Awesome Art & Design

Yoshihiro Cutlery’s playfully designed utility knives are inspired by different species of whales. Each one has a high carbon white steel core, and a Kurouchi black forged finish and handle. They’re great in the kitchen, serving cheese, or carving.

Model maker Roman Khramov of Minibricks shares a wonderfully soothing video in which he meticulously crafts a realistic diorama, complete with tiny tress, plants, tourists, and a model of a medieval castle as its centerpiece. He 3D-printed the main structure, but did all of the detailing and painting by hand.

While stuck home on lockdown, VFX artist Anselm von Seherr-Thoss decided to experiment and see what kind of visuals he could come up with by manipulating digital skull models, assembling them from unusual materials, and distorting them into new shapes using particle simulation tools from the TyFlow library.

Transport your keyboard and mouse to one of the creepiest locations ever captured on film – the interior of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining. Snappy Printing offers three sizes of rubber-backed fabric mats based on the hotel’s iconic carpeting. They also make a welcome mat.

With the goal of providing an inexpensive way to help people work from home, Denmark-based designers Stykka created a home office desk that you assemble from cardboard and zip ties. You can purchase it as a kit in regular or standing heights, or download a template to make your own from sheets of cardboard.

After impressing us with his sculpture of that Toyota Land Cruiser, Vietnam-based Woodworking Art is back with another great automotive woodcarving. This time, he turned a block of wood into a detailed replica of the Ferrari SF1000 Formula 1 race car. Though we can’t endorse using your bare foot as a wood vise.

A holoscope is a mirrored box you can peer into and view kaleidoscopic images which reflect off of its walls. In this clip from Vitalius Space, he shows us how to build a simple cube-shaped holoscope which produces an infinite starry sky effect inside. With enough skill and patience, it’s possible to build more complex versions.

Brandon James Greer is a master at creating pixel art. In this tutorial video, he explains some tricks and techniques for working with the most rudimentary of color palettes. 1-bit art embraces the limitations of a low-res monochrome image to focus on composition, patterns, and textures.

We’ve seen lots of nifty objects made from old skateboard decks, but what Woby Designs is showing off here is something different. By laminating together 20 wood decks, he was able to create a usable lumber with a colorful pattern running through its center. The prep work looks like the most time-consuming part.

Cloud’s Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII is one of the coolest weapons in gaming history. While a real world version would be too heavy to effectively wield, one made from cardboard is totally manageable. Watch as Crafty Transformer turns a bunch of corrugated paper into a lightweight replica of the iconic combat tool.

Burls Art has made a guitar out of colored pencils before. But this one has its 1200 pencils lying on their sides, giving the unique instrument a more linear and structured appearance. The finished instrument is up for auction on eBay with all proceeds going to Feeding America’s COVID-19 response fund.

Filmmaker and Star Wars fan Mason Drumm used stop-motion animation to recreate the pivotal lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker. The 2 minute film includes some really great tricks, including confetti water splashes, and a rippling water machine. Behind the scenes story here.

A fantastic gift for fans of architecture and design, this kit lets you make a pint-size wooden model of Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Guggenheim Museum. The model measures just 6″x 4.5″ x 3.5″, and takes about 4 hours to complete. Made from aspen and American cherry, and licensed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Designer and maker Love Hultén is best known for his retro-inspired video game and computer builds. But this one is quite different – an electromechanical drum machine that plays rhythms using a MIDI sequencer. Each of its components is modular, so it can be reconfigured to create unique audio sculptures.

These see-through jigsaw puzzles are made from clear acrylic, with each piece being indistinguishable from the next, other than its shape. Simply Laser is one of several Etsy sellers making these laser-cut puzzles in four sizes, from a simple 3×3 up to a super-challenging 20×20 version.

While we’re perplexed by Liberman’s musical selections, we are impressed with what he was able to construct on his workbench. Watch as he puts together a working model of a helicopter rotor from plywood, rulers, popsicle sticks, and off-the-shelf hardware. We love how it even can adjust the angle of its blades.

Kings Wild Project masterfully makes unique premium playing cards. Among their decks is this series, with a design inspired by VHS tapes. The card backs look like video tapes, their packs look like VHS boxes, while their fronts are a 1980s cyberpunk dream. Sadly, the affordable standard edition has already sold out.

Moscow, Russia motorcycle customizers Ziller’s Garage transformed the new BMW R 18 cruiser into an incredible work of rolling art. Designed by Mikhail Smolyanov and John Reed, the ultra-modern bike features a beautifully sculpted aluminum shell, custom spoked wheels, and light-up BMW badges. That ground clearance tho.

Artist Samer Dabra programmed Evil Mad Scientist’s AxiDraw v3 plotter to take photographic images and reinterpret them as twisty, turny, abstract line art. By overlaying CMYK inks, the images have an appearance of being in full color. More images on Instagram.

Sicoli’s wallet-sized card is great for designers, architects, artists, and engineers. The solid brass card features rulers along its edges, as well as guides for drawing circles and arcs, as well as measuring angles, all presented in a design inspired by the Golden Spiral.

LEGO artist TonyFlow76 shows off a playful scene featuring a man taking a bath. As he turns the crank, the guy scrubs his back, colorful “water” ripples and pours from the faucets. The design was inspired by this wooden automaton by Paul Spooner. If you’d love to see an official kit, show your support for the design on LEGO Ideas.

Ten Speed Press presents a fantastic collection of artwork and history from the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. The hardcover book includes over 700 pieces of art from the game’s core books, supplements, modules, concepts, and merch. A deluxe special edition includes posters and other bonuses.

Jens of macro photography channel Another Perspective shares time-lapse footage of a soap bubble he says lasted 10 hours, then explains how he did it. The trick to keeping it alive so long involves the proper mix of water, soap, and glycerine, along with a little heat to keep it moving.