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Author Topic: Artsy/Blended key caps  (Read 9172 times)

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Offline Showhand

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #50 on: Fri, 31 October 2014, 07:03:32 »
Quote from: connorelsea on Sat, 25 October 2014, 19:50:29
I've seen loads of key caps that are "blended colors" and look pretty cool. I know many of them are insanely expensive and hard to get a hold of, but where should I look to find these kind of keys or artsy keys like it. Are there any made by people other than the big name and expensive artisans? Below are some good examples.


(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Hi, may you please tell me which keycaps are (not the blended ones) the ones on the left board?
TY
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Offline hwood34

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #51 on: Fri, 31 October 2014, 10:47:13 »
Quote from: Showhand on Fri, 31 October 2014, 07:03:32
Quote from: connorelsea on Sat, 25 October 2014, 19:50:29
I've seen loads of key caps that are "blended colors" and look pretty cool. I know many of them are insanely expensive and hard to get a hold of, but where should I look to find these kind of keys or artsy keys like it. Are there any made by people other than the big name and expensive artisans? Below are some good examples.


(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Hi, may you please tell me which keycaps are (not the blended ones) the ones on the left board?
TY
Looks like just some orange realforce caps with black blanks
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Offline connorelsea

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #52 on: Sat, 01 November 2014, 01:08:39 »
The process is getting increasingly frustrated to me. I try my hardest to prevent imperfections, yet they still happen on each key. The colors either blend or do not apply correctly, or (most annoying) bubbles form on various parts of the key. The bubbles can be pressed down but it either a) rips the paint open entirely, or b) creates a discoloration where the bubble was pressed down.

I am getting very frustrated and discouraged, but I guess I will keep trying. It sucks to have done 30 key caps in a row, and have almost all of them look beautiful, except for a single imperfection. I might message Ragnorock asking for tips and see if he would reply, but I don't know if he is active anymore.

Examples of the imperfections on otherwise good keycaps can be seen below.

Geekhack won't let me upload images, so here. i.imgur.com/ZRw7SCy.jpg
« Last Edit: Sat, 01 November 2014, 01:17:59 by connorelsea »
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Offline nubbinator

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #53 on: Sat, 01 November 2014, 01:17:19 »
Have you tried mixing any thinners in?  It could be the polish is too thick or low quality.  The temps or humidity could be off and the caps themselves may need some prep work.
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Offline connorelsea

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #54 on: Sat, 01 November 2014, 01:24:45 »
Quote from: nubbinator on Sat, 01 November 2014, 01:17:19
Have you tried mixing any thinners in?  It could be the polish is too thick or low quality.  The temps or humidity could be off and the caps themselves may need some prep work.

I don't see how thickness could cause a bubble? But maybe I'm confused. Would I mix the thinner in the water, or in the nail polish. And nail polish gets insanely expensive when I buy the high quality stuff. My friend and I have probably spent $40+ on supplies. And at this point I need to actually make good caps the counter those costs. The designs are turning out good, but those damn bubbles happens almost literally every time.

Do you think that guy checks his PMs?
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Offline nubbinator

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #55 on: Sat, 01 November 2014, 01:28:05 »
It would be in with the polish.

Sometimes you have to use good stuff to get good results.  That or refine your technique.  And, to be honest $40 isn't much.  I spent probably $500 on resin stuff before I got to a level I found acceptable.

I don't think ragnarok is around much anymore.
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Offline connorelsea

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #56 on: Sun, 02 November 2014, 14:11:14 »
The problem with the bubbles was the way I lowered the cap into the water. It has to be at an angle so water does not get trapped under the paint.

Anyways, I'm going to get more colors in an hour or so to start producing the caps for real.

Taking suggestions for colors now. If anyone would like to see a certain key cap color (just for me to make, you don't have to buy if you suggest) then let me know of the colors you think would be neat. Once I make over 5, I'll put together an artisan thread. I'll do custom requests too if anyone wants them.
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Offline NeedAFix

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #57 on: Sun, 02 November 2014, 14:19:56 »
Green and blue, Pink and White, Blue and Purple, Red and Gold, Mixed colors and maybe even try to mess around with screens or other objects while dipping to change the effect!
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Offline Joey Quinn

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #58 on: Sun, 02 November 2014, 21:59:50 »
Purple and silver, miami theme, yellow and black but these caps look so cool that I'll probably buy one regardless of the color.
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Offline NeedAFix

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #59 on: Sun, 02 November 2014, 22:10:00 »
Quote from: Joey Quinn on Sun, 02 November 2014, 21:59:50
Purple and silver, miami theme, yellow and black but these caps look so cool that I'll probably buy one regardless of the color.

Yeah I have to admit they do look pretty awesome. :)
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Offline Lu_e

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #60 on: Tue, 04 November 2014, 11:40:10 »
Hey saw you were looking for guides on making caps, Binge put this together a while ago when he started: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=46284.0
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Offline connorelsea

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #61 on: Wed, 05 November 2014, 08:07:37 »
I put an artisan thread up. So anybody who wanted some of the key caps can check that out. Thanks!

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=65214.0
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Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: Artsy/Blended key caps
« Reply #62 on: Fri, 07 November 2014, 02:20:41 »
Another interesting post about making caps is here http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=62696.0
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