Awesome Art & Design

From the “don’t try this at home” file, Brad Russell shows off what happens when a 2000-volt transformer from a microwave oven is applied to wood painted with sodium bicarbonate. The result is beautiful, tree-like patterns known as Lichtenberg figures.

These playful decks from Elephant Playing Cards are covered with images of tiny people (aka “pipmen”) who live among the cards, like a crew building the Ace of Spades, and an old West gunfight on the 2 of Clubs. Every time you play, you’ll discover some new detail. Available in white-on-black or black-on-white.

Want a cool replica of the moon for your desk? Check out this clip from How to, who shows us how you can use a plastic sphere, candle wax, sandpaper, and paint to cast and sculpt a nifty, textured lunar model. We suppose if you stuck a wick in it, you could make a moon candle.

The Spring 2020 quarterly edition of Field Notes’ pocket-sized memo book has a die-cut circle on its front, along with a pocket so you can personalize it with your own image. Sold in sets of three – two in Charcoal Grey, and one in bright Terra Green. Also available as part of Field Notes year-long subscription plan.

Paris filmmaker Benjamin Bardou’s experimental short is just one of a series of dreamlike visuals which explore life in a fictitious city known as Megalopolis. In this episode, an unknown intelligence examines the passengers aboard a subway car. You can view more from the series on the artist’s website or Vimeo page.

Detroit lawyer and artist Colin Darke not only can draw well, but has the rare ability to do it with both his left and right hands. But he doesn’t just use them one at a time, he draws with both hands at the same time. Check out his Instagram for more time-lapse videos of his work.

As we learned previously, Dalibor Farný is a true master of the craft of making nixie tubes. In this clip, he shows off the process of making a large, custom tube, that instead of displaying digits, glows with the logo of his client, Keysight Technologies. We want one with The Awesomer logo now!

Microworld makes these intricate metal building kits of mech-animal hybrids. The collection includes a polar bear, crocodile, lion, flying tiger, scorpion, and a police dog. Each one is made from iron and brass, with fade-resistant color coatings. Expect a challenge for all but the most experienced builders.

We use a LoupeDeck+ in our daily workflow. Their Creative Tool is more compact, has 12 virtual touchscreen buttons, a dial control with a touchscreen display, and six knobs with displays next to them. It currently works with Ableton Live (v10), Lightroom Classic, Illustrator, Photoshop, Camera Raw, Premiere Pro, and FCPX (MacOS).

Are you ready to solve that Rubik’s cube that has been sitting on your bookshelf for years? Stellavie’s giclée print not only would look great on your wall, but provides a variety of methods for working your way through the cube’s 43 quintillion possible configurations. Measures appx. 20″ x 27.5″. Signed, open edition.

Red Bull Skateboarding presents a short clip which combines athleticism with visual trickery to play with our perceptions. All of the illusions we created in camera by using custom-built set pieces, and no post-production effects. Stick around for a behind-the-scenes explanation with director Gaston Francisco.

Korean artist Hoo’s Mini World is an expert at creating sculptures using a 3D drawing pen, along with sanding and carving. In this in-depth video, watch as they build an insanely detailed motorcycle model, which took about three months to complete. More images on Instagram.

For Christmas 2019, Xfinity released a heartwarming commercial that featured the return of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It turns out that VFX artists had to build a whole new puppet, based on the original from 37 years earlier. Legacy Effects takes us behind the work that went into bringing the beloved character back to life.

Engineer BrunS takes a momentary break from making epic metal rocketships to build something different – a miniature version of Bender Bending Rodgriguez from Futurama. But it’s clear BrunS’ wife is tired of him spending his days in the machine shop, and keeps interrupting his project. Also, you can buy Bender here.

Ever feel like just chucking it all and moving to a tiny house? Hunting for George takes us on a tour of a wonderful off-grid dream house located on Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia. Its got a full kitchen, a lofted bedroom, a chill dining space with idyllic views, and a hidden outdoor tub. Designed by Maguire + Devine Architects.

Woodworker Andy Phillip shows off a cool art piece he created using a number of sharpened colored pencils arranged inside block of resin he polished into a sphere. It’s a wonderfully satisfying video, and we’re particularly impressed that he didn’t accidentally shave down any of the pencil tips on his lathe.

Norway-based creative studio Rebel Unit shows off an incredible work of motion design, as they envision the birth and development of an artificially-intelligent character. The excerpt comes from filmmaker Tonje Hessen-Schei’s documentary iHuman. (Thanks Bjørn!)

Andrew B. Myers‘ experimental short film uses a combination of animation techniques to fill the frame with dozens of tiny objects constantly in motion. There’s so much going on that you’ll need to go back and watch it multiple times to catch all of the neat little details.

Visual artist Kevin McGloughlin used countless images from Google Earth along with audio samples from NASA to provide “a visual representation of our connection to earth and it’s vulnerable glory.” It’s amazing how these static satellite images can tell such a story.

The Art Assignment argues that whether it be something as primitive as bones or as advanced as a neural network, there’s always a human touch at the root of all machines used to make art. We like to think of it from the other end: art is unfinished until a human mind ponders it.

Filmmakers Tim Sessler and Wanbli Omani created this powerful short film that starkly contrasts the purity of Native American life with the environmental burdens of urbanization. The title pays respect to the Lakota people’s sacred way of life that incorporates peace, harmony, and respect between humans and all life.

Croation keyboard outfit Crolander makes these round-edged, engraved keycaps from real oak, walnut, or cherry wood. They’re compatible with Cherry MX switches, and can be purchased either standalone, or attached to one of their beautiful handmade wooden keyboards.

For his latest Scrapwood Challenge, Pask Makes decided to see if he could build an electric fan from wood. But this isn’t just any fan, it’s got a ring-style design like Dyson’s innovative bladeless “Air Multiplier” fans. It could use a more powerful fan blade inside, but it looks really awesome.