Have you ever wondered about the concept of custom keycaps?
A keycap that is highly discussed among mechanical keyboard families due to its completely customizable feature.
The keycap which I covered in this article is Artisan Keycaps.
You can customize these keycaps according to your choice like you can customize them with Thor’s Hammer or Captain’s sheild.
Sounds Amazing, right!!
After customizing will it be as durable as the other popular keycaps available on the market or is it is a horse with a short race?
There are many queries you should know before making a decision.
That’s why I have brought a complete and informative article for you to clear all your queries rising in your mind.
In the Keycap Profiles article, I have discussed many keycaps including Custom Keycaps in brief.
Here I am going to cover an in-depth article about Custom keycaps aka Artisan keycaps, what they are, their review, and how we can make them by ourselves?
Let’s break these Artisan Keycaps into the details!
Table of Contents
What are Artisan Keycaps?
Artisan Keycaps are customized keycaps that are high-quality, hand-sculpted, various styles of keycap designs that keyboard enthusiasts used to beatify setup.
You can customize your keyboard’s keycaps with the different styles as well as you can also replace these keycaps with your own choice of keycaps.
It simply means you can display any kind of character or unique design by converting the basic keycaps to custom design keycaps.
Artisan keycaps have their separate place among users because it has been usually constructed by hand-sculpt which needs lots of care and dedication while making.
So we should thank the creative minds of the constructor who do their best so it may meet our requirements.
Overall, a well customized Artisan keycap simply enhances the mechanical keyboard’s beauty so getting these keycaps is really a good idea.
What are artisan keycaps made out of?
Artisan Keycaps are mostly made out of Plastic Rasin.
These keycaps can be created in different types like Single shot and multishot using the single pour of Rasin or multi-shot of Rasin.
Here are the different types of custom keycaps with their specifications. You will see their creating methods later in this article so try to read the complete article.
Different Types of Custom Artisan Keycaps
You know Custom keycaps come in many different types and some of them have a unique and special design however some have a casual and elegant design.
I am sharing a list of special keycaps which you should know briefly.
Types of Custom Kycaps | Description |
1. Handcrafted Sculpts | Almost all artisan keycaps need to go through handcraft sculpt which is an initial step and takes too much usually 40 hours to get complete. |
2. Singleshot Caps | As the name derived, these types of keycaps are made using a single pour of Rasin during the casting process to adapt the single color of the keycap in the final step. |
3. Multishot Caps | Multishot Caps are made using multi-shots of Rasin to get multi-color keycaps in the final step. These types of keycaps look more attractive and users' favorites. |
What Are The Best Artisan Keycaps?
There are many various types of Artisan Keycaps you can choose from the market but if you asked me what are the best Artisan Keycaps? So my answer will be ‘There is no Best artisan keycaps’
You may get panicked for a time from my answer but practically the whole purpose of getting Artisan Keycaps is to beautify your keyboard or enhance the appearance or a keycap that suits and you enjoy typing on it.
So every customized keycap has its own durability, stability, and appearance.
It entirely depends on the manufacturer or creator how he designs and creates your preferred Artisan Keycaps.
I would highly recommend you to go with the Artisan keycaps that will meet your certain budget instead of looking for the expensive one because they are already come at a higher price range compared to other Keycap Profiles.
Note- Please make sure to check your keyboards compatibility, which artisan profile it will support? because every Keycap Profile has a different height, angled, and uniform/sculpted profile.
How to Make Artisan Keycaps?
Making an Artisan keycap is a great way to achieve an excellent product with having specific choices and superbly build quality.
An artist who designs and produces these keycaps for the mechanical keyboards, there are several different steps involved like crafting, sculpting, and molding to create customized keycaps.
How you can get started here are the following steps which you can follow to create it:
1. SAFETY
Safety is the topmost important benchmark you must follow before startup as well as throughout all steps.
Because if you are creating these keycaps with the Rasin, you must be aware of its characters like being toxic may give an unpleasant experience.
So you have to take all required precautions while making it and proper handling is also a must.
I hope you will take care of all of the things.
Now let’s come to the next step which you need to keep in mind.
2. Making an Idea
Making an Idea simply means you need to make a thought and write down what you are going to create or what kind of keycaps design you like most so it can be created later.
Creative ideas must be appreciable if it comes so.
You can also draw the sketch of your loved Captain America’s Shield, Thor’s Hammer and so on.
You have an excellent option to filter it and make a final sketch on the paper of the Artisan Keycap that you have decided to go with further steps.
You should plan for your selected keycap’s color so it may be feasible for you later.
Now after deciding all the required things, we need to go on the most important steps which is sculpting.
3. Sculpting
Sculpting is the most significant step in the making of Artisan Keycaps as it has many long and as well as various procedures involving which are:
- Techniques
- Tools
- Clearance
- Design
- Considerations
You have to go through all these processes and you may face some errors initially which isn’t going to be a concern for you.
You have some other options to perform carving, casting, and shaping of the keycaps, and the result would be very satisfying.
Like If it is required you can also take help from the advanced designing software that may certainly provide you the best design for your keycaps.
Sculpting a keycap can be done ideally if you will use some knowledge, use a tool, and follow a proper path. You will get the best results for sure.
Now after sculpting, we should well take care of keycaps while molding them.
4. Molding
Molding is a process of manufacturing that involves shaping a liquid or raw material which needs to be poured into the mold and allowed to set or freeze.
Molding of a keycap can be referred as- ‘The shaping of molten plastic and resin into a specific structure or pattern’.
You have to be very careful and attentive while performing the molding process because you may face trouble when removing a pattern, patching can occur if any sand breakage happens during the process.
So you need to follow extra care.
When you are done creating a single keycap with this silicone, you can use this mold to create multiple keycaps by following the same method.
Now you are almost done, the final step of creating Artisan keycaps is to refine, varnish, polish, and give them a final touch.
Make Artisan Keycaps with Clay
Do you know Artisan Keycaps can be created using Monster Clay?
It is considered an excellent method to make these keycaps because of the several advantages of using monster clay over other methods.
This is the reason why many enthusiasts adapt this method to create keycaps for their mechanical keyboards.
Here are the advantages of using Monster Clay:
- Artisan keycaps are easy to create by using this method.
- This method is quite economical compared to the method in which silicon and resin are used.
- Casting can be done easily.
- Customization can be done broadly with a high certain level.
If you want to learn how to make Artisan Keycaps with Clay, here is a video I am embedding for you so you may get a better idea of how this process can be done using clay.
How to make Resin Artisan Keycaps?
Making a Keycap with rasin required lots of safety precautions.
Because Rasin a toxic in nature so it may create an unpleasant and unacceptable experience if it is not done carefully.
You have to be phenomenal as far as creativity and productivity are concerned to make Rasin Keycaps because making keycaps at home is not everyone’s cup of tea.
This method to create Rasin Keycaps can be much longer and much time-consuming so this should be kept in mind before going further to make it on your own.
I request you to please watch this complete video to get an idea of how Razin keycaps are made, is it gonna suitable for you or not?
Source: Artisan Alliance
Where To Buy Artisan Keycaps
If you are looking to buy Artisan Keycaps, you should keep in mind that these keycaps are usually more expensive due to their custom and specific design.
So you will get what you will pay for I mean their price completely depends on individual’s keycaps like what design you want in a keycap.
Let’s take a look at some reliable and trustworthy retailer lists so you can buy these keycaps with trust and satisfaction.
1. Amazon
I don’t think I should elaborate about Amazon because Amazon doesn’t need an introduction.
‘Amazon’ is the king of all E-commerce companies.
Simply go to Amazon.com, read their reviews and order your artisan keycaps at a good price.
It is as simple as that.
2. Mechanicalkeyboards.com
MechanicalKeyboards.com is an excellent and most reliable site to purchase artisan keycaps for your mechanical keyboard.
This site has many different keycaps varieties as well as they mostly in stocks so you don’t have to face ‘out of stock’ pop-up messages, unlike some other websites.
You will get customized keycaps at your door within a short period of time due to their fast delivery service.
You will have a good quality keycap with great durability.
If you buy from this website, you will have an awesome experience with these keycaps, Trust me!!
3. Drop.com
Drop.com is always the best choice for mechanical keyboards lovers as Drop has many unique and exclusive mechanical switches on its website. A user prioritizes this site to order keyboard switches.
So in terms of reliability, Drop is a way ahead and well-established site for mechanical keyboard components.
For getting Artisan Keycaps, Drop has immense varieties and they are limited too.
You are thinking to order artisan keycaps just browse this DROP website and make an order as early as is possible because these limited keycaps doesn’t stay for long as soon as they come in stock, they sold out.
Despite having a lack of trust, you can also go through all the reviews given by existing users so you may get a clear vision of their authority.
If you are seriously looking to purchase customized keycaps, please don’t be concerned about anything just order from this site.
4. Etsy.com
Etsy.com is a platform where you can get many different and culturally relevant artisan keycaps comparatively at a lower price due to no. of sellers available on the site.
Talking about their positive side, Etsy has an immense variety of options for artisan keycaps so you may get your favorite customized keycaps.
The only thing you have to do is scroll the full site and find your favorite one.
One downside associated with this site is, sometimes there may be chances of getting compromised with the quality of keycaps so make sure to contact directly with the seller and get all the answers rising in your mind.
On the positive side, you can get the best deal on Artisan keycaps at a very reasonable price.
5. Other Small Platforms
Apart from the above sites which I have mentioned, There are some small websites as well where you can order Artisan keycaps at a very good price.
In a small and competitive keycaps market, I am shortlisting here the best and quite trustworthy sites among all.
You can check out these websites to find artisan keycaps:
https://www.dwarf-factory.com/product-category/artisan-keycap/
https://www.jellykey.com/product-category/artisan-keycaps/
Bestseller No. 1
- ✅Condition:Keycaps are made of premium quality resin
- ✅Fit for:Fits most mechanical keyboards
- ✅ keycaps are made by hand
- ✅Package Included:Keycap x 1(keyboard not)
Conclusion
Being a keyboard Enthusiast I have tried my best to answer every query and explain everything regarding Artisan Keycaps.
Getting customized keycaps for your keyboard is going to be a different and chilling experience.
Among Keycap Profiles, these custom keycaps have separate fans among the keyboard community as they are ready to pay some extra amount for a specific character or design that will certainly enhance their keyboard appearance.
Creating your own artisan keycaps required lots of creativity, passion and most importantly it is time-consuming so decide accordingly.
If you want to buy Artisan keycaps please make sure to check their compatibility for your keyboard because these Keycaps come in various designs, shapes, and sizes.
And lastly, keep the budget in your mind.
I hope this post was helpful to you.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers!!
Artisan Keycaps FAQs
How do I get artisan keycaps?
You can get these artisan keycaps on many online platforms but Amazo.com, Drop.com, mechanicalkeyboards.com, and Etsy.com are the most reliable and the best site among all.
Where can I buy artisans keycaps?
As I have already listed the following sites from where you can buy artisan keycaps: 1.Amazon.com 2. MechanicalKeyboards.com 3. Drop.com 4. Etsy.com
What are artisan keycaps used for?
Artisan keycaps are customized keycaps that are mostly used by the keyboard lover who wants to make their keyboard unique, make keycaps according to their favorite character and design, or express their personal style through customizing their keyboard.