Home → Keychain Help

step 0:

own keychains

How can you make good keychains if you don't know what you're looking for in a manufacturer? It's important to know what a good vs bad keychain looks like to you. Questions you should know personal answers for include:
  • Which clasp do you like the best? what is pretty vs functional?
  • what size do you think is practical?
  • how much are you willing to pay for a keychain vs what do you think is overpriced?
  • Do you like a certain finish? there is:
    • clear epoxy
    • glitter epoxy
    • holographic
    • full bleed
    • no extra finish
    • (from left to right) glitter epoxy - full bleed - colored acrylic - water effect

    step 1:

    starting to manufacture

    there are lots of keychain manufacturers, but if you are a beginner, I recommend Vograce. unlike alibaba (another good resource), you don't have to talk to anyone.
    vograce

    step 2:

    design your keychain

    Keychain designing means keeping in mind the following:
    • sillouette
    • contrast
    • shape from far away
    the final design will come out way smaller than the canvas on your computer, so try not to prioritize details to overall composition

    making the right size:

    especially when drawing humans, specific height can be important. if you've ever seen a speed draw or work in progress for one of my keychain designs, you've probably noticed that I have the canvas at a 45° angle. Below is an example for how big of a difference the Pythagorean theorem has on designs (math is important!!!)
    45° angle
    0° angle
    size comparison

    step 3:

    check your proofs

    keychain proofs will show your designs, quantity, and clasp for each design
    make sure to double check proofs. once you approve them, it's difficult to get changes made

    step 4:

    unbox your order

    Hooray, your keychains have arrived! make sure to count your keychains and that the epoxy side/clasps match with your proof