Among Artkey’s newly released artisan keycaps, Kibou is definitely among the more refreshing takes! Let’s find out what’s so special about Kibou!
Inspirations
Artkey is where we are today thanks in no small part to the artisan keycap community. So we thought, what better way to give back to the community than to make an artisan keycap in their image? ;)
Kibou sports a snapback, with messy hair sticking out below the cap and a pair of headphones. He is pictured intensely typing on his mechanical keyboard, trying to hit 199 words per minute on Monkeytype! Daniel's best effort was 120 only (as we heard from him from Kibou raffle entry form), poor him.
Kibou sports a snapback, with messy hair sticking out below the cap and a pair of headphones. He is pictured intensely typing on his mechanical keyboard, trying to hit 199 words per minute on Monkeytype! Daniel's best effort was 120 only (as we heard from him from Kibou raffle entry form), poor him.
The two versions of Kibou
During the development of Kibou, two versions were created, capturing Kibou in different lights, with one having better cable management than the other. It takes Hieu “Capupu” several months to have the second version after the debut of the first one, but it takes only two weeks for the sculpting alone. Creativity seems to take forever and ever.
The making of Kibou
Clay sculpting
Kibou first came into existence in the form of clay sculpts. Usually, sculpting alone takes 2-3 weeks and the hardest part of it all is surface finishing.
Colorway Sketching
This is where the digital fun begins!
In order for a colorway to be cast, a set of 2 - 4 sketches must be made, which is then subjected to team voting.
Color Mixing
The art of color is especially tricky due to the nature of resin, which changes color after curing.
Keycap Casting
This is what Artkey is all about! Working with resin and resin writing is like a blind game altogether, where you never know the final outcome. Practice makes perfect, after all. You also have to wait for resin to fully cure for layout casting.
Normally, layout casting takes 1 day.
Features
Hey! Handsome!
A cap on a cap! Kibou’s snapback accommodates extensive resin writing opportunities!
What is a MechKey without his hi-def headphones? Gotta catch that thocc sound test!
This is a reminder to put some work in your cable management.
Original Colorways
The debut colorways for Kibou are Daytime and Nightlight, depicting the personas of the people in the mechanical keyboard hobby: Hard at work by day and flame the chat by night! Sounds familiar?
Fun Facts
Maker Quote
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