GMK Lazurite, an allusion to High Renaissance art and the value of the pigment ultramarine
Hello everyone! This keycap set is inspired by my curiosity about the color ’ blue ’ and my love for Renaissance art. This is my first time designing a keycap set so please bear with me.
‘Blue’ was an extremely expensive pigment in ancient times. In order to create this pigment, painters had to grind up the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli , and turn it into ultramarine , a deep blue pigment priced at the same value as gold during the Renaissance period . Ultramarine came from Latin “ultra marinus” which means “beyond the sea” as the lapis lazuli required to create the pigment is imported from Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Because of this, the pigment was only used for the most important subjects of paintings in Europe at the time. It became the hallmark of Renaissance paintings created by many historical painters of that period.
GMK Lazurite Group Buy is LIVE
MAY 7, 2021 to June 5, 2021
KBDfans x Lazurite D60Lite GROUP BUY is LIVE
MAY 7, 2021 to June 7, 2021
GMK Lazurite Kits & Accessories Price List
Proxies
- EU: MyKeyboard
- US: Mechs & Co.
- UK: Proto[Typist] Keyboards
- CA: Deskhero
- Oceania (AU/NZ): Daily Clack
- Latin America: Fancy Customs
Fancy Customs Deskmat Link - CN/East Asia: zFrontier (EN)
- CN: zFrontier (CN)
- South Korea: SwagKeys
- SEA: iLumkb
- Philippines: Zion Studios PH
Philippines PATAG x Lazurite Deskmat Link
-Get faster updates on events, collaborations, giveaways and all important info about the set inside my Discord server:
Geekhack IC thread
You will be able to check all keyboard renderings and collaboration pieces for GMK Lazurite inside the thread or Discord Server
Set Colorway and Kits Explanation
Here is the summarized breakdown of how the set looks like in terms of colors:
For people who want minimal colors (ultramarine blue and white)
Lazurite (Base): blue alphas, white mods
Calcite (Alternate Alphas): white alphas
Lapis (Spacebars): blue and white
High Renaissance Blue (Novelties 2): blue on white
For people who would like to accentuate their keycap set (ultramarine and gold)
Pyrite (Accent): blue on gold, gold on blue
High Renaissance Gold (Novelties 1): gold on blue
I have chosen to add the gold spacebars for the 40s community so you can also have accents for other keycap sets you might have.
Ultra (Extension): blue on white, gold
If you have been following this set all along, thank you very much for the wonderful support you have shown for Lazurite! You’re the best!
Kits
Base: Lazurite ($126)
Inspiration: lapis lazuli’s lazurite together with a calcite marble
Colors
-Ultramarine Blue Alphas
-White Mods
-Gold Accents
Support
-Full-size layout
-Compact
-1800
-65%
-75%
-80%/TKL
-60% HHKB/Tsangan
-Basic 40% (3-key support)
-Basic US ISO
-Alice layout (Shift keys, extra B)
-Barred and Scooped Homing Keys
Alternate Alphas: Calcite ($63)
An all white, minimalist alternative to Lazurite’s ultramarine alphas
Inspiration: pure calcite marble with a touch of ultramarine
Colors
-White Alphas
-Ultramarine Blue Legends
Support
-Barred and Scooped Alphas Homing Keys
-Alice extra B
-Basic US ISO alphas
Spacebars: Lapis ($30)
Inclusion of 6.0u centered and off-centered, split bars and on a clean looking set of either Lazurite or Calcite
Colors
-Blue
-Gold
Support
-split
-Alice
-centered and off-centered stems
Extension: Ultra ($38)
Inspiration: the 40% community, no need for a deeper meaning, I would just like to give love to the community.
Colors
-Blue Bars
-Gold Accents
-White Mods
Support
-typical 40% layout
High Renaissance - Novelties Kits 1 and 2 ($60)
The idea is to create a paint frame design for your mechanical keyboards using the novelties, which will act as ‘borders’ on ortholinears, usual 40% layouts, 60%, 65%, 75%, 80%/TKL, Tsangan, HHKB, WKL, 1800 and full-sized keyboards. (almost all layouts are supported by both novelties kits)
Both High Renaissance Novelties kits 1 and 2 can complement the look of these two configurations:
-Lazurite base kit (blue alphas, white mods) and
-Lazurite base + Calcite alternate alphas (full white set)
These novelties are also intended to complement or accentuate other mono-tone sets (same-colored alphas and mods), the limit to what combinations these novelties kits cater to is your imagination
High Renaissance (Gold) | Novelties 1 will complement the ff. colors:
-saturated yellow
-gold
-blue (light)
-white (have a look at this GMK Civilizations x GMK Lazurite High Renaissance (Gold) Novelties render)
High Renaissance (Blue) | Novelties 2 will complement the ff. colors:
-gold
-white with any shade of blue-colored legends
-blue (light/dark shade) (have a look at this GMK Earth Tones x GMK Lazurite High Renaissance (Blue) Novelties render)
*both image renders I did have been granted permission to upload from both GMK Civilizations and GMK Earth Tones designers.
Specifications:
-900mm x 400mm
-microfiber top
-stitched edges
-rubber base
Notes:
-I have partnered Lazurite with a desk mat brand, PATAG that I founded last year
-PATAG is a brand geared towards promoting Filipino culture through our products (desk mats), with a commitment of sharing our profit to the local Filipino indigenous communities where designs are inspired from .
-Lazurite’s desk mats are distinct from what we design as a brand. Even so, I have decided, being a majority owner of this venture, that our brand will be sharing part of the desk mats’ sales profit to one of the art schools here in the Philippines to inspire local artists/designers in pursuing their talents.
Paint Frame Ultramarine ($25)
Paint Frame Calcite ($25)
Renaissance Ornament ($25)
Collaborations
KBDfans x Lazurite D60Lite Keyboard
https://imgur.com/w3rJIhQ
https://imgur.com/loWkqQU
https://imgur.com/X43v89D
https://imgur.com/9ggEJrE
https://imgur.com/XDJ4FCd
RAMA WORKS x Lazurite
Geekhack thread: GMK Lazurite GH IC (GB page to follow, check link for all keyboard renders)
My Discord Server: Jaekeyed
Instagram: @jaekeyed