| Artisan keycap commission is our favorite way to acquire ideas, inspirations and it is also a chance for us to connect with our fans. There is simply no better way to interact with each other than a clash of ideas and execution. Over the course of making custom artisan keycaps, we have come to learn a great deal as well as pushing further our boundaries as artisan keycap makers. This time, we wish to share with you the most exciting ideas that we have had the pleasure of working with. We will not spoil much but hold on to your seats. |
| Lord of Frenzied Flame| Medieval & Skeleton Set | |
 |
|
| Color Sketch | first prototype |
|
Firstly, a bit of background information. The Medieval Set, originally consisting of King, Queen, Knight, Bishop and Joker, and was later joined by Skeleton, was our first attempt at making a series of themed characters. While it struck a chord with the community back in the day, Medieval & Skeleton Set has become increasingly popular since becoming part of the commission lineups. The concept of Lord of Frenzied Flame follows and strives to capture the essence of a video game’s characters in the form of artisan keycaps without breaking their original forms. This also happens to be one of the most intricate colorways ever created by Artkey, every line is drawn with syringes. What you are looking at is a work entirely of human hand. |
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| Let’s put it into perspective, each cap takes up to 4 hours of uninterrupted resin writing to complete. |
Galactic Exmor
|
Exmor was created alongside Sirius as the starters of our universe-themed series. Our idea with this sculpt is an astronaut who ventures into the blackness of space, discovers and expands human boundaries, which also happens to be our dream. This dream was later realized by an idea from the community, which explores the more mystical and elusive aspects of our universe, as if shrinking the entire galaxy into a space so small it fits comfily on your keyboard. Galactic Exmor might as well be one of the early designs to have multiple mini-sculptures inside. Here’s a little fun fact about this commission. The initial concept for Galactic Exmor pivoted around the idea of black hole. However, another inspiration struck us and this Solar System version was born. Upon comparing the two, the commission designer gave the new idea an immediate yes! |
Nauty Exmor
|
Nauty Exmor takes on the adventure to the ocean’s great depths, in hope of having the nautical mysteries surface. On a more technical perspective, while still featuring an integrated sculpt inside the visor like Galactic Exmor, Nauty Exmor is an entirely different beast due to the intricate organic details of the octopus inside. For this colorway, we have tested a lot of methods in order to give life to the Kraken inside, including hand painting and resin writing on the sculpt. The sculpt itself is a breeding ground for troubles as it was difficult enough positioning the Kraken inside the visor, there was also the smoke effect to take into consideration for. |
C.O.L.D. Bull V2
|
Bull V2 is the successor to Artkey’s maiden work - Bull, and has garnered massive interest from the community of artisan keycaps worldwide. Later on, as Bull V2 became available for commission in 2022, it still remains one of the most popular sculpts in our commission line. C.O.L.D. (stands for Celebration Of Life & Death) impressed us most with its choice of colors and overall concept. And we daresay this is truly a commission request that inspires not only the makers from Artkey but also many artisan keycap collectors. And from its appearance, you can easily tell this colorway is not easy to pull off at all. Intricate and precise resin writing especially on rough surfaces takes a lot of trials and errors. |
| Before we arrive at the final destination, here are the honorable mentions: | |
|
Artist favorite: /bin/bash Exmor Our favorite movie is The Matrix and this Exmor’s binary-code elements remind us of it. 
|
Most technical demanding: Patina Exmor Hands down the most difficult concept to realize ever! We will explain why in the final entry of this list. 
|
Patina Artkey Logo
|
| Perhaps our most iconic sculpt ever. Yes. Pun intended. Artkey Logo has been revised multiple times during our casting journey to reach the form you see today. You may as well say this process reflects our growth in the sense of artistics and techniques. Be that as it may, Patina Artkey Logo is still special. It is the first coldcast keycap by Artkey, in which we mixed powdered copper to resin as the base for the keycap. And on top of that, a patina-green pattern is laid out on the surface. But if that doesn’t sound awe-inspiring to you, hear this: The patina is developed organically from the copper base. After casting is complete, the keycap is submerged in a specific condition and is to rest from 5 to 6 days for the patina to present itself naturally. This production method ensures all keycaps never look the same while still retaining the original spirit. One drawback is that it has an extremely high failure rate. Of course, this process remains undisclosed (even from me ). |
| The artisan keycap community is the backbone of Artkey. And more than anything, we like to treat commission as a means of engagement between us at the studio and you guys all over the world. They are also sources of ideas and trials - where we get to test against the unbounded imagination from everyone. And you guys never pull your punches with them. So keep the crazy ideas flowing and come at us with everything you’ve got! |
| Artisan keycap commission is our favorite way to acquire ideas, inspirations and it is also a chance for us to connect with our fans. There is simply no better way to interact with each other than a clash of ideas and execution. Over the course of making custom artisan keycaps, we have come to learn a great deal as well as pushing further our boundaries as artisan keycap makers. This time, we wish to share with you the most exciting ideas that we have had the pleasure of working with. We will not spoil much but hold on to your seats. |
| Lord of Frenzied Flame Medieval & Skeleton Set | |
 |
|
| Color Sketch | first prototype |
|
Firstly, a bit of background information. The Medieval Set, originally consisting of King, Queen, Knight, Bishop and Joker, and was later joined by Skeleton, was our first attempt at making a series of themed characters. While it struck a chord with the community back in the day, Medieval & Skeleton Set has become increasingly popular since becoming part of the commission lineups. The concept of Lord of Frenzied Flame follows and strives to capture the essence of a video game’s characters in the form of artisan keycaps without breaking their original forms. This also happens to be one of the most intricate colorways ever created by Artkey, every line is drawn with syringes. What you are looking at is a work entirely of human hand. |
|
|
| Let’s put it into perspective, each cap takes up to 4 hours of uninterrupted resin writing to complete. |
| Galactic Exmor |
Exmor was created alongside Sirius as the starters of our universe-themed series. Our idea with this sculpt is an astronaut who ventures into the blackness of space, discovers and expands human boundaries, which also happens to be our dream. This dream was later realized by an idea from the community, which explores the more mystical and elusive aspects of our universe, as if shrinking the entire galaxy into a space so small it fits comfily on your keyboard. Galactic Exmor might as well be one of the early designs to have multiple mini-sculptures inside. Here’s a little fun fact about this commission. The initial concept for Galactic Exmor pivoted around the idea of black hole. However, another inspiration struck us and this Solar System version was born. Upon comparing the two, the commission designer gave the new idea an immediate yes! 
|
| Nauty Exmor | Nauty Exmor takes on the adventure to the ocean’s great depths, in hope of having the nautical mysteries surface. On a more technical perspective, while still featuring an integrated sculpt inside the visor like Galactic Exmor, Nauty Exmor is an entirely different beast due to the intricate organic details of the octopus inside. For this colorway, we have tested a lot of methods in order to give life to the Kraken inside, including hand painting and resin writing on the sculpt. The sculpt itself is a breeding ground for troubles as it was difficult enough positioning the Kraken inside the visor, there was also the smoke effect to take into consideration for. 
|
| C.O.L.D. Bull V2 | Bull V2 is the successor to Artkey’s maiden work - Bull, and has garnered massive interest from the community of artisan keycaps worldwide. Later on, as Bull V2 became available for commission in 2022, it still remains one of the most popular sculpts in our commission line. C.O.L.D. (stands for Celebration Of Life & Death) impressed us most with its choice of colors and overall concept. And we daresay this is truly a commission request that inspires not only the makers from Artkey but also many artisan keycap collectors. And from its appearance, you can easily tell this colorway is not easy to pull off at all. Intricate and precise resin writing especially on rough surfaces takes a lot of trials and errors. 
|
| Before we arrive at the final destination, here are the honorable mentions: | |
|
Artist favorite: /bin/bash Exmor Our favorite movie is The Matrix and this Exmor’s binary-code elements remind us of it. |
Most technical demanding: Patina Exmor Hands down the most difficult concept to realize ever! We will explain why in the final entry of this list. |
|
Patina Artkey Logo
|
| Perhaps our most iconic sculpt ever. Yes. Pun intended. Artkey Logo has been revised multiple times during our casting journey to reach the form you see today. You may as well say this process reflects our growth in the sense of artistics and techniques. Be that as it may, Patina Artkey Logo is still special. It is the first coldcast keycap by Artkey, in which we mixed powdered copper to resin as the base for the keycap. And on top of that, a patina-green pattern is laid out on the surface. But if that doesn’t sound awe-inspiring to you, hear this: The patina is developed organically from the copper base. After casting is complete, the keycap is submerged in a specific condition and is to rest from 5 to 6 days for the patina to present itself naturally. This production method ensures all keycaps never look the same while still retaining the original spirit. One drawback is that it has an extremely high failure rate. Of course, this process remains undisclosed (even from me ). |
| The artisan keycap community is the backbone of Artkey. And more than anything, we like to treat commission as a means of engagement between us at the studio and you guys all over the world. They are also sources of ideas and trials - where we get to test against the unbounded imagination from everyone. And you guys never pull your punches with them. So keep the crazy ideas flowing and come at us with everything you’ve got! |
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