Skyline rising from the space bar at duskPurple, black, yellow. Black building shapes reach different rows; a yellow window dot or two on each cap. Paint pen.
Five columns of keys shading from one color to anotherTwo colors mixed in five tints. Split the letter block into five columns of keys, one tint each. Flat brush.
Rocket built one key to a square, like pixel artGray, red, white, navy. Each cap is one square; fill the letter block row by row from a grid sketch. Flat brush.
Branch in bloom climbing from left Ctrl to BackspaceBrown, pink, white. One branch from the lower left corner to the upper right; blossoms on caps it passes. Fine brush.
Galaxy swirl turning around the middle keysBlack, purple, pink, white. Sponge the swirl with its center on the G and H caps; flick white stars over all. Sponge.
Grass on the bottom row, flower heads on the number rowGreens, five flower colors. Stems cross the three letter rows between the grass and the flowers. Fine brush.
Island map with a dotted path from Esc to EnterTan, green, blue, red. Sea on the outer keys, land in the middle; a red dotted path from corner to side. Paint pen.
Mountain ridge across the top rows, a lake belowBlues, white, gray. Peaks on the function and number rows; the letter rows are water with ripple dashes. Fine brush.
One wave cresting across the letter rowsNavy, teal, white. Deep water on the bottom rows, the curl on the middle row, foam on the number row. Fine brush.
Road narrowing from the space bar to the top rowGray, white, green, blue. The road is widest on the bottom row; fields either side; sky on the function row. Flat brush.
Rocket built one key to a square, like pixel artGray, red, white, navy. Each cap is one square; fill the letter block row by row from a grid sketch. Flat brush.
Skyline rising from the space bar at duskPurple, black, yellow. Black building shapes reach different rows; a yellow window dot or two on each cap. Paint pen.
Stars over the letter keys, the space bar as the groundNavy, black, white, yellow. Stars on the letter caps; a moon on one corner key; the space bar stays dark. Paint pen.
Sunset by rows, half a sun on the space barYellow, orange, pink, purple. Purple on the function row, warming row by row; a half disc on the space bar. Flat brush.
Underwater scene with sand along the space barTeal, blue, tan, orange. Sand on the bottom row; fish on the letter rows; light rays on the function row. Fine brush.
Color plans by row or zone 12
Arrow keys picked out in one bright colorOne bright color, white. Only the four arrow caps are painted; a white arrow redrawn on each. Paint pen.
Checkerboard of two colors over the letter blockTwo colors. Every other cap in the second color, offset from row to row. Flat brush.
Dark frame of outer keys around a light centerOne dark color, one light. Every cap on the outside edge of the board dark; all inner caps light. Flat brush.
Five columns of keys shading from one color to anotherTwo colors mixed in five tints. Split the letter block into five columns of keys, one tint each. Flat brush.
Function row as a rainbow strip over plain keysRed to violet. Twelve caps shade through the rainbow; every other cap stays as it came. Flat brush.
Home row in a darker shade of the board's colorOne color, slightly darker. The middle letter row only, A to the apostrophe key. Flat brush.
Number keys shading from pale on 1 to deep on 0One color in ten tints. The palest tint on 1, the deepest on 0. Mix on a plate, one cap at a time. Flat brush.
Number pad as its own block of colorOne contrasting color, white. All the caps of the number pad one color; numerals redrawn in white. Paint pen.
Six pastels, one to each row from function keys to space barSix pastel colors. Function row to bottom row, each its own color; legends repainted in white. Flat brush, paint pen.
Space bar and Enter in an accent, every other cap one colorOne base color, one accent. Only the two biggest caps take the accent color. Flat brush.
Vowels in one color, every other letter in anotherTwo colors. A, E, I, O and U stand out from the rest of the letter caps. Flat brush.
Warm colors for the left hand, cool for the rightReds and oranges, blues and greens. Split the letter block down the middle between the two hands. Flat brush.
Single keys 12
Arrow keys lettered N, E, S and W as a compassWhite, red, black. N on the up key, S on the down key, E and W on the side keys; the N in red. Paint pen.
Backspace as a pink eraser with a metal bandPink, silver, black. Pink over most of the cap; a silver band with two black lines at one end. Fine brush.
Both Shift keys as rockets pointing upWhite, red, orange. One rocket lying along each Shift cap, nose toward the top row, flame behind. Fine brush.
Caps Lock as a padlockGold, gray, black. A gray shackle over a gold body, centered on the cap; a black keyhole. Paint pen.
Enter as a door with a round handleOne door color, gold. Panel lines on the cap; a gold dot for the handle on the side nearest the letters. Paint pen.
Esc as a small red door marked with an arrowRed, white. Red cap; a white arrow pointing away from the letter keys. Paint pen.
Space bar as a long sleeping dogBrown, black, white. Nose at the left end, tail at the right, four short legs along the lower edge. Fine brush.
Space bar as a panorama of rolling hillsGreens, blue, yellow. One long landscape on the top face of the space bar; a small sun toward one end. Fine brush.
Space bar as a pencil, its point toward the right handYellow, pink, silver, black. Eraser and metal band at the left end; a sharpened tip at the right. Fine brush.
Space bar as a strip of stars with a planet off-centerBlack, white, orange. Black bar; pinprick stars; one ringed planet toward the left end. Paint pen.
Tab as the tab of a file folderTan, brown. A folder edge along the cap with one raised tab; a word of your own on it. Paint pen.
The tall Enter of the number pad as a traffic lightBlack, red, yellow, green. Three dots stacked down the tall cap on a black ground. Paint pen.
One small picture to a key 12
A different face on each letter key of the home rowYellow, black. Nine round faces, A to L, each with its own expression. Paint pen.
A flower on each key of the bottom letter rowFive flower colors, green. Seven blooms seen from above, Z to M, each a different kind. Fine brush.
A fruit on each key of the top letter rowRed, yellow, green, purple, orange. Ten different fruits from Q to P, each filling its cap. Fine brush.
An animal for the letter on each key, ant to zebraAny colors. Twenty-six caps, each with a small animal whose name starts with its letter. Fine brush.
Bugs crawling over scattered keysRed, black, yellow, green. A ladybug, a beetle, an ant and a caterpillar on caps of your choice. Fine brush.
Fish, crab and starfish on the keys under the left handBlues, orange, pink. Five caps, each with one sea creature; a shell and a seahorse make up the set. Fine brush.
Four seasons on the four arrow keysGreen, yellow, orange, white. A bud, a sun, a leaf and a snowflake, one to a cap. Paint pen.
The letters of your name, each under a small crownGold, one accent color. Only the caps that spell your name are painted; a three-point crown over each letter. Paint pen.
Paw prints crossing the board at a slantOne color. A trail of prints steps from the lower left cap to the upper right, one print to a cap. Paint pen.
Sun, eight planets and a moon on the ten number keysYellow, blue, red, orange, gray. Sun on 1, the planets in order on 2 to 9, a moon on 0. Fine brush.
Twelve months on the twelve function keysAny colors. One small seasonal picture on each of F1 to F12, January first: a snowflake, a leaf, a sun. Paint pen.
Weather symbols on the number padWhite, yellow, blue. Sun, cloud, rain, snow, wind, fog, hail, bolt, rainbow and moon on the ten numeral caps. Paint pen.
How it works
A keycap is a small cover over each switch of a computer keyboard. These 48 designs paint the caps as one picture, as zones of color, as single keys or as sets of tiny pictures, and each names its keys.
Read the full guide
Caps off the board
Every design is written for caps taken off the board, laid out in keyboard order and painted on a table, so the board itself gets no paint. Stars over the letter keys, the space bar as the ground is painted across the three letter rows at once; a fine brush or a paint pen suits a surface this small.
A picture, a color plan or one key
The 12 color plans need no drawing: Number keys shading from pale on 1 to deep on 0 is one color in ten tints. Single keys holds 12 for one cap or one cluster, such as Enter as a door with a round handle and Arrow keys lettered N, E, S and W as a compass.
Questions and answers
Are these for a computer keyboard or a piano keyboard?
A computer keyboard. All 48 are for its key caps: 12 pictures across the whole board, 12 color plans by row or zone, 12 single keys and 12 sets of small pictures, one to a key.
What paint do you use on keyboard keys?
That is a question for the label of the paint and of any sealer: key caps are rubbed by fingers all day and we do not test what lasts on them. Acrylic paint is fast-drying and most kinds become water-resistant when dry.
Which designs fit the number of keys exactly?
Twelve months on the twelve function keys puts one small picture on each of F1 to F12, the four arrow keys take the four seasons or the four points of a compass, and the ten number keys take a sun, eight planets and a moon.