Posted on October 9, 2020
For the artist who works on both their desktop and iPad, you know what a hassle it can be to have multiple keyboards and multiple shortcuts settings for various drawing apps. Not all apps allow customization of hotkeys. Stretching your hand across a full-sized keyboard also isn't very optimal. On-screen interfacesand menus can be a slower way to switch between tools, taking you away from the drawing to fiddle with settings.
So this is part 1 of a 3 part article to talk about how we built a custom keyboard (a pair, actually) specifically for my hotkeys.
Part 1: Sourcing the Parts
In July, Mateusz Urbanowicz posted a video about how he built and uses his custom keyboards for Procreate.
Previously, I had been using a tiny game 8BitDo controller for my frequent hotkeys in Clip Studio on my iPad, but it wasn't as reliable as I'd like - not knowing when it turned off and I'd need to resync/charge it. I also have a Clip Studio Tabmate, which works for the desktop version of the app, but not the iPad (as of this writing.) (Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links from this site~!)
(Note, if interested in checking out these options - only the 8Bitdo Zero 1 will work, as it has specific keys mapped like a keyboard. You may then go into your Clip Studio preferences and map those button presses as your new shortcuts. (You can see what letters are what and what I assigned them to on my post-it notes for reference. For full disclosure, the link above will take you to an Amazon listing - I bought mine about 2 years ago for $25.)
I needed something a little more robust with more key options and Mateusz's build seemed like a perfect fit. Mateusz linked to a shop called Yushakobo in Japan and named the needed parts:
The Helix is an ortholinear keyboard - a full-sized, 5 row keyboard, broken into 2 parts. The Pico is a 4-row model - same basic components, just more compact.
We searched for US shops for available parts, but remembered we were in the middle of a pandemic and parts were not in stock. There were some alternatives like the 5-row Helix PCB and kits via Little Keyboards or KeyHive.
We bit the bullet and ordered all the parts from Yushakobo, as they have a ready-to-go kit for a full Helix Pico keyboard, that comes in neon red, green, yellow, and some with fancy designs on the acrylic parts. (They also have a variety of other keyboard kits and parts, so it's worth taking a dive and reading up about the various options available!)
