Keycaps come in a variety of designs, colors, shapes, and textures. Some users prefer classic, straightforward keycaps. Many gamers and keyboard enthusiasts splurge on artisan keycaps to make their keyboards feel special and unique.

Artisan keycaps are high-quality, sculpted, artistically designed keycaps gamers and enthusiasts often use to replace the Esc key, Fn keys, or other lesser-used keys. They can easily add charm and brighten a setup. Artisans are made in relatively small batches, sell out fast, and often require buyers to join Discord channels or mailing lists.

Here are some of the best artisan keycaps available.

Best overall 

Dwarf Factory

Gorgeous designs, grouped availability, and moderate pricing are why we selected Dwarf Factory as our “Best overall” option for artisan keycaps. Dwarf Factory is known for its high-quality resin keycaps. Resin is a type of plastic that is denser than other plastics, such as polyester. These keycaps are often made with molds or sculpted and hand-painted with special tools with high attention to detail. While other companies make resin keycaps, Dwarf Factory appears to have perfected the art of designing and crafting these novelty items.

Dwarf Factory is known for its collections and collaborations. For example, the Petite Meal collection, in collaboration with Tinymakesthings, sold out quickly. This collection features tiny fast-food combos: hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, and soda pops. Dwarf Factory has many collections, and you can check them out via the Categories or Collaboration tabs on the brand’s website.

All products are viewable at once on Dwarf Factory’s website, but if you are looking to buy sooner than later, use the Ready to Buy tab to view their available products.

Best availability

Hot Keys Project

Hot Keys Project offers a large selection of artisan keycaps online. Like most artisan keycap makers, Hot Keys Project sticks to original, in-house designs revolving around pop culture and cartoon animation. The brand’s latest original keycaps include the Lucky Cat collection, Hannya collection, and Bounty Hunter collection. Hot Keys Project is preferable if you are looking for a specific style or just want to see a work of art pop out from your keyboard.

The reason Hot Keys Project serves under “Best availability” is because of how quickly consumers purchase and receive their orders. Buyers can choose several delivery options ranging from shipping within one to three business days to shipping within four to 10 business days. Most of the keycaps featured in Hot Keys Project’s catalog are available, whereas other artisan keycap companies feature keycaps that are no longer available or no longer in production. 

Best variety

Jellykey

Jellykey is an artisan keycap company primarily dealing in Group Buys, which means customers who order a product must wait until enough people have ordered that product for it to go into production and ship. However, these resin keycaps are listed under “Best variety” for a reason. Even though availability is limited, the original designs make this brand stand out. Jellykey primarily uses resin and clay to make these keycaps, but other materials include crystal, glitter paper, wood, watch gears, and alcohol ink. 

Each keycap is unique compared to the last, and the catalog stretches pages and pages. Art styles range from the abstract to pop culture, from themed to random. Jellykey is especially proud of their products’ ingenuity, and the brand never intends to create the same design twice. If you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, Jellykey is an ideal place to browse different styles. 

Best on Etsy

Hirosart

Etsy is full of talented artists and creators of artisan keycaps. Crafted by Hiros Lee in Vietnam, Hirosart keycaps also include artisan space bars, backspace keys, and shift keys. Hirosart makes artisan keycaps in various art styles and shapes from under $20 to over $120. About half of these caps are Pokémon-themed, but the other half include other beautifully bright and intricate designs. 

These artisan keycaps are primarily made from resin—along with some other materials such as wood—and are exceptionally colorful. Hirosart includes a blurb on each product page about the creation of the respective keycap design, which fosters a more personal connection to the artist. Hirosart discusses the process of making each keycap and the inspiration that led to each specific design. Handmade in Vietnam, these keycaps are available to ship worldwide.

Best value

Capsmiths

Capsmiths sells 3D-printed artisan keycaps on its Etsy page. Cute and simple, these keycaps run at prices as low as under $10 to just under $30. While Capsmiths displays less intricacy and complexity in its designs, buyers can still choose from a variety of art styles such as plants like roses and succulents, pop culture designs, and food-themed prints. The store is overwhelmingly rated five stars by nearly all its reviewers. 

Wait times for shipping are also relatively short compared to other artisan keycap companies. Most of Capsmiths’ products take a couple of weeks to ship, but according to some reviewers, the deliveries come even sooner rather than later.

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Source: https://dotesports.com/hardware/news/best-artisan-keycaps