Author Topic: [IC] GMK CYL Black & Gold | GB 20th February - New deskmats  (Read 20364 times)

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Offline Bobatype

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  • Location: Sydney, Australia
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Re: [IC] GMK CYL Black & Gold | ft. Art Deco and Casino Royale novelties
« Reply #50 on: Thu, 02 January 2025, 23:28:35 »
Hi,

Based on the feedback here, alongside my personal preferences, I've decided to return double column XT coverage to the Art Deco novelty kit.

Here's a very quick mock-up of the envisioned Art Deco novelty kit (v3):


I'm leaning towards keeping the Art Deco novelty kit more expansive (and consequently more expensive) as I can potentially justify the cost for the molds with another future keycap project where I can re-use those novelties in another colourway.
Furthermore, the double macro column is not just XT layouts, but also for more non-standard/niche layouts that use 1u modifiers (i.e. ortho), which GMK sets typically struggle to cover.

For Casino Royale, I've decided to return the Joker hat as a gold accent, alongside the 2u backspace novelty.
However I'm still ambivalent about the inclusion of the backspace novelty.
The simple matter is that the backspace a less common position for novelties, so it's low priority.
Furthermore, there was mixed feedback about the sword graphic style not meshing with the suits, so I'd like to seek feedback on changing it instead to the 4 cards of suits (the previous old black Enter novelty):

Casino Royale Kit (v3):


However if the Casino Royale kit costs a bit too much, I'll be looking to culling the backspace and/or joker hat again.

For Add-ons kit (v3):


I've added Stepped Ctrl back. Just felt like it was more unique key that those with similar refined tastes would actually get the add-on kit would appreciate it.
Sorry, I've elected against putting Mac Command keys into the kit at this stage. The base kit's R4 modifier legends are all text, so although I prefer the icon '⌘', the text 'Command' is more consistent, however this seems somewhat redundant due to the 1.5u 'System' keys included in it for HHKB coverage.
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The kits have been submitted to GMK for quotes today so hopefully the vendor and I can get a better idea of what the set pricing will look like.
To be clear, the current kitting composition of kits are my decision and not the vendors. I'm just trying to balance the initial idealistic vision I had, versus the pragmatic reality of the current market. I'm sorry if my previous or potential future compromises for kitting disappoint your expectations for this project.

Offline awvz

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Re: [IC] GMK CYL Black & Gold | ft. Art Deco and Casino Royale novelties
« Reply #51 on: Thu, 30 January 2025, 02:26:42 »
Any updates yet?

Offline Bobatype

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  • Location: Sydney, Australia
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Re: [IC] GMK CYL Black & Gold | ft. Art Deco and Casino Royale novelties
« Reply #52 on: Thu, 30 January 2025, 03:17:24 »
Current vendor List:

US - Divinikeys
CA - Deskhero
CN - KBDFans
KR - Geon
EU - Keygem
UK - Prototypist
SG - Ktechs
OCE - DailyClack

GB date is looking like it will be late February 2025!

I've decided to make no further changes to the last kit versions.
Media kit unfortunately seems not viable due to lack of interest alongside multiple competing child kits.

Another photo of the keycap Gold sample:
More
« Last Edit: Mon, 17 February 2025, 09:14:48 by Bobatype »

Offline Bobatype

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 441
  • Location: Sydney, Australia
    • Discord ID: BobaSweatandTears#1659
Re: [IC] GMK CYL Black & Gold | ft. Art Deco and Casino Royale novelties
« Reply #53 on: Mon, 17 February 2025, 09:29:54 »
The Groupbuy Date is confirmed to be from February 20th 2025

Vendor list is finalised:

US - Divinikeys
CA - Deskhero
CN - KBDFans
KR - Geon
EU - Keygem
UK - Prototypist
SG - Ktechs
OCE - DailyClack

Deskmat designs are now finalised:




I thought it would be fun/interesting to do non-rectangular shapes for some of them for unique looks.
I was evidently heavily inspired by poker mats too, and although they are a bit smaller (none exceed the typical 900mm x 400mm dimensions), the dimensions of the outer edge of the card spaces in the middle will still frame a standard poker card.
Please note there is no golden shimmer effect or gold foil on the deskmats. It's simply a gradient which gives an illusion of a shimmer.


There will be an Artkey Universe artisan collaboration in early March. I'll show previews of that as soon as I can.
I'll be open to any other artisan collaborations if there is particular interest.
« Last Edit: Tue, 18 February 2025, 09:37:47 by Bobatype »