Art keycap – the new “addiction” of PC gaming enthusiasts

For those who are passionate about setting up and decorating their computers, aesthetics is always one of the top criteria that they aim for. And one of the most used accessories is the keycap – the computer keys are stylized, with more fancy and unique textures.

However, keycaps are not just colorful plastic blocks to adorn your own keyboard or computer corner, but rather become a beauty in the culture of using PCs, a creative hobby, and a extremely strong community. That is why the concept of art keycap (artisan keycap) was born, referring to products that are not mass-produced, but are individually “trimmed” according to the specific requirements of each customer.

Art keycaps often follow a certain theme, from stories, games, to movies, or even a set of characters, a set of your favorite emoji. It can be quite funny to the point of silly, and it can also be subtle, sophisticated, subtle. But most importantly, such keycap sets show each person’s interests and personality and help their computer keyboard become more vivid and different.

It is such small but special keycap keys that have opened up a large community, both a place to satisfy creative passions, and also a promising business opportunity for quality products.

Business aspect of art keycap

Robert Vignone is the CEO of the company Clackeys, a unit specializing in manufacturing artistic keycaps for mechanical keyboard models, based in California, USA – also where they conduct their entire work cycle, from idea to idea. concept, design to construction and transportation. Clackeys’ forte is the key sets inspired by video games, with characters and details that any gamer looking at can immediately recognize.

Keycap design can be said to be a great passion of Robert, a former animator at DreamWorks Animation. Experience in 3D modeling and 3D printing was really the perfect stepping stone for him to officially join the art keycap community. And after many small but steady runs, when the passion is big enough, producing keycaps becomes Robert’s main job all the time.

Sharing with PCGamer, CEO of Clackeys said: “ In the past I started by selling online on Etsy. And then somehow, I accidentally founded a company like today. After making a keycap “very and that”, I feel that I can completely produce more similar products. Since my background is in entertainment, games, and movies, I also take that as my inspiration and main style, like a kind of fan-art. We started at the end of 2016, around November or December. And now, even when the pandemic is complicated, we are still growing .”

Robert said it seems that the Covid-19 pandemic has made more people pay more attention to setting up their home PC system in the most optimal and beautiful way, because that’s where they will sit, work and entertain all day. . And so the keycap also began to be learned and known by more people.

Max Cohen, Clarkeys employee, said: “ I think the Covid epidemic has caused people to work from home, and basically stay at home more. And now everyone is interested in making their computer better than the computer in the office, so that they can get the job done in the most convenient way without any problems. That’s when they came up with the idea: “Now I will know my PC to be unique, most personal, true to my style “.

That’s exactly what a tiny keycap can do: Create a unique, special feeling for each person. This is also the working point of Clarkeys, besides ensuring quality in terms of sharp, delicate design.

“ We refer to miniature models in general, and learn how to exaggerate unique details,” says Robert . Since all of our products are hand painted, magnifying those details makes the painting process a lot easier. It’s not just about creating a really good product, it’s about maintaining the same style for hundreds, if not thousands, of other keycaps .”

In addition, Robert said another important detail is to strike a balance between keeping complexity and simplicity in every detail, while sticking to the archetype, whether it’s a game, movie or a classic. something, or a trending trend on the Internet.

The production process of a Clackeys keycap usually takes several days, starting from the design stage to the finished product. The in-house encapsulation process, including production using 3D printers, is one of the company’s proud points.

For example, if they want to produce a plastic toy model like Funko, printed in Asia, they will need a large amount of money to operate 30 different tools, all just to create one product. . As for us, just press Ctrl+P, go to the resin printer and wait for about 2 days to finish. We can test, advise customers before spending money to create the final product ”.

“ There used to be products that I designed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays that were already available for sale, ” says Robert. Currently, Clarkeys can print about 120 keycaps/day, all of which require a very careful and meticulous painting process. However, when he first started operating, Robert once thought that 3D printing technology was a “cheating”, and the products it created were not counted as art keycaps.

Besides, Robert also hopes to expand his company and business model in the future: “ A new, more spacious office would probably be better. Currently, our company consists of 2 teams of 6 people each. Hopefully in about 2 years, each team will probably have 10 -15, or even 20 members. That is probably the perfect number to join me in carrying out bigger projects in the future .”

Finally, Robert and Max think that Clarkeys is targeting 3 main goals: Cooperating with famous keycap experts, such as the German company GMK; cooperate with big brands outside the keycap field; and most importantly develop many other artistic keycap ideas.

The creative hobby aspect of keycap

Glenn Black is a professional keycap artist in San Francisco, but considers this a personal hobby and does not place too much emphasis on sales or revenue. Similar to Clarkeys, Glenn doesn’t mind using 3D printing, but he prefers manual work to experience more different tools, especially the application of different plastic molds in the manufacturing process. plastic molding name.

Glenn, better known as The Glyph, teamed up with YouTuber AuthenticDanger to produce the video for the Artisan Alliance channel. Their most popular product is a video that explains the basics and necessary tools of the plastic molding process. It remains one of the most useful introductory “curricula” for anyone looking to learn about the process.

“ I always wanted to create all the things that I couldn’t buy myself, no matter what manufacturing process I used, ” says Glenn . For me, having other people think that the idea of ​​designing an item that I like is not feasible because no one is doing it is not the lifestyle I want .”

That thought may have partly helped Glenn become an extremely skillful and talented keycap artist in the most natural way: Love making accessories that he doesn’t have; learn and grasp plastic molding techniques; then immerse yourself in the vast and varied world of mechanical keyboards.

He shared: “I have always wanted to use the resin molding process. I am truly overwhelmed by the multitude of polymers in the world. They all have special specifications, and you won’t find which one is toxic, why it’s toxic, too complicated to figure out.”

“Since I work in gaming, the feel of typing is very important to me. And I discovered the world of mechanical keyboards, the world of keycaps. I have studied and observed long enough the work of other artisans, beautiful or not, to inspire myself to follow, or do better than them. I naturally entered the keycap community thinking I would give up if I felt bored. But it was more fun than I thought .”

Back to the plastic molding process that Glenn loves and often uses to make keycaps. Basically, you will need a pressure vessel (degassing chamber), silicone, turpentine, mold spray, one or two keycaps, syringes and all sorts of smaller tools to fine tune the product. The production process consists of 2 parts: The upper part is where you design your work, and the bottom part is where the keycap works well with your keyboard model.

Glenn said the process of creating a keycap manually is easy and comfortable, it all depends on your own psychology. “ I usually divide fields into two categories: difficult and boring,” he says. Difficulties are things that you have to learn only to realize you will never be able to do. But thankfully, keycap is on the tedious list .”

“What I mean is that there is no step in making a keycap that is too difficult, too complicated. However, too many small details, it takes a long time to perfect. That’s the boring point. Today, technology has greatly aided plastic molding, but you still have to practice to get better every day. And that process can really get frustratingly frustrating sometimes .”

However, from a humble hobby to a business, to a larger operation like Clackeys, there are many reasons why keycaps could become your next addiction. . Whether you’re going to be the next keycap artist, or simply paying to buy the most sophisticated, sophisticated product sets, you’re already part of this incredibly creative community.

According to PCGame