Hey everyone! I've been a long time lurker on this site, and a few months ago I got pretty excited about making some of my own keycaps. I figured I would document my progress so that others can benefit from my mistakes. I've scoured this site and made a big compilation of notes from all the other images and tips that I've seen on this site, so a big thanks goes to you guys for the help and support.A few weeks back, I started experimenting with some OOMOO silicone and clear resin. My first attempts weren't too bad, and I was able to replicate some stock topre keycaps with a little internal bubbling and an intact stem. After understanding the basic molding and casting process, I decided to get some sculpting materials so that I could start trying to make some designs of my own before attempting to cast anything.
First off...sculpting on keycaps is incredibly difficult. I've been sculpting for a while, but it's an entirely different game when you're trying to make sculpts on such a small scale. I set some rules for myself, like not building more than a few centimeters in height, and keeping a relatively smooth or flat top so that pressing the keycap is still satisfying.
The first attempts at sculpting on a keycap went like this:
"Beardly" was a hideous monster, and I had to destroy him in the end. I was using some regular Sculpey, which is quite soft and not great for fine detail. All of my designs were too soft and lumpy, and I felt like I hardly had any control. I then decided to go out and get some Super Sculpey Firm, which I like quite a bit better. The results are good, but I still feel that the clay is soft for this fine of detail. It's difficult to smooth out tool marks when things are so small. However, it's much better than regular Sculpey for this kind of stuff.
My next idea was a "Legends of the Hidden Temple" kind of feel, but it wasn't progressing how I wanted, and I became frustrated and scrapped it.
I decided to sculpt my own take on the good ol' fashioned skull as a test, which came out like this:
However, the tool marks were pretty rough and I decided that it just didn't look quite right. I scrapped the eye patch idea, and decided to just get some practice smoothing things out and playing with the clay a little. The result was acceptable, but not what I was originally going for. I started to realize how difficult it is getting your ideas to translate to such a small surface. I decided to call him "Mulder" for a laugh (X-Files). I baked him (low temperature did not melt the keycap), and put him on my work keyboard for a day so I could feel it and decide how to proceed.
I took a couple of days off, and decided to try to come up with something a little different. I decided that I wanted to keep my relatively low-profile rule, but I wanted to also expand around the sides of the keycap a little. I tried messing around with texture, and ended up deciding to sculpt a small sabertooth/lion head. I really liked the way it turned out, but there are definitely some imperfections and issues with proportions. He was dubbed "Saber" (super original, I know) and put to the side for a few days. I like to push myself hard in one or two sessions, and then put it aside and come back with fresh eyes to spot any imperfections that I might have missed before. I do the same with my cartooning.
I decided yesterday that I want to try my hand with some epoxy, so I ordered some kneadatite and dental tools. Hopefully I can get some finer detail and more control while using that. I'll update you guys once I start using it. I also decided to expand and order a vacuum chamber, pump, and a bunch of silicone and resin. I'm going to experiment with more complicated casts in the next week. Also, I'm starting to realize that I'm almost out of keycaps. Do you other Makers just order a keycap set and sculpt on extra keys? or do you cast new keycaps and then sculpt on those?
