GMK MTNU Rascals
Render by Afresh
Let's start with a bit of backstory. Some of you may know the name GMK very well, as they are one of the most well-known keycap manufacturers in this hobby.
They are known for their Doubleshot ABS keycaps, which have a vast array of color and design choices. GMK until last year only produced in Cherry profile, which was introduced by Cherry in the 1980s. Many have adapted this profile, and it still gets used to this day, mostly on mechanical keyboards like gaming keyboards from Logitech or Razer.
Image by GMK
MTNU is a retro-inspired profile. While reviewing the first 3D printed prototypes of their new profile, it was brought to their attention that the creator of the MT3 profile, was working on a similar design. GMK then decided to reach out to him and work together on this new profile.
GMK and Matt3o, while in the process of trying out various blends (PBT and ABS) with some offering unique advantages and compromises, decided that they would stick with a 100% blend of only PBT.
After this, the first released sets with the new MTNU profile were classics like Susu (Susuwatari), Beige, and WoB (White on Black).
Renders by GMK
This brings us to Afresh, a designer from Poland who has been involved in some projects, including this latest set, GMK MTNU Rascals!
Afresh wanted to create a set about two characters that are constantly at war in a cartoonish way. When designing the characters of his set, he wanted to play on his own logo, being a sheep and a wolf.
Render by Afresh, Photo by GMK
While thinking about the color scheme, he decided that while he wanted to do something simple like WoB, he thought it was already kind of overplayed and since he chose to MTNU, he thought he could bring another color to the playing field of MTNU. He chose to use a dark burgundy, since it still allowed for a clean aesthetic of WoB while also having a kind of retro feeling.
After deciding on the colors of the set, he went straight to working on the novelties of the set. These were inspired by old cartoons like Tom and Jerry or the Coyote and the Roadrunner. These cartoons often had their characters take crazy poses like being electrocuted or having an anvil falling on their head.
After this, he worked on creating renders for the set. For this, he used Blender, which is the most used tool for rendering in the hobby. To streamline the process of creating the renders, he used the Keyboard Render Kit 2, which is a focused UI layout arranged to present useful tools and content to help anyone who wants to create a keycap set. This tool was created by Imperfectlink.
Renders by Imperfectlink
Afresh also had help from his friend Angelo while working on this set. They collaborated before on another set called PBTfans Poco.
The IC (Interest Check) was fast-tracked on purpose since Afresh did not know if this was going to lead anywhere. Before posting the IC, he was already in talks with a US vendor, but after getting quotes that the vendor thought were too high, they dropped the project. After this, it stayed in a sort of limbo for around three months.
While having the IC open, Afresh was looking for more vendors that would like to run the set. At the moment, it is not known which ones yet, at the same time Afresh is working closely together with GMK.
They significantly shortened the process of color matching, which usually would take a long time, especially when using non-standard GMK colors.
He is expecting to receive the color samples very soon, while also expecting to update the IC with the vendors that are going to run the set and some new renders.
Render by Afresh
Afresh plans to add:
- Additional child kits for more color options
- A comic book showing the story of the two characters
- A deskmat
This set took two years to develop. Afresh's advice for aspiring set creators is to be patient, as the hobby is constantly changing, and setbacks can occur.
Personal Thoughts
After seeing the IC for the first time, I have to say that this is a wonderful design, even though red or burgundy sets are not typically my taste. I have taken quite a liking to this set, and my favorite aspect is, of course, the novelties. I love rubber hose-style illustrations, and these ones are no different.
Although Afresh is planning on adding more items under the Rascal banner, which I can't wait for, I have to say that even just the novelties alone sold me on this set. If I don't go broke beforehand, I would love to pick up the base kit!
I very much enjoyed writing this article, thanks to Afresh for giving a behind-the-scenes look at how this set came to be.
Socials
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