Limpopo is a new resin artisan keycap by yours truly at Mihi Mini Studio. This sculpt features the head of an elephant. The name is derived from The Elephant’s Child (which is about how the elephant got his trunk), one of the Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling:
“O Bananas!” said they, “where did you learn that trick, and what have you done to your nose?“
“I got a new one from the Crocodile on the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River,” said the Elephant’s Child. “I asked him what he had for dinner, and he gave me this to keep.”
The Elephant’s Child, from the “Just So” stories by Rudyard Kipling
The Limpopo is a (real) river in Africa, where (in the story) the crocodile grabbed the elephant’s child’s nose and pulled on it, resulting in the elephant having a long trunk. You can check out a short video of the launch colorways for Limpopo below:
Limpopo is half of a set of Elephant’s Child keycaps; the other keycap in the set is the crocodile, Hither.
Artistic Style
Limpopo’s artistic style is realism mixed with caricaturized character creation. I really love the style of the characters in the animated movie Rango. My own animal art is often sort of an eerie mix of realistic features and textures juxtaposed with characterization that’s almost cartoonish — but not quite. Limpopo embodies my animal character style very strongly. Every detail — each wrinkle and skin fold — is intentional, but the proportions dictated by the small space and molding and casting requirements for keycaps mean that Limpopo’s features are somewhat exaggerated. This lends him his distinct personality. He walks a line between what’s real and what’s imagined, throwing you just a little bit off kilter as you regard him.
Launch Colorways
Limpopo launched in the following epoxy resin castings / colorways:
- Hand-painted (cast in resin, then primed and painted with Vallejo, Citadel, Army Painter model paints and washes, satin and matte varnishes)
- Cold cast bronze (burnished with 0000 steel wool, black polish, satin varnish)
- Cold cast antique gold (burnished with 0000 steel wool, black polish, gloss varnish)
- Cold cast silver with gold eyes (burnished with 0000 steel wool, black polish, gloss varnish)
- Midnight (cast in resin, sometimes multishot, sometimes eyes and tusks handpainted)
How To Buy Limpopo
Limpopo may occasionally be available in very limited quantity in the shop. To be notified if raffle sales take place, you can follow me on Instagram at mihi.mini.studio.