Awesome Art & Design

Despite advancements in 3D visualization tech, architects sometimes still need to show physical models of buildings. MonsterKook is an expert at making this type of miniature, and his YouTube channel is filled with these tiny houses, including this impressive creation featuring structural walls he made by filling foamboard forms with cement.

Robotime’s ROKR division is showing off a flat-pack wood model that lets you build a replica of a Thompson M1928 submachine gun. The finished gun not only looks like the real deal, but it rapidly fires lightweight projectiles using a rubber band and spring firing mechanism. It’s even got a removable magazine.

We bet you’ve never seen a chair like this. This amazing work of functional art features a back and seat made from 210 stainless steel spheres. Both the spheres and tubular steel frame have a shiny chrome finish to reflect the surrounding environment. Designed and fabricated to order by Shepherd Studio.

When pastry artist Amaury Guichon was approached by Bailey’s to build a chocolate bar, he knew right away that they were looking for something more than a Hershey’s with almonds. What Amaury built is extraordinary – a life-size cocktail bar with a realistic woodgrain base, a marble top, three barstools, and a full set of barware.

Some things defy description, like these awesome slippers based on an indescribable art installation of the surreal “Glitzy Snurtle” street sweeper at Meow Wolf’s indescribably cool Convergence Station in Denver. Let it suffice to say that Snurtle Slippers keep your feet cozy and dust your floors as you shuffle around your domestic multiverse.

We don’t use pencils nearly as much as we used to, but we still enjoy sketching and drawing with a real-world writing instrument and not just on our iPad screen. This YouTube playlist of short videos from Rescue & Restore shows off a few very different antique pencil sharpener designs that date from the 1880s to the 1930s. Which is your favorite?

The latest creation from the talented artists of AltDynamic puts a new spin on the machinist’s practice object known as a Swiss cube. Their version twists the cube in the middle and will have you wondering how they engineered such a thing. The palm-sized cube is CNC machined from solid aluminum in the USA, and comes in raw metal or anodized colors.

Thanks to modern technology, low-voltage, electronically-controlled lighting can be integrated into all kinds of things. Immerge Interactive shows off a project they did where they embedded colorful LED illumination into a Fender Telecaster guitar. It works with their software to display patterns in sync with the music.

Lomography’s lo-fi analog camera captures 35mm panoramas with a creamy, dreamy aesthetic. Its unique lens can be injected with water-based liquids to create a variety of in-camera effects. It includes four interchangeable aperture plates and exposes panoramic images all the way onto the film’s sprockets.

Video game consoles come from the factory in opaque plastic cases. BitHead1000 gives consoles ultimate upgrade by creating custom see-through enclosures. In addition to the PS1 here, he’s built a see-through PS2, a PS4, NES, and a Sega Genesis. The videos call them glass, but we’re pretty sure they’re acrylic.

Mandalorian armor is made from a rare metal known as Beskar. Since we can’t get Beskar here on Earth, artist Bobby White created this tiny version of Mando’s helmet out of other precious metals and adorned it with diamonds and black rhodium. He used 3D modeling software to produce castings, then refined the pieces by hand.

This illuminated wall art helps create a calm and relaxing environment. It features a multi-layered geometric design laser-cut from thin sheets of wood fiberboard. The colorful LED edge lighting really makes the patterns pop and can be set to change colors. Available in 23.2″ H x 19.3″ W and 26.4″ H x 23.2″ W sizes.

A typical cabinet might be made from 15 or 20 pieces of wood. Blacktail Studio built this incredible-looking cabinet from about 20 times that many pieces. He started with 300 walnut wood blocks, which he stacked, glued, clamped, and shaped into a unique work of functional art. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out the best way to carve and smooth it.

Simon from ClayClaim has made some incredible polymer clay sculptures based on video games. This time, he upgraded from a static diorama to a motion scene. He used clay and paper to craft a backdrop based on Sonic the Hedgehog’s Green Hill Zone, then attached a LEGO Technic motor and added a wheeled Sonic to run through the level.

For years, Tokyo’s Akihabara district was home to one of the most amazing little shops. But after 43 years in business, Koichi Shimayama shuttered his tiny electronics shop under the tracks. After being gifted the remnants of the shop, Norm Nakamura from Toyko Lens (with the help of his supporters) paid a crew to dismantle and rebuild it inside his studio.

3D printing expert Lee David came across this cool design for a mechanical drink coaster. KrakDrag’s Mug Trap is based on the design of an animal trap, except instead of trapping bears, it traps beverages. When you place your cup, can, or mug on its center, its jaws clamp down on your drink. You can download the STL files to print your own on Cults 3D.

Hypno Motion makes stop-motion animation. In this short clip, they took some brick-built LEGO chicken legs, battered them up in 1×1 bricks,  and fried them in a pot. Of course, you can’t have fried chicken without a side dish, so they also cooked up some french fries. Their Hidden Patterns Inside video series is a fascinating watch, too.

Game show fans will love this mini version of the Showcase Showdown wheel from The Price Is Right. A&M 3D Prints and More lovingly crafts this accurate replica of the iconic set piece. The set includes a spinning wheel, base, arrow, and four walls, while the “lite” version is just the wheel with a small base. Serious TPIR fans will want all the games.

Because Adam at North of the Border can’t get enough Mario, he decided to work up sculptures of some of the franchise’s many monsters. Though his “realistic” versions of Boo, Blooper, Piranha Plant, and a group of Goombas are the stuff of nightmares. Adding pointy teeth to stuff is always guaranteed to up the creepy factor.

This jewelry artist shows how they made an articulated snake bracelet using metal from coins. They started by slicing the golden coins into a zig-zag pattern and then flattened them into a wire. After that, they bent the wires into the bracelet’s woven links, melted down and carved other scrap jewelry to form the head and tail of the snake.

Weapons are usually built from durable materials like metal or plastic, but The S built this one primarily from cardboard. The oversize toy blaster fires plastic balls and uses a corkscrew to feed them into its motorized chamber for launching. Bonus points for incorporating those flip-flops into the firing mechanism.

There are chefs with knife skills, then there’s Ryota Togishi. In this clip, the kitchen blademaster shows off his skills by cutting impossibly thin slices of bread, tomato, cucumber, and bacon. An extra-sharp Japanese knife certainly helps, but it also takes incredible dexterity to cut with such precision.

Field Notes teamed up with renowned Minneapolis printer Studio on Fire to create these hot-foil stamped memo books.  They feature fencing-inspired artwork by Aaron Draplin stamped in silver foil on Indigo blue cover stock. The set of three notebooks comes packed in a silver paper tuck box with blue foil. Field Notes subscribers get a bonus gold and red edition.