Stage 4: On day 5, sides were textured and final figures were added to the sides and back.
My strong preference is for artisan keycaps that make creative use of the entire key surface rather than simply being a sculpture pasted on top of a normal key shape. I think this is aesthetically much more interesting, but it is also practical since the side surfaces add thickness and can help reduce defects in production. Also, all-around-designed artisan keycaps are a nod to artisan collectors' typical use cases- (1) the common user who uses their artisan in place of an Esc key will be viewing the sides of the keycap much more often than if it was in any other position due to the Esc key spacing away from other keys, and (2) power collectors don't keep all their artisans on a keyboard, so I want them to be able to enjoy the keycap on a tabletop or switch tester without it looking totally out of place. Plus, an all-sides design is more photogenic for those who like to share pictures! Artisans aren't cheap, but a keycap that only looks good from a couple angles is, in my opinion, low value compared to one that looks cool in many directions, even if it's upside down.
The design in these pictures takes these ideas to an extreme since it is designed to have multiple "front" views, including some corners as "front" views. I don't know if I'll be doing this type of design after this cap, but it follows these guiding principles well. You'll probably notice more attention to the sides and back of keycaps in my work as time goes on.
Next, I made a moldability pass to reduce the depth of some of the eye sockets. I also redesigned some skulls that would have a tendency to destroy a mold and added details to a couple that were misshapen. One of the most crucial parts of the sculpting process is constantly moving your workpiece and viewing it from different angles. It's the only way for you to see when one eyebrow sticks out too far compared to the other or when one shoulder is twisted compared to another.
I also had to go around the shape with calipers to ensure that no bulges would be so large that they would inhibit movement of lateral keys. Several points had to be dialed back to keep the skulls in bounds. Meaning, I had to cut off some of their outer surface and make their sculptures in further relief. This is where it comes in handy to have the blank canvas of sculpting material at the start- the extra depth between the outside and the keycap surface allows you to work into the surface rather than being inhibited by the rigid keycap. If you have to remove material, you can still texture the surface rather than having to retreat to the plain keycap surface.
Some progress pics below. This wasn't the final form, but they're the last pics I got before reaching final form.
I really need to get a better camera for these :/
Next step: Molding and casting.