, 23:07:57 »

Also, I was wondering ... has anyone ever considering mounting a semi-precious stone into a keycap? I'm just imagining sculpting the cap so that it has a 'setting' shape; put a little cleft somewhere on it, and then bedazzle the bejeezus out of it.



Years ago, I had a 486DX4 laptop with an in-case trackball; I also had a hematite sphere the same size.  I'll let you join the dots.
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Offline eth0s

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #147 on: Sun, 10 March 2013, 19:03:03 »
I hope you don't mind eth0s, I took a little bit of liberty with the scheme taking into account what samwisekoi mentioned.

Show Image


Hey thanks!

That looks really great!  I guess white-on-turquoise is probably the best looking combination.  Although, I wouldn't mind seeing black-on-turquoise as well, on a black keyboard.  But only if you feel like doing another rendering, lol.
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Offline kaporkle

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #148 on: Tue, 12 March 2013, 00:39:49 »
I don't know about you but I like it. :}


Offline Badwrench

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Re: CG visualization of key cap color combinations
« Reply #149 on: Tue, 12 March 2013, 19:40:26 »
One more for me?



wut. i'd buy a ****ty IBM board for that green V2