Author Topic: Bambino's Keycap Lab (Read 76738 times)

Bambino · « **on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:27:24 »

Bambino here. Over the last few months I've been hard at work on some hand crafted polyurethane keycaps. I've reached a point where I'm not completely humiliated with my work, so I thought I'd share! These are still works in progress, but let me know what you think! Potato pics incoming...

First we have my original design. It's a bit impractical, yet eye-catching. I crafted this helmet without realizing how difficult it would be to cast it. This tough guy is not easy to pull out of a mold, let me tell you. But he's starting to get more and more interesting as I begin to delve into multi-colored castings. I also think he'd be fantastic in a metallic/shimmery finish, so there's more to explore with him. THIS... IS... "SPARTAN" !!

I decided I needed something a little more user-friendly on my next design. Something you could put on a keyboard and still reasonably use the key. So I went with a face with a flat nose. And what kind of face has the flattest nose? The flattest pup around! Don't mind the ruff exterior; he's a loverpuppy once he warms up to you. What kind of name does an English bulldog have? An English one. "DUKE"

Next, I wanted something a little more intricate and ornamental. Some of the most incredible headgear in existence comes from samurai kabutos and mempos. So, I was inspired to create a kabuto for your keyboard: "KEYBUTO"

All of my molds up to this point are MX-only, so I need to work on getting Topre-compatible work up and running. Does anyone know of a place where I can find information about converting an MX keycap mold to a Topre keycap mold?

FLFisherman · « **Reply #1 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:30:10 »

I'm afraid I can't help with the MX to Topre stuff, but I can tell you this: Those designs look great. Extremely smooth and detailed, and once you get the casting down you'll be drowning in orders. Can't wait to see where you take this next.

Good job!

fanpeople · « **Reply #2 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:32:25 »

Them bulldogs are sweet man. Bulldogs are so lovable

retrochick · « **Reply #3 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:32:38 »

excited for duke and keybuto. keep up the great work!

azhdar · « **Reply #4 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:33:27 »

duke looks good !

dgneo · « **Reply #5 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:33:35 »

Duke & Keybuto are awesome!

Zapheo · « **Reply #6 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:33:53 »

Dude, Keybuto looks awesome!

redbanshee · « **Reply #7 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:34:18 »

Very nice! I like all 3 designs!

whmeltonjr · « **Reply #8 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:34:34 »

Diggin the Keybuto cap.

MiTo · « **Reply #9 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:37:21 »

Always great to see new attempts and designs, congratulations for the incredible look and creativity!

DAVYtm · « **Reply #10 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:37:30 »

Damn, Keybuto is impressive man! Excellent work so far, wish I had some help for converting to Topre since I basically only use my HHKB. Are the Spartans doubleshot?

Kudos · « **Reply #11 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:37:54 »

Great details! Keep up the good work

Steezus · « **Reply #12 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:47:22 »

Wow that is some really impressive sculpting, I like the designs. Keep up the good work.

xondat · « **Reply #13 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:57:28 »

Holy ****, these are amazingly done. So clean. Duke is my favorite.

Bambino · « **Reply #14 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:00:57 »

Quote from: DAVYtm on Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:37:30

Damn, Keybuto is impressive man! Excellent work so far, wish I had some help for converting to Topre since I basically only use my HHKB. Are the Spartans doubleshot?

Yes, the first two pictures show a double shot version. I'll probably be developing more double shot schemes for that cap because it turned out well with a separate colored hair portion.

heedpantsnow · « **Reply #15 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:01:54 »

Good job dude! Keep it up!

DAVYtm · « **Reply #16 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:02:16 »

Quote from: Bambino on Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:00:57

Quote from: DAVYtm on Fri, 15 January 2016, 18:37:30
Damn, Keybuto is impressive man! Excellent work so far, wish I had some help for converting to Topre since I basically only use my HHKB. Are the Spartans doubleshot?

Yes, the first two pictures show a double shot version. I'll probably be developing more double shot schemes for that cap because it turned out well with a separate colored hair portion.

How long did it take you to get to this point in casting? Seriously some impressive casts

tigersharkdude · « **Reply #17 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:12:03 »

These are so nice. Loving the designs and the detail is boss

DaveW · « **Reply #18 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:30:41 »

Damn fine work. Keybuto is amazing! Just need some ninja caps for Keybuto to battle.

dohbot · « **Reply #19 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:32:11 »

Wow all of these designs are super nice!

sncbraxsc2 · « **Reply #20 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:33:43 »

whoah, keybuto and duke are just awesome and even though spartan may be "impractical" it is a great idea and really well executed. I like the colors. I assume the bottoms are fitting nicely

The profile on Spartan is quite impressive. Doubleshots will be sickk

romevi · « **Reply #21 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:45:07 »

Very nice!

raymogi · « **Reply #22 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:55:58 »

Nice work buddy. Love what you did with the bulldog and keybuto.

Bambino · « **Reply #23 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:56:09 »

Quote from: DAVYtm on Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:02:16

How long did it take you to get to this point in casting? Seriously some impressive casts

Been at it daily for about 4 weeks. You learn a whole lot really quickly from experience. Also watched/read countless materials for countless hours online. Other artisans' work logs on Geekhack have been an especially great resource.

DAVYtm · « **Reply #24 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 20:08:14 »

Quote from: Bambino on Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:56:09

Quote from: DAVYtm on Fri, 15 January 2016, 19:02:16
How long did it take you to get to this point in casting? Seriously some impressive casts

Been at it daily for about 4 weeks. You learn a whole lot really quickly from experience. Also watched/read countless materials for countless hours online. Other artisans' work logs on Geekhack have been an especially great resource.

Clearly quite gifted in the creativity department. Hope to see some of your caps on sale soon, if you ever need a Topre donor key shoot me a PM

lishi · « **Reply #25 on:** Fri, 15 January 2016, 20:46:53 »

Wow the Duke and Keybuto look great!

Let me know if you're trying to get rid of any

1deeg · « **Reply #26 on:** Sat, 16 January 2016, 04:54:05 »

I like to be able to press my keys easily when I need to. So even though I like the Spartan, I probably wouldn't get it. Great caps though

Nuum · « **Reply #27 on:** Sat, 16 January 2016, 09:06:58 »

Looking awesome! If you ever start selling these I'd be in for a Spartan.

Moistgun · « **Reply #28 on:** Sat, 16 January 2016, 15:42:34 »

I love the bulldog and keybuto

BaconEggandCheeseBagel · « **Reply #29 on:** Sat, 16 January 2016, 20:25:35 »

I need a keybuto - if you decide to do a mini-sale to help fund for more production pieces, let me know!

KnivesM · « **Reply #30 on:** Sat, 16 January 2016, 20:59:03 »

Keybuto looks cool.

shinz0 · « **Reply #31 on:** Tue, 19 January 2016, 02:43:21 »

Fantastic! I'd love to see more dog designs!

Bambino · « **Reply #32 on:** Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:30:58 »

I've got another update for you guys. I've been working on some more multi-cast experiments.

I've also been working on more transparent materials.

I'm considering having a mini sale, probably less than 40 pieces, to gauge interest in a bigger sale and to get a feel for how much materials and time I would need to hold a bigger sale. What is the preferred way to hold a sale like that? I made a short survey if you'd like to let me know:

http://goo.gl/forms/l89rjo3v9g

calvinhousecat · « **Reply #33 on:** Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:46:00 »

The caps look wonderful. Just filled out the survey

romevi · « **Reply #34 on:** Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:47:59 »

Quote from: Bambino on Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:30:58

I've got another update for you guys. I've been working on some more multi-cast experiments.

Show Image

I've also been working on more transparent materials.

Show Image

I'm considering having a mini sale, probably less than 40 pieces, to gauge interest in a bigger sale and to get a feel for how much materials and time I would need to hold a bigger sale. What is the preferred way to hold a sale like that? I made a short survey if you'd like to let me know:

http://goo.gl/forms/l89rjo3v9g

WOW. Those pugs are fabulous! The perfect companion to my PurrKey.

KingRama · « **Reply #35 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 00:12:27 »

Those multi-casted pugs are fricken sick dude, nice work!!

tigersharkdude · « **Reply #36 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:36:51 »

Quote from: romevi on Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:47:59

Quote from: Bambino on Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:30:58
I've got another update for you guys. I've been working on some more multi-cast experiments.

Show Image

I've also been working on more transparent materials.

Show Image

I'm considering having a mini sale, probably less than 40 pieces, to gauge interest in a bigger sale and to get a feel for how much materials and time I would need to hold a bigger sale. What is the preferred way to hold a sale like that? I made a short survey if you'd like to let me know:

http://goo.gl/forms/l89rjo3v9g

WOW. Those English Bulldogs are fabulous! The perfect companion to my PurrKey.

FTFY

FLFisherman · « **Reply #37 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:39:28 »

Quote from: tigersharkdude on Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:36:51

Quote from: romevi on Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:47:59
Quote from: Bambino on Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:30:58
I've got another update for you guys. I've been working on some more multi-cast experiments.

Show Image

I've also been working on more transparent materials.

Show Image

I'm considering having a mini sale, probably less than 40 pieces, to gauge interest in a bigger sale and to get a feel for how much materials and time I would need to hold a bigger sale. What is the preferred way to hold a sale like that? I made a short survey if you'd like to let me know:

http://goo.gl/forms/l89rjo3v9g

WOW. Those English Bulldogs are fabulous! The perfect companion to my PurrKey.

FTFY

I'm trying to picture what a Pug key would look like, and it just seems like a terrible idea. Of course I have a bias because I think Pugs are horribly inbred, ugly dogs created solely to see how well we could make a deficient animal, torture it with harmful artificial selection, and then sell it to the masses.

DAVYtm · « **Reply #38 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:40:04 »

Interested to see what the results of the survey look like. Multicasts look amazing by the way, those **bulldogs are incredible

FLFisherman · « **Reply #39 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:42:50 »

Quote from: DAVYtm on Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:40:04

Interested to see what the results of the survey look like. Multicasts look amazing by the way, those pugs are incredible

Edit: He fixed it.

romevi · « **Reply #40 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:44:27 »

Quote from: tigersharkdude on Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:36:51

Quote from: romevi on Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:47:59
Quote from: Bambino on Tue, 19 January 2016, 23:30:58
I've got another update for you guys. I've been working on some more multi-cast experiments.

Show Image

I've also been working on more transparent materials.

Show Image

I'm considering having a mini sale, probably less than 40 pieces, to gauge interest in a bigger sale and to get a feel for how much materials and time I would need to hold a bigger sale. What is the preferred way to hold a sale like that? I made a short survey if you'd like to let me know:

http://goo.gl/forms/l89rjo3v9g

WOW. Those English Bulldogs are fabulous! The perfect companion to my PurrKey.

FTFY

Oh, yeah. You're right.

dgneo · « **Reply #41 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 08:47:14 »

Voted, love the multishot bulldogs, and the keybuto!

Super excited for this!

dohbot · « **Reply #42 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 09:26:35 »

Wow! That bulldog is incredible!

Pdub · « **Reply #43 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 09:30:41 »

Wicked cool, Mate! Watching out for your sale.

Vimto · « **Reply #44 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 10:17:33 »

filled in the survey. Amazing work

bcredbottle · « **Reply #45 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 10:36:13 »

dem doggies is dank

Don't make Topre caps. There are MX sliders for Topre boards now.

DAVYtm · « **Reply #46 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 12:09:25 »

Quote from: bcredbottle on Wed, 20 January 2016, 10:36:13

~~Don't~~ make Topre caps. ~~There are MX sliders for Topre boards now.~~

Thanks I agree

QuickDelat · « **Reply #47 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 13:17:31 »

Wow amazing work! How long have you been sculpting? That's some amazing detail & quality casts. Keybuto is my personal favorite so far. But only because I'm not a dog person. Because those multishot dukes look like real ones!

Bambino · « **Reply #48 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 13:37:48 »

Quote from: DAVYtm on Wed, 20 January 2016, 12:09:25

Quote from: bcredbottle on Wed, 20 January 2016, 10:36:13
~~Don't~~ make Topre caps. ~~There are MX sliders for Topre boards now.~~

Thanks I agree

LOL. It's a lot more work to convert caps between MX and Topre. I'm still trying to figure out the best process to use for that. But being a Topre lover myself, it's probably worth the effort.

Quote from: QuickDelat on Wed, 20 January 2016, 13:17:31

Wow amazing work! How long have you been sculpting? That's some amazing detail & quality casts. Keybuto is my personal favorite so far. But only because I'm not a dog person. Because those multishot dukes look like real ones!

Thanks for the kind words! This is my first serious foray into sculpting -- I'm a patent attorney by day, and previously only spent much time with 2D art.

I hope to find a good doubleshot design for Keybuto. My experiments so far have been seriously underwhelming.

absyrd · « **Reply #49 on:** Wed, 20 January 2016, 13:40:56 »

How the **** you get so good on your first try? I'm not into these super-detailed caps, but you have skills.

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Author Topic: Bambino's Keycap Lab (Read 76738 times)