After all those hours researching, purchasing, customizing, and lubricating a new high-end mechanical keyboard, it's easy to feel like there's just something missing. Some finishing touch that would help your new keyboard really pop, something to make it stand out from the crowd. Enter artisan keycaps.
For a few years now, handmade, custom keycaps meant only to replace one or two keycaps on your keyboard have become all the rage in the mechanical keyboard world. And these days, you can find artisan keycaps depicting just about anything, from your favorite characters to entire minuscule fantasy worlds packed into an escape key or space bar. So, let's take a look at some of the best ones currently on the market!
Note: Before purchasing a keycap, be sure to check the size and style of the keycap to ensure that it's going to fit on the key and key stem that you're planning to place it on. Most manufacturers will list which key stems and key sizes a keycap is intended for on the purchase page.
Dwarf Factory Petite Meal
Dwarf Factory is known for making some of the craziest artisan keycaps out there, and the Petite Meal line is definitely one of their most unique. Each of the four keycaps in this line depicts a tiny-yet-delectable keycap version of a fast-food favorite. The keycaps depicted are the Jr. Cheeseburger, Teeny Fries, Soda Pisa, and Shiftdog (sized to replace a shift key). And, like most Dwarf Factory keycaps, they look fantastic. The details really pop on each individual item, and you can even clearly make out each layer on the Jr. Cheeseburger.
It's a bit out of the ordinary, but sometimes that's what makes something feel truly special. This set is Cherry MX and MX clone compatible and is crafted by hand out of resin.
Related: Mechanical vs. Membrane Keyboards: What’s the Difference?
Dwarf Factory Mystic Dragon V2
Now for something a little more in line with Dwarf Factory's usual offerings: the Mystic Dragon V2. This 2.25u keycap (Enter key size) comes in eight individually stunning colorways, each depicting a different color of a dragon resting in front of a crystal-laden monument. This one is handmade out of resin and compatible with Cherry MX and MX clones like their other keycaps.
The real beauty is seen in the side view, where the full depth of the wooden platform can be seen as it fades into the subtly colored resin at the bottom of the keycap. So if you're looking for something a little more whimsical, it's hard to go wrong with the Mystic Dragon V2.
MMCAPS Kraken Alien
MMCAPS is well known for making irreverent, pop-culture-themed keycaps of various recognizable characters, but the Kraken Alien is a unique design from them. The Neonverse colorway, pictured here, features a masked alien as the base of the keycap with a Xenomorph style opening along the top of its head.
The opening is cast in a rainbow of vibrant neon colors, and the entire keycap is just translucent enough to allow light to pass through if you have a backlit or RGB-enabled keyboard. If you're looking for something unique, creepy, and vibrant, the Kraken Alien is a great choice.
HotKeysProject Lucky Cat
HotKeysProject is an artisan keycap studio that releases vibrant, simple designs often depicting faces with a very Japanese style theme to them. The Lucky Cat (show here in its various colorways) is their latest, and it's just too adorable to pass up.
As the name implies, this line of keycaps depicts a Maneki-neko style cat with its paws and a smile across its face. The opaqueness varies depending on the colorway, with some showing backlight through the face or coin and others being fully opaque. If you're after something simple and cute, then the Lucky Cat is an easy choice.
Jelly Key 8-bit series II: Pipeline City
The 8-bit series from Jelly Key is just a fantastic line of video game-themed keycaps, but their Pipeline City II variant (a follow-up to their previous Pipeline City line from last year) is amazing. While Jelly Key maintains that a certain era of video games simply inspired this design, it's pretty plain to see that a certain video game plumber more specifically inspires it that many of you may be familiar with.
Their Green Town Hall colorway is shown, which depicts an entire stretch of an 8-bit video game, all encapsulated in keycap form. And the individual features have true depth under the resin, which makes the entire thing really pop off of the keycap. If you love old-school video games, then this is an easy keycap to love.
Related: How to Remove Keycaps | How to Take Off Your Keyboard’s Keycaps
CCcoolArt Macintosh Keycap
Etsy is a wonderful place packed to the brim with artisan keycaps from small companies and individuals. This retro-style Macintosh keycap from Etsy user CCcoolArt is a two-piece design that depicts a proper Macintosh with a secondary Tab key-sized keycap depicting the mouse and keyboard to place in front of it. The light from a backlit keyboard will actually shine up through the Macintosh keycap and be visible on the screen. As a bonus, it comes with different screen in-lays to put on the screen ranging from the classic Apple logo to a tiny heart.
It might be a bit more on the artistic side than the functional side of keycaps, but it's just so inventive and functional compared to all of the resin-topped keycaps out there.
The beauty of artisan keycaps comes from their diversity. You can add flair to your favorite new keyboard with everything from a cartoon character, to a fantasy vista, to your favorite food items. There's a keycap out there for everyone if you look hard enough.
Check out Best Oculus Link Cable Alternatives and Best Keyboard and Mouse for the PS5 on Pro Game Guides for more hardware recommendations.
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Published: Nov 3, 2021 03:43 pm