Awesome Art & Design

It took CG Geek almost a month of work, but he managed to create a digital 3D environment inspired by the style of artist Bob Ross. Instead of paint, he photo-scanned real-world nature imagery to create textures for his happy little trees. We love how he makes it sound so easy.

Ceramics artist Patricia Darden creates beautiful and substantial hand-thrown functional pottery in her Norfolk, Virginia studio. We really love this 11″ bowl with its two-toned speckled glaze and an undulating blue wave pattern running through its middle.

Inspired by this image, LEGO builders Grant Davis, Eli Willsea, and Micah Biedeman collaborated on this impressive diorama, which features an pyramid of buildings at its back, flanked by structures on either side. When viewed from the proper angle, a minifig can be seen sitting on a girder, drinking in the majesty of his world.

Designer agepbiz has been creating a series of fun 3D-printable models which can be stored inside of a matching toy egg. Each one is designed to be printed in place, without the need for support structures. You can download the models to print your own over on Cults.

After building a high-end gaming PC into a desk, Matt of DIY Perks realized the illusion is completely ruined when placing a monitor on top of it. So he made a hidden ultrawide display that stows inside of a matching wood veneer and aluminum bookshelf. Now he just needs an invisible keyboard and mouse.

You could hang a hunter’s trophy on your wall, or perhaps choose something a little more friendly to animals with this colorful, abstract image of a powerful stag. Created by artist Koby Feldmos, this original 67″x 34″ painting has an almost sculptural feel to it thanks to its thick layers of oil paint.

(PG-13: Gore) From greenscreen to miniatures to CGI, there are lots of different ways to produce visual effects. Filmmaker and essayist David F. Sandberg reminds us how simple edits can be one of the most effective ways to create illusions on screen and to integrate disparate elements to create a cohesive effect.

Do the birds in your neighborhood have an appreciation for contemporary art and architecture? Then set them up with one of sculptor Joe Papendick’s modern metal bird feeders. Each one is hand-welded from steel and coated with rust-proof enamel in a color of your choice. A stainless steel screen holds the bird seed in place.

Designer Ian Stell created the Waldhexen, an innovative coffee table that can change shapes by pushing or pulling on its six sides. It it’s made from an arrangement of hinged maple slats that look like long popsicle sticks. We found one of the rare pieces for sale from NYC’s Patrick Parrish. Original video by Evan Orensten.

Filmmaker Rus Khasanov is known for his use of macrophotography of liquids to create colorful abstract art. In this clip, he plays with light, dichroic filters, crystals, and bubbles to produce a hypnotic series of moving images.

Love Hultén creates some truly wonderful retro-inspired arcade machines, computers, and other electronics. His latest build is a business card holder – but it’s anything but ordinary, with a tiny, functional arcade machine built into it. We need this right now.

This fan-built LEGO Godzilla is truly impressive. It took Frenchy Bricks Junky about 4 months to put together this 4,000-piece monster, with its awesome scaly texture. You can purchase the building plans from Rebrickable for about $20 – bricks not included, naturally.

Inspired by an early 20th-century project in which artists predicted the future, Playing Arts invited dozens of artists to do the same for the year 2120. The unique and colorful images come printed on premium playing cards and work in concert with an augmented reality app to bring some of the designs to life. View all card designs here.

Add some pizzazz to your dining table with this modern flatware. This stainless steel cutlery features a playful form that looks like it was sketched out of metal, while a built-in notch lets you lean them on the edge of a bowl or drying rack. Available in black, gold, silver, rose gold, or rainbow finishes. Sold in individual place settings.

We love how the light shows through this unique musical instrument that Burls Art made by carefully cutting, routing and sanding blocks of pink Himalayan rock salt to form its body. It also gives new meaning to the phrase “guitar licks.”

Machine learning technology continues to get more and more impressive – especially when it comes to working with images. A group of researchers from China are showing off DeepFaceDrawing, an amazing piece of software which can synthesize photorealistic human faces using nothing more than a rough pencil sketch.

Using an ordinary computer keyboard as a starting point, maker SKM managed to create a fully-functional keyboard that’s made out of cardboard and popsicle sticks. We’re not sure how long it will last, but it’s definitely more functional than his cardboard mechanical typewriter.

These unique tiki mugs feature imagery of the grim reaper as a reminder to enjoy the splendor and riches of life before we meet our maker. Designed by Becky Cloonan and sculpted by Tufan Sezer and Mike Bonanno for Mondo. Choose from Mortuus, Exsanguine, or tan monochrome variants.

This updated version of Jackson Robinson’s currency-inspired Federal 52 playing cards includes a mix of the artist’s favorite court card designs and artwork from previous special edition decks. We absolutely love the engraved look of the imagery, which includes Jokers that form a scene of Washington crossing the Delaware.

Artist Basil Wolverton was known for his amazingly offbeat illustrations that blended science fiction, fantasy, and humor. The books Creeping Death from Neptune and Brain Bats of Venus chronicle his work from 1909 to 1952, during which time his images were published by everyone from Marvel to MAD Magazine.

While stuck home during the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to try and vary your days and mix things. up. In Jan Riesenbeck and Dennis Stein-Schomburg’s strange short film, a man explores the importance of breaking out of routines, while his floating head transforms into some of the many thoughts he expresses.

Swiss artist Simon Berger creates portraits by shattering glass. His technique involves gently hammering away at a sheet of laminated safety glass, which holds together the pieces as his finished image comes into view. Watch him create another of his smashing portraits here.

Just because something is a commercial doesn’t mean it can’t be a work of art. This clip from director Henry Scholfield and Mathematic Studio for Indonesia ride hailing and tech company Gojek is proof positive of that. For all 60-seconds the clip is on screen, it will fill your eyes with magical, VFX-powered sensory overload.