Author Topic: My new hobby: Sculpting Artisan Keycaps (Read 4717 times)

meowizzle · « **on:** Wed, 22 June 2016, 12:20:56 »

Hello GH,

I like many others hope to have some gift of creativity and be able to sculpt artisan keycaps. Like most undertakings, this is one that should not be started hastily. Time, thoughtful consideration, and a little bit of luck are some of the numerous requirements that should be fulfilled before starting such and endeavor.

I hope that I have met enough of these requirements and will submit some of my first entries to this ever more popular arena.

Our first contestant is a small and skinny fellow in the shape of a star. He would normally be under a few feet of water and is name is misleading as he is not really like a traditional "fish".

Say hello to Chester the star fish.

Our next contestant is another star fish but this one has some "attitude" and emotion. I call him the Grumpy star fish. (please suggest any better names)

And now for our final contestant. He is a strange creature that might possibly be related to Groot. He is all seeing and his allegiance is unknown.

I call him ileafinati!

I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks about my designs. More to come.

Thanks

Sneaky Potato · « **Reply #1 on:** Wed, 22 June 2016, 12:29:42 »

Very cool stuff, I especially like your Ileafinati!! The fact that the design overlaps the top of the key is really interesting, does it fit on a normal keyboard without any issues? I see some serious potential it.

Let me know if you need any tips or advice with your molding or casting process, I'd be happy to help. I see you're also local to Utah, glad to see another artisan so close! We need to do a Utah keyboard meetup!

Epic · « **Reply #2 on:** Wed, 22 June 2016, 14:08:07 »

Awesome stuff! I've seen you post around the forums about wanting to start and glad to see you finally taking the plunge! I started recently myself, but I didn't spend nearly as much time on sculpting as you did. I made a quick sculpt and tried to do the molding/casting since I read that the last two parts are much more difficult than sculpting itself.

Please continue to update us on your progress!

suicidal_orange · « **Reply #3 on:** Wed, 22 June 2016, 16:41:53 »

Looks like both the starfish are too thick on the right side so will hit the caps next door, possibly the left side and top too... Did you try sanding them down before sculpting on them to give yourself more room?

There is noticeable improvement in your sculpting skills in each design but I like Grumpy Starfish the best - his face is surprisingly emotive

)

JT_Sea · « **Reply #4 on:** Wed, 22 June 2016, 17:15:43 »

The sculpts look great, but like others have said make sure you fit it on a keyboard to see how it shapes up. That'll save you some time before you bake them, I'm assuming you are using sculpey.

Keep up the great work, I'm excited to watch your progress.

Kenda · « **Reply #5 on:** Thu, 23 June 2016, 00:23:29 »

nice sculpting, but there might be issue with fitting into the board

meowizzle · « **Reply #6 on:** Sat, 23 July 2016, 00:05:48 »

Hello everyone,

I have been hard at work. Not only with designs of new keycaps but also learning the casting process to make duplicates.

I have a new design that I wanted to share with everyone. It has been a fun to make but also a big pain in the ass.

So here is the Scarab.

Please any feedback is welcome. I will post photos of it on a keyboard too. I have not take them yet.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

SBJ · « **Reply #7 on:** Sat, 23 July 2016, 03:58:15 »

Quote from: meowizzle on Sat, 23 July 2016, 00:05:48

Hello everyone,

I have been hard at work. Not only with designs of new keycaps but also learning the casting process to make duplicates.

I have a new design that I wanted to share with everyone. It has been a fun to make but also a big pain in the ass.

So here is the Scarab.
Show Image

Please any feedback is welcome. I will post photos of it on a keyboard too. I have not take them yet.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

From what I can see this looks really good.
Possible to get a shot from the other angle?

meowizzle · « **Reply #8 on:** Sat, 23 July 2016, 13:33:50 »

As promised, here are some more pictures.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

meowizzle · « **Reply #9 on:** Sat, 23 July 2016, 18:17:48 »

And now the versions that have been cast in resin.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

PQStarLord · « **Reply #10 on:** Sun, 24 July 2016, 02:43:17 »

Looks awesome, I really want to start but I could do with a synth...

Sneaky Potato · « **Reply #11 on:** Sun, 24 July 2016, 03:11:23 »

Looks great! I like the detail on the back. Your casts look very clean, would you mind sharing what setup you're using?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

meowizzle · « **Reply #12 on:** Sun, 24 July 2016, 13:18:41 »

Quote from: Sneaky Potato on Sun, 24 July 2016, 03:11:23

Looks great! I like the detail on the back. Your casts look very clean, would you mind sharing what setup you're using?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am using vacuum and pressure. Here is a pic of my work station. Pardon the mess.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Raenbo · « **Reply #13 on:** Sun, 24 July 2016, 19:13:46 »

The beetle is awesome! I had the same idea for a cap like that, but I never got around to sculpting it. Glad to see someone else took on the job, and it looks great. I can't wait to see it in color, and maybe I'll be able to snag one in the future

meowizzle · « **Reply #14 on:** Sun, 24 July 2016, 22:50:14 »

Another update.
While I wanted the first edition to have legs I could not for the life of me, get the damn clay to stick to the keycaps. However, through many tries and being careful I was able to find a way. So here is a prototype of one with legs.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

monocletophat · « **Reply #15 on:** Mon, 25 July 2016, 06:53:06 »

Wow great sculpting skill you got there, I'm planning to try my hand at creating Artisan keycaps as well, good luck on your keycaps journey mate

PQStarLord · « **Reply #16 on:** Mon, 25 July 2016, 10:20:33 »

Quote from: meowizzle on Sun, 24 July 2016, 22:50:14

Another update.
While I wanted the first edition to have legs I could not for the life of me, get the damn clay to stick to the keycaps. However, through many tries and being careful I was able to find a way. So here is a prototype of one with legs.
Show Image
Show Image
Show Image
Show Image

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Awesome!

Sneaky Potato · « **Reply #17 on:** Mon, 25 July 2016, 10:44:37 »

Quote from: meowizzle on Sun, 24 July 2016, 13:18:41

Quote from: Sneaky Potato on Sun, 24 July 2016, 03:11:23
Looks great! I like the detail on the back. Your casts look very clean, would you mind sharing what setup you're using?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I am using vacuum and pressure. Here is a pic of my work station. Pardon the mess.
Show Image

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Great setup, it looks like you're starting out right. I like the legs on the scarab a lot, it really gives it a ton of character and makes it look like he's hugging the key. I'm half tempted to recommend that you give him an evil little mustache and a tophat :D

Epic · « **Reply #18 on:** Mon, 25 July 2016, 12:07:11 »

The scarab is really cool. A huge improvement on some of your earlier sculptings. It seems to fit on your keyboard. Did you have to sand it down at all? Whenver I sculpt, my sculptings always sit a tad large and I have trouble fitting multiple caps side-by-side.

meowizzle · « **Reply #19 on:** Mon, 25 July 2016, 13:37:58 »

Quote from: Epic on Mon, 25 July 2016, 12:07:11

The scarab is really cool. A huge improvement on some of your earlier sculptings. It seems to fit on your keyboard. Did you have to sand it down at all? Whenver I sculpt, my sculptings always sit a tad large and I have trouble fitting multiple caps side-by-side.

No I did not have to sand down the cap. I might have had to for the others. Overall the Scarab is coming along nicely.

Thanks

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

meowizzle · « **Reply #20 on:** Wed, 31 August 2016, 00:27:27 »

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for the long time since my last post, I have been EXTREMELY busy with school, work and of course making keycaps. I have been very hard at work getting a design finalized and getting the processes figured out.

I hope everyone is ready because I think I have a good design and good looking caps to show off. So here is a few pictures of a finalized the Scarab.

Sneaky Potato · « **Reply #21 on:** Wed, 31 August 2016, 17:06:27 »

Looks great! I really like the doubleshot gold and black. All the colors pair really well with the teal scarab you have hiding back there. Any ETA on a sale?


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Author Topic: My new hobby: Sculpting Artisan Keycaps (Read 4717 times)