Commissions & Custom Orders

How to Request a Commission

I occasionally take on commissions or custom orders for miniatures, dioramas, or artisan keycaps. However, I have had many people reach out to me in the past to discuss commission and we get fairly far along in the conversation and they disappear or drop off. This presents a challenge for me because it’s a substantial waste of my time to engage with people who aren’t serious, or who back out when discussing cost.

If you’re considering engaging me for a commission or custom keycap order, you must consult this rough price estimate list first. This will give you a vague ballpark for costs, and if you are interested, you can then contact me to discuss details. For all customs, I require an upfront deposit to protect my time and effort. I have a fulltime job unrelated to crafts or art, so my free time is precious to me and I cannot afford to engage with folks who waste it. Without this step, I would not be able to accommodate commissions, so I greatly appreciate your cooperation — thank you so much!

About Commission & Custom Order Pricing

Since crafting is a hobby, I do it for fun (not for a living, and not for money beyond what I spend on the hobby itself). This means the vast majority of things I make are for myself or — occasionally — gifts for loved ones. Commission subjects outside my interests are significantly less fun than topics I choose myself. They’ll always be crafted to the same high standards though, so as a result, they take much longer to make and can be less enjoyable to work on. This is one reason commissions start at high prices; it’s more fun for me to spend my free time doing things I love, or that I’m personally interested in. Prices and acceptance or rejection of commissions are therefore influenced by level of interest (or lack thereof), in addition to materials and time commitment.

Similarly, custom keycap orders are more expensive than normal sale or raffle prices because — honestly — I get bored easily. Once I’ve made something, I usually want to move on and don’t have much interest in re-making the same things. This results in limited runs, small batches, and higher prices for repeats. In addition, it’s actually more costly (in both time and materials) to make one resin keycap than to make a batch.

I am sharing this to be completely candid and transparent about what motivates prices and acceptance criteria for commissions and custom orders. This is also why prices are non-negotiable.

Sculpture and Diorama Commission

Sculptures, models, and dioramas are the most time-consuming commission type, and may take weeks to months to complete depending on time commitment, materials availability, complexity, number of components, level of interest, etc. I will only accept topics that I find compelling, challenging, or interesting, since (as mentioned above) I make them for fun and if the subject matter isn’t aligned with an enjoyable crafting experience, the project becomes a boring chore and I lose interest in it.

Examples of pieces in this category are shown below:

Absolute minimum cost regardless of size of piece: $200

Nothing in this category will cost less than $200, no matter how small. (Note: miniature food and charms are not classified as sculptures. They are in their own categories.) Dioramas can (and often do) cost substantially more than the stated minimums. If these prices are not agreeable, please do not reach out to me to request differently; these are non-negotiable minimums.

Sculpture & Diorama Commission Minimums

• Single polymer clay figures with 1-2 total components without a base platform (e.g., cat with book, facehugger alien with egg) start at $200 for the simplest (these are modeled either with sculpting clay and then painted, or with colored clay and highlighted / shaded with pastels or paints)
• Polymer clay mini dioramas made only with polymer clay (no resin, no effects, no diorama materials) with a base and multiple components start at $300 (e.g., cuttlefish and corals, prehistoric sealife mini scenes)
• Mini dioramas with base and dry diorama effects start at $350 (e.g., Forest Spirit, Nightwalker, kodama, koroks, etc.)
• Mini dioramas with base, dry effects, and still or moving water effects start at $500 (e.g., Wayside forest stream)
• Larger diorama scenes with multiple components start at $1200 (e.g., No Face Smorgasbord)

Miniature Food Commission

This includes food-themed dollhouse miniatures, as well as food charms, jewelry, and rare earth magnets.

Examples of pieces in this category are shown below:

The smaller the food items, the more challenging the sculpt and the higher the cost. For example, the same miniature in 1:12 scale may be higher in price than 1:6 depending on complexity.

Miniature Food Commission Minimums

• Simple food items with 1-2 total components start at $30
• Food charms with eyepin with lanyard start at $40 (these must be designed and modeled with few to no protruding or glued components so that they are more robust)
• Food magnets start at $50 (these must be designed and modeled more robustly and with a flat surface that is made of clay to form a carved, physical bond with the magnet)
• Complex food items with 3 or more total components start at $60 (these may be substantially more than the minimum cost depending on complexity and scale)

Charm Commission

Charms in this category are non-food items with an eyepin and lanyard or keychain included. They require a contained design that is robust, without any protruding or glued components, typically with armature. They are gloss varnished in several coats for protection.

Examples of pieces in this category are shown below:

Charm Commission Minimums

• Charms start at $50 (prices increase with complexity of sculpt, level of detail, and intricacy of color / paintjob)

Polymer Clay Artisan Keycap Commission

Polymer clay artisan keycaps are individually hand-crafted polymer clay miniature sculptures over DSA PBT Cherry MX keycap blanks, OR polymer clay miniatures on top of in-house casted resin keycap blanks.

Examples of pieces in this category are shown below:

Polymer Clay Artisan Keycap Commission Minimums

• Polymer clay keycaps fully encasing PBT blanks start at $300 (prices increase with complexity of sculpt, level of detail)
• Polymer clay miniatures on resin blanks start at $200 (prices increase with complexity of sculpt, level of detail, type of casting for resin blank)

Resin Artisan Keycap Custom Order

I do resin castings of artisan keycaps I currently have existing molds for. Check out the Artisan Keycaps page for more details on existing sculpts and molds. If you are interested in custom ordering resin keycaps, you’ll be directed to a custom order form after we have discussed and agreed on details.

Examples of keycaps in this category are shown below:

Resin Artisan Keycap Custom Order Minimums

Please note that listed prices are for EXISTING designs. I do not accept resin commissions for new, one-off, custom sculpts, nor do I accept custom, one-off encapsulation orders at this time.

• Single shot resin keycaps start at $100 (e.g., starry glitter bomb, Tranquility full moon, etc.)
• Multi-color resin keycaps start at $150 (e.g., Ammonite, LV426, Limpopo, etc.; be aware that prices greatly increase with number of shots, or technical complexity)
• Hand-painted resin keycaps start at $250 (e.g., Quoth, Cuttlefish, The Pond, etc.)
• Multi-shot resin blank keycaps start at $150 (e.g., encapsulated fruit slice multi-shots, celestial opal, etc.)

If you are looking to spend less money on existing designs, you can keep an eye on my shop or sign up for the newsletter to be notified of sales.

How to Request a Commission

Thank you for reviewing the price estimates list. If you’d like to discuss details to request a commission, please send me an email using this form. Once we have discussed some details about your commission, you’ll be given access to the appropriate Commission Form to initiate the commission contract.

If commission isn’t in the stars, you can also explore what is currently available in stock in the shop, or keep an eye out for sales and giveaways on Instagram or via the newsletter.