The start of my keycap adventure

[brizzzle]

2 testcaps made. Octopus and Mini. Just wanted to try my first cast so things are a bit rough.


Using Composimold and Legos. Getting used to the mold making process. Composimold helps with the  cost because I can remelt and reuse several times.


Every imperfection is captured


Bubbles and realizing how thin my donor caps were. I have to build better walls!


Pretty happy with my first mold/cast experience.




Stems actually came out ok. Waiting for full cure to test on switch.


I couldn't have done this well for a first go without all the good info on here. Next is try making thicker key walls and getting the right catalyst ratio on point. I'd like to try oomoo a try but it wasn't available at my local art store. I still have some learning and experimenting with materials to do but at the very least I can now basic resin casts of things... kind of.

[Raenbo]

Not bad! I think the octopus has potential. And yeah, the mold will capture every little detail on the sculpt, so you gotta try your best to get all the imperfections out! If you don't have a pressure pot to cure your resin in, you have to try to get all the bubbles out of it. Maybe like vibrating the resin so that the bubbles are encouraged to come out through the top.

[brizzzle]

Time for some progress vomit - I'm trying to get better at taking photos as I work but

After these first two caps, I thought I should get used to the materials and practice my casting with blanks while working on my sculpting skills. During this time, I was lucky enough to win my first raffle so I could see the craftsmanship for myself firsthand. Boy did I have some work ahead of me to come close to the fit and finish of the artisans before me.
SA R3 caps and duck1.0



Worked on some sculpts and had to see what they looked like cast. Received some good feedback from the realm of r/mk (you know me as ipee9932cd/the crazy concrete case guy) and even sent some octopuses out to some folks.



I decided to pursue the octopus cap further. It was great having Top Clack, Binge stream and The Cap Cast to watch&listen, they're full of great tidbits of information.
Starting the new sculpt on a DSA key. I used an DCS alpha key last time but I like the smaller profile and symmetrical styling.

The first version only looked decent from the front, so this time all the sides are getting attention.


Added spots, made a mould and casted a couple tests. I only use gates on the corners and have been getting great stem results (I'll get shots of them soon^tm) I added a few too many spots and wasn't liking how it still looked like it was sitting on key.


Gave the base some texture and worked on double shot spot coloring.


Fitment and clearance testing - the cap came out reversible! Still the tallest cap on the block, my next sculpt will focus on a lower profile.


Multi-shots coming out nice. Getting ready for my first sale. Starting to work on my label and packaging.


I had to try making a gold one after reading the tutorial by zorb  .


Thanks for stopping by!

[smithyithy]

Really good progress dude!

Is this all still with the Composimold kit? I'm looking into that myself. What are you using for colours?

[brizzzle]

Really good progress dude!

Is this all still with the Composimold kit? I'm looking into that myself. What are you using for colours?

Thanks. I ditched the composimold and went with oomoo 30. The composi was good to practice with but I found silicon to be easier to work with. I'm still experimenting with pigments, but right now I am trying out smoothon UVO.

[smithyithy]

Thanks dude, do you use Smooth-Cast resin too? I've found a UK supplier that sells trial sizes of the various Smooth-On products, I think it makes sense to use the same brand just to ensure compatibility.. I'm just unsure which version to try, I think 325 should be fine as I'm only making simple shapes so a quick cure time would be useful..

[brizzzle]

Yuup. 325 has worked pretty well for me. It does have a relatively short pot life so just be ready to work quickly and efficiently.

[smithyithy]

Cheers. I've ordered some 300, I think it might help me get my detailing down at the start, I'll probably grab some 325 and pigments later to experiment with colours.

I've no idea what direction to go in yet anyway, just wanted to get my hands on some materials and have a practice, see what comes of it