Do you have an example that you might have made already? The template looks nice empty, so I'm interested to see how it looks completed.Yeah definitely, here's one I rendered last night:
Here you go my good man. A veritable mish mash of color.Thank you! I'll set it up to render.
Looks like the template has some anti-aliasing issues with fill in some programs?That's okay. Only a small portion of each key template is sampled for color.
Here you go my good man. A veritable mish mash of color.The lighting needs some work to play a bit nicer with different color combinations.
I call it....Good name. ;D
GREEN
Ok, this is freakin' awesome!My thoughts exactly.
This is indeed very awesome^Ok, this is freakin' awesome!My thoughts exactly.
Great job, OP. This will be an amazing help to the community.
What program are you using for this?Hi daerid, it's an animation package called Houdini. http://www.sidefx.com/
Thanks for the kind words, I really wasn't expecting that.
I hope this doesn't lead to any disappointment, but the idea was that it would be a paid service. A few bucks for a 1080p (or higher-res) render. I looked at the OP again and realize that I didn't specify this at all, so apologies. :-[ Each one of these takes 3+ hours to render and the only way I could justify setting up different layouts and modeling different boards [Filco, Model M, etc] would be if there was at least some compensation involved.What program are you using for this?Hi daerid, it's an animation package called Houdini. http://www.sidefx.com/
On with it.Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/Render_reverkiller.jpg)
That's intense! :D
Here are a few other screencaps/test rendersShow Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/rfbottom.jpg)Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/key_030.jpg)Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/key_035.jpg)Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/key_036.jpg)
^ This or even a tklAnd you know that's something when this guy says so.
This is trully awesome
unmatchables mock ups for GB!
^^Batmann's mock-ups are still classic though!^ This or even a tklAnd you know that's something when this guy says so.
This is trully awesome
unmatchables mock ups for GB!
I hate to be this guy but can you do one for the numberpad/keypads as well? For us still stuck on the full size flow :pHello CPT, yes that would be planned.
It would be perfect if there was some way to specify the legend colour too :)Hi rowdy, there is now. :)
One question though. How much trouble and cost would it be to add a KBC Poker to your model options? Just curious. :)
This is really, really cool and I'd love to see a version for some MX and BS boards.
How much time and work did it take you to make that? Would it be possible (not too hard) to make a 104 Filco as well?
I hate to be this guy but can you do one for the numberpad/keypads as well? For us still stuck on the full size flow :pHello CPT, yes that would be planned.It would be perfect if there was some way to specify the legend colour too :)Hi rowdy, there is now. :)
Coloring the print is done the same way as the caps, although there is a seperate sheet. Changing the font and placement of legends is possible too, though it's not an automated process.Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/key_038.jpg)Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/PaintMePrint.png)One question though. How much trouble and cost would it be to add a KBC Poker to your model options? Just curious. :)This is really, really cool and I'd love to see a version for some MX and BS boards.How much time and work did it take you to make that? Would it be possible (not too hard) to make a 104 Filco as well?
The case design for the KBC Poker and Filco seem fairly simple to model. Something like a Model M looks a bit more challenging. Having good reference material is really important. With the Realforce I have the real thing in front of me so it doesn't get much better than that. I put a lot of hours into it, honestly probably too much, it's modeled down to the bevels on the dip switches. I wouldn't bother modeling the undersides for any future kbs for example. But the first step to making other boards would be to model the key caps for their respective switches. I wasn't able to find accurate blueprints of topre caps, so I ended up taking my 87u and pulling one cap from each profile and taking photos of it from different angles.Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/topre_row4.gif)
In Houdini I matched the 3d camera to the focal length of my DSLR's lens and used the photos as reference for getting the shape right. It's still not a 100% accurate, but I would say good enough for visualization purposes. I can't do the same for MX/BS/ALPS because I don't own any boards with those switches. What I would need are accurate blueprints, so I will begin by looking for those. Failing that, perhaps some kind geekhackers would be willing to mail me some spare caps, just one of each unique profile.
For custom legends would a vector based file work?I think as long as Inkscape can open the files we should be good.
If you tell me how you'd like the keycaps photographed I can do it that way, I have all the necessary gear and can send you the specs for the lens I'd be using. Seems like a great project and I'd gladly spend the time doing this.Thank you for the offer McWilloughby! That would be a tremendous help and I would definitely return the favor. This was my process if you're interested in helping:
So yeah...just when I thought this thread wouldn't get better...it did!
I REALLY like the idea of a gif of a keycap so you can see all the angles. Might I suggest you show the underside as well? It seems like a lot of people really like seeing it and I wouldn't mind it just for thoroughness' sake.
Also, thanks for responding. It's hard to visualize a full size set sometimes when the only pics I can find are of TKL or 60%/75% boards. Granted they look great but sometime I want to picture something and not ogle other people's boards.
Very cool idea. Is there anyway you can export your models in a standard file like (.step or sat)? I have SolidWorks'12 at work and I can mess around with rendering as well :-) Thanks!
Do you have an example that you might have made already? The template looks nice empty, so I'm interested to see how it looks completed.Yeah definitely, here's one I rendered last night:Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/testcolor_template_zps87f8cafe.png)Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/testcolor_render.jpg)Here you go my good man. A veritable mish mash of color.Thank you! I'll set it up to render.Looks like the template has some anti-aliasing issues with fill in some programs?That's okay. Only a small portion of each key template is sampled for color.
I forgot to mention, you can opt to have printed or blank key caps.
That proved to be a little difficult because I only had it partially in the frame and because of slight barrel distortion in the lens. If I did it again I would trim the paper down to something like 3x3 inches. Telephoto focal ranges are more helpful than wide angle. The lines I drew on the paper were to make sure the key cap stayed in the same spot. I poked a small hole through the underside to make a little mound that the topre stem could turn on (it's pretty heavy stock paper). The camera was set to a 2 second delay to avoid vibration, and as delicately as I could, I turned the keycap 45 degrees between each shot. 8 images for each of the 4 unique profiles.
Can I ask what switches you have access to? I would like to add Cherry MX (both OEM and Cherry profile) and buckling spring for now. I was considering Alps, but I'm not sure if there is any demand. It seems like only Matias is manufacturing Alps boards, and custom key caps seem to be a rare thing, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Very cool idea. Is there anyway you can export your models in a standard file like (.step or sat)? I have SolidWorks'12 at work and I can mess around with rendering as well :-) Thanks!Hi npgatech, Houdini won't export to those formats (or CAD formats in general).
I'll probably use a 50mm but I can go up to 70mm if you think that would be better. The perspective setup will be easy enough to make, will try to get started in the next couple of days. I have access to Cherry MX OEM profile keys that come on an ISO layout QFR. Other than that some of my housemates have mechanical keyboards so I'll be able to get numpad specific stuff, only things I won't have access to will be ANSI specific keys (though would the enter key be the only problem?). I can also do a K series (spherical) key if you want.50mm is what I used, but whichever you think is the sharper lens. I believe the photos were at f8 or thereabouts. I do usually shoot RAW so that would be great actually, but if the files end up being too big jpegs would do just fine. :]
Also, what format would you like the photos in? I know nothing about modelling/building up the lighting for this stuff but if it would help I can send you RAW files as it'll give you way more control over how the photo looks (no idea if this would be useful at all). If not I'll just send jpegs. Wanna PM me your email so I can send them your way?
Ever so slowly uploading the files to my dropbox, may have to wait until tomorrow morning (UK time) as my housemates were complaining about lag. Gotta love RAW files :P
Amazing work!
Would love to see what this would look like:
Right on McWilloughby. :]
I dig the khaki/sand color and that turquoise Esc. :)Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/Render_xyril.jpg)Amazing work!
Would love to see what this would look like:
I'm on it.
McWilloughby has kindly provided me with some great photos of MX keycaps so I will be able to start on that soon.Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/Render_Wopian.jpg)Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/Render-Krogenar.jpg)
Unicorn Vomit Thread Worthy xDShow Image(http://i.imgur.com/X9zdHS9.png)
Would love to see this done up if you can, I have actually ordered very similar colour keycaps but will be waiting 2 to 3 weeks for arrival.
Seeing it made up in 3D and seeing how similar it turns out would be amazing.
Many thanks. :)
::Should've made my base colour charcoal black. :/Submit another one if you'd like. :)
Has there been a price established for this service? I know there was some talk of this costing a few bucks, which I'm happy to pay, but I'm just curious how much it'd be.Hi mashby. This is still a work in progress and I haven't sorted all the details out but I'm thinking between $4-$7 per render depending on how many you want in a given "order".
This one looks like fun, and yes I would love to see the real thing when it's done. Are they blank or printed caps?Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/X9zdHS9.png)
Would love to see this done up if you can, I have actually ordered very similar colour keycaps but will be waiting 2 to 3 weeks for arrival.
Seeing it made up in 3D and seeing how similar it turns out would be amazing.
Many thanks. :)
Wow :eek: That looks awesome! Thanks heaps Kaporkle. No problems on the time taken mate, especially seeing as it is one of the test ones you did for free :D I love it!
Anyone who is not into "Unicorn Vomit" boards, Avert your eyes!
I see you have found Rainbow Brite's keyboard.
There is something masochistic about doing this for a board that has so few custom keycap options.
Poking around the SP website I don't see anything that could provide RGB values for their colors. I may try asking them, because that would come in handy.
Thank you guys. :)
Krogenar, ideally I would have orthographic blueprints/drawings of a Model M in vector format, which so far I haven't come across. If that's not an option I can model the case from photos. The most important thing to have though would be good reference photos of the keycaps.
For example McWilloughby has access to a tripod and dslr and did an outstanding job in providing me with good photos of OEM MX caps:Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/mxcaps.jpg)
If I had this for Model M caps, it would be enough to get started. Alternately if someone would be willing to mail me a few spare Model M caps I can take the photos myself.
Also, in regards to getting SP's color ring to match up with your renders, I would suggest using PMS colors (Pantone Matching System). Kaporkle, does your software environment support PMS colors? If it does, then that might be the best solution. In my work I use Pantone colors for color matching. There are books published by Pantone called swatch books.
(Attachment Link)
They're just little blocks of color that I can use to find the nearest pantone color for anything. If I can get my hands on a SP color ring, I can determine the closest PMS match to each segment of the SP color ring -- IF your design environment allows for Pantone colors. Or, perhaps SP can give us the PMS equivalents on their own?
pretty much the long version of my previous post!
Dunno if you're doing more, but if you can find the time I'd love to see this:Aye, it's rendering.
could u do a render of the toxic set on black case?Sure thing. I had to look that up. Yes or No on:
Wow that's two people offering to ship out a Model M. That's incredibly kind of you both. Having the object in front of you does remove all the guesswork that otherwise comes with modeling from photo references. I realize it would be somewhat of an inconvenience so thanks very much for the offer. If we go that route I would pay for shipping each way.
In regards to colors: It would definitely be useful to have values for SP's colors. I had some difficulty with color-matching the Raindrop set for aggiejy, it was a lot of eye-balling. If an SP color-ring can be matched to Pantone numbers they can then be converted to RGB values. Matt3o's tool looks very cool btw.Dunno if you're doing more, but if you can find the time I'd love to see this:Aye, it's rendering.could u do a render of the toxic set on black case?Sure thing. I had to look that up. Yes or No on:
toxic stripe
green mods
Was the Toxic green posted? I thought it was going to be a heretofore unseen, startlingly bright green.
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.
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 :)
Btw is coating relevant for ABS plastic?
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?
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.
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.
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.
I got a WASD gamer set from Signature Plastics that was a near perfect match for Tiffany turquoise.
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 got a WASD gamer set from Signature Plastics that was a near perfect match for Tiffany turquoise.
Here are some pics:Show Image(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o580/eth0sz/TiffanywithBow.jpg)Show Image(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o580/eth0sz/TiffanyWASD.jpg)
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.
I got a WASD gamer set from Signature Plastics that was a near perfect match for Tiffany turquoise.
Here are some pics:Show Image(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o580/eth0sz/TiffanywithBow.jpg)Show Image(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o580/eth0sz/TiffanyWASD.jpg)
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 :)
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:
http://lab.cubiq.org/kbcc/#BFL,NNI had not seen that before, badass. :cool:
if you release the source code I could create a realtime 3d keyboard generator :PSince this is a commercial venture I have to politely decline. :]
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".
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 :)
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.
Can you add color "VDA" to the tool? It is Pantone color 389 C which will be used for the Toxic set.
please note that abs colors change from one batch to another, an ABS to Pantone convertion is almost impossible
Very different colors
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.
@ 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
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.
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/Render_eth0s1.jpg)
For sure Badwrench, but it might have to wait until the weekend, I'm a bit tied up with other stuff.
I don't know about you but I like it. :}Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/Render_eth0s3.jpg)
Pretty sure this is the place to post :D
Could I get a 3D mockup of the reverse colors for the CCnG Group buy (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=40610.msg806906#msg806906)?
I'm trying to get the reverse colors more interest, and I think a 3D Model would help a lot.
If you need anything else please PM me :D
Gupgup
Krogenar, if it's not too much trouble, can you post the reverse of these colors on a black board? In other words, the modifiers would be Cream and the keys would be green. I think that's what Gupgup was after.
Ok, inverted CCnG on black case.
Oh damn, both of those combinations look fantastic.
I haven't figured 100% out how this works. So, please let me know if there is additional information needed.Proactive limmy is proactive. And helpful! I hope that visualization can be a helpful tool to get more buyers!
It would be wonderful to have basic render of this color combination with white colored legend. Thank you!
Proactive limmy is proactive. And helpful! I hope that visualization can be a helpful tool to get more buyers!
What program are you using for this?Hi daerid, it's an animation package called Houdini. http://www.sidefx.com/
If there were some free models of key caps and keyboard frames I could start work on a automated web app for this kind of thing.
If there were some free models of key caps and keyboard frames I could start work on a automated web app for this kind of thing.
What exactly do you need?
This is more lifelike than my RF I'm typing on now :eek:Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/key_030.jpg)
I got a WASD gamer set from Signature Plastics that was a near perfect match for Tiffany turquoise.
Here are some pics:Show Image(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o580/eth0sz/TiffanywithBow.jpg)Show Image(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o580/eth0sz/TiffanyWASD.jpg)
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:Show Image(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o580/eth0sz/AwesomeGamingKebow.jpg)
I found the RGB values for Tiffany Blue on this page:
http://blog.buyosphere.com/2012/05/tiffany-blue/Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/TiffanyBlue.png)
According to Matt3o's color tool, the closest match is BEY.Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/bey.png)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:Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/tifftest1.jpg)
Or this:Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/tifftest2.jpg)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/Render_eth0s1.jpg)
I don't know about you but I like it. :}Show Image(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/DaJuice/Render_eth0s3.jpg)
:facepalm: