Awesome Art & Design

On his quest to make damascus out of every kind of metal object he can find, Shurap is back with another satisfying blacksmithing project. After arranging hundreds of individual calligraphy pen nibs into steel tubing, he forged, hammered, and twisted the molten metal to form a beautifully-patterned dagger.

LEGO fanatic I like home presents an incredible stop-motion video that shows how to break down a brick-built king salmon into a delicious sashimi dinner. The sequence is made up of more than 3000 individual photos. If you thought that looked tasty, be sure to check out his LEGO steak and cheese.

Woodworker Bourbon Moth asked his pal Rainfall Projects if he could help him build a custom staircase for his new workshop. He came up with a tubular steel structure with wooden steps that can fold flat against the wall when not in use. That giant plywood jig he created was genius. It could use a handrail, though.

Alex Aliume creates psychedelic artworks that glow brilliantly under UV light. These intricate, hand-painted images go far beyond ordinary black light posters. Among his trippy pieces are these kinetic sculptures that reveal hypnotic patterns as they rotate. You can reach out to Alex on his website if you’re interested in purchasing one of his original pieces.

Advancements in display tech enable some pretty immersive experiences, like that storm simulation spa we checked out a while back. In this video from custom LED display maker JYVisions, they show off a party room wrapped in screens on all sides to surround viewers in moving images. That splashing water effect is awesome – it also might make us vomit.

Designers and artists looking for a source of inspiration would do well to add Vault Editions‘ idea books to their library. This two-volume series features nearly 1000 engravings, etchings, and woodblock prints from the 17th through 19th centuries. It’s loaded with skulls, animals, and vintage objects and includes high-res downloads.

Kings Wild Project makes original playing cards with artful designs. The Eternal Order of the Fez deck is illustrated with intricate imagery inspired by a vintage Shriner’s deck. The tuck case and cards are embellished with conical red hats, scimitars, camels, snakes, stars, and the number 13.

Musician and luthier Shane Speal is known for making guitars out of cigar boxes. But his penchant for creating unusual musical instruments goes far beyond that. In this short video, he shows off some of his crazy builds, including guitars made from a boat oar, copper pipes, and a shovel. The exit sign electric guitar is our favorite.

It’s not too hard for most mortals to lift dumbbells. On the other hand, you must prove yourself worthy to lift Mjölnir. Random Hands shows us how they cut up plates from rusty old dumbbells and welded the metal together to make a hefty but liftable version of Thor’s mighty hammer. The finished Mjölnir can be wielded by a new owner for $5000.

Annie “Ancho” Choi is a brilliant young artist whose wonderful animations landed her a gig working for the famed Studio Ghibli. Her Instagram and TikTok feature a selection of her beautifully rendered visuals, each of which features an unexpected transformation. We especially love her wearable bread loafers.

A dual-layer glass drinking vessel helps insulate its contents thanks to the air gap between its layers. But how do glass manufacturers sandwich those layers together so precisely? This fascinating factory video from Process of Everything shows how skilled workers cut, heat, and connect glass tubes to create these insulated drinking bottles.

Road Agent Leather wanted a case to protect and carry his 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol. Being a skilled leatherworker, he decided to make his own from scratch. He started by flattening and dying leather sheets, cutting them into precise shapes, then gluing and stitching them together. He used a laser cutter to make the perfect circles for holding ammo.

Exploring Alternatives takes us on a tour of one of the coolest tiny houses we’ve ever seen. Created by Repère Boréal, the Uhu is a 200-sq.ft. steel home that floats 40 feet in the air. After ascending a spiral staircase, occupants cross a bridge in the trees to enter the 1-bedroom home. Inside, it has a kitchen, bathroom, and a desk.

Burls Art has made a name for himself by creating guitars out of unusual materials. This time, he laminated 700 sheets of newspaper to form a wood-like block. The result is an incredibly cool instrument with a vintage look, visible paper layers along its edge and neck, and historical newspaper headlines on its front and back.

We’ve seen how Japanese Kumiko lattice is made. Now, watch Yamanaka Kumiki Works create a different kind of wood pattern called Yosegi. The process involves applying thin wood veneers to boards, cutting them into small pieces, arranging and gluing them into a pattern, and slicing them back into a veneer. Here’s another unique Yosegi pattern being made.

W&M Levsha shows how they made a cool gizmo that takes the place of a 6-sided die. The brass gadget is about the size of a pocket watch and has a lever that spins a flywheel that’s engraved with six dice faces. When the lever pops up place, a mechanism stops the wheel to reveal a random number.

The Tumbler from The Dark Knight trilogy is our favorite Batmobile. After making a version of Tim Burton’s Batmobile, Minimaus Crafts shows us how he cut up soda cans, folded them, and glued them together to form a metal model of Bruce Wayne’s awesome Bat-vehicle. You can download a free template to build your own if you’re up for the challenge.

Blender Studio shows off more of what’s possible with their CG software with a slapstick animated short film. Combining 2D and 3D techniques, Rik Schutte’s Wing It! introduces us to a brilliant inventor (who happens to be a cat) and the dopey dog who might ruin his hard work. As a Blender Open Movie, you can download the production assets used to create the film.

Since The Home Depot sells lumber, you’d think it would be relatively easy to piece together a guitar from stuff they sell. But, as BeBeau Builds shows us, the wood could be better, and you can’t find things like strings and tuning pegs there. Still, he and his buddy gave it the old college try and built a fully functional acoustic guitar with nails for frets.

Artist Felix Colgrave is known for his weird and trippy animations, populated with strange-looking creatures. The Lost Suburbs drops us into a maze of streets where a highly energetic character keeps popping up and proceeds to take us on a wild ride. It’s not really an hour long, but you can let it play as long as you’d like.

This innovative small house created by Boxabl unpacks and assembles in as little as an hour. In addition to the tiny home shown in this video, the company is developing temporary cabins for festivals, townhouses, and even a modular two-story house with a roof deck. The 361 square foot Boxable Casita can be reserved for pre-order now.

From the “fun things to do with a giant saw blade” file comes this video by Knives Project. The expert metalsmith starts by cutting a rough outline of a full-tang cleaver from an old industrial circular saw blade. After cleaning off the rust, he drills holes for a wooden handle, heats and hammers its edge, then hones the blade to a razor-sharp edge.

Christopher Nolan loves to play with time in his films. Movies like Memento, Inception, Dunkirk, and Tenet each take advantage of the nature of time to tell stories and make audiences use their brains. Nerdstalgic’s film essay delves into Nolan’s effective manipulation of time throughout his filmography.