Awesome Art & Design

The Commodore Amiga was one of the most graphically-capable PCs of the 1980s. Stuart Brown of Ahoy dives deep into one of the greatest pieces of digital art from the era – a gloriously colorful cheeseburger designed by Commodore’s Art Director Jack Haeger. Sadly, the original file wasn’t saved, so Ahoy reproduced it from scratch.

Photographer Christopher Dormoy’s short film offers a fascinating look at how ice melts as it gradually warms up, both symbolizing the start of spring and as a commentary on climate change. He shot the macro time-lapse footage using a Nikon Z6 camera, a Laowa 24mm probe lens, and a Nikkor 105mm macro lens.

Rumpl teamed up with textile artist Maggie Thompson to create this eye-catching Original Puffy Blanket. The interleaved blocks of color were inspired by the artist’s Ojibwe heritage. Like other Rumpl’s, the blanket repels water, has corner loops for staking, and a clip so you can wear it as a cape. Also available as a beach towel.

After artist Kayakasaurus saw a photo of a colorful slug caterpillar, he wanted to make a larger-than-life version. He started by sculpting a digital model of the blue and yellow creature’s body, then output it on a Elegoo Jupiter resin 3D printer. His application of transparent paint and fuzzy flocking really bring it to life.

The shot of Homer Simpson backing into a bush is a classic meme. It’s appeared on t-shirts, mugs, prints, and even sneakers. Now it’s a handmade rug. In this video from RugTrade, you’ll see how the textile artist used a rug tufting machine to replicate the iconic moment with yarn. Shearing off the excess yarn looks mighty satisfying.

Aluminum cans are highly recyclable, with their metal finding its way into everything from cars to appliances to more cans. But after watching this short video, we realize they can also be recycled into costumes. These two were spotted wearing outfits fabricated from recycled cans. Not only do they look cool, they sound fantastic too.

Ivresse Films shot this awesome promo spot for Decathlon ski and snowboard brand Wedze. Filmed in the wee hours at Saint Gervais Mont Blanc, they captured video of three skiers heading down the slopes with LED-wrapped skis and poles. Check out the behind-the-scenes video for a look at the post-production work.

Uncommon Goods sells this fun and fanciful chess set for opposing fans of felines and canines. The set comes with a folding game board that doubles as a storage box and a full set of handpainted cats and dogs wearing playful hats to represent their roles in the game.

(Flashing images) After making his first small purchase, a man finds himself pulled into a cycle of spending that quickly gets out of control. Animator Aaron Hughes’ award-winning short film is a witty and effective commentary on consumerism, appropriately drawn on market data pages from financial newspapers.

Photographer Jens Heidler of Another Perspective points his macro lens at the business end of a snail to see how it eats. For today’s lunch, the little dude is downing a tart and tangy bit of strawberry. We love the little nibbling sounds.

This LEGO Ideas creation consists of four mini artworks inspired by 1980s science fiction. Fan designer Jan Woźnica’s scenes feature colorful gradients contrasted with dark skies, rocket ships, stars, and moons. The four panels can be displayed individually or joined together and stand or hang on the wall. Available 5.8.23.

Add a splash of color to your workspace with this 5″ high acrylic riser from Mink and Maple. It’s great for getting your laptop up off of the surface and has space for storing accessories or a keyboard. It comes in pink, green, blue, orange, yellow, and clear, in 10″ W x 8″ D and 16″ W x 10″ D sizes. It has a 5 lb. weight limit though.

Artist Bond Truluv is known for creating vibrant street art with impressive dimensionality. He has lots of tricks up his paint-covered sleeves, but one of his more ingenious hacks is this multiple nozzle rig, which can spray five lines of paint at the same time. He made an alternate version for calligraphy.

Quantum Tech HD introduces us to the work of Vang Hà, a hobbyist who creates functional scale models of trucks and construction equipment from PVC pipes that he heats and bends into flat sheets. This video condenses his months-long quest to build a remote-controlled CAT 390F excavator down to about 20 minutes.

There’s much more to acting in a full-body puppet than just wearing a costume. During a visit to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Adam Savage met with creative supervisor Peter Brooke and performer Morgana Ignis for a look at what’s involved in bringing one of these jumbo-sized characters to life.

Presenting the tape dispenser to end all tape dispensers. MAN Manufacturing uses a CNC mill to create this hefty 1-pound desk accessory from a solid block of aluminum. Its roller locks in place using a satisfying magnetic locking mechanism. A true centerpiece for any desk.

There’s an entire photographic community inspired by the flat, symmetrical, color-coordinated world of Wes Anderson. Imitative Photography offers some great pointers on emulating the look in your original images. Beyond some basic techniques, the best and most important part is finding the right locations.

The latest version of Sony’s Spatial Reality Display has a 4K screen that can show realistic 3-dimensional content without glasses or a VR headset. Its 27″ screen is much larger than the first model and has an upgraded vision sensor and improved depth of field and resolution. Now we need a version for gaming.

Random Hands pulled off one of the most dramatic transformations of an object that we’ve seen. They started off with a rusty old industrial drill bit, heated it up in a forge, and reworked it into a pointy Japanese kunai. It took a whole lot of work to get it into the right shape, then they polished and finished it with a 24K gold plating.

Watch as a talented craftsperson turns a metal disc into a beautiful work of art by applying heat from a torch. The control it must take to create such a precise pattern is extraordinary. We’re not sure who created this piece, but it looks a lot like the work of Skip and Racheal​ Mathews, who use the technique on copper.

Masks have been part of Japanese culture for more than a thousand years. Process X takes us inside, Womokage, a small company that makes these detailed masks the traditional way. Skilled artisans use chisels to carve facial features from a solid block of wood, then hand-apply a coating and paint pigments to bring out details.

This fictionalized biopic follows the later years in the life of artist Salvador Dalí (Ben Kingsley). The story is told from the perspective of a young assistant hired to help Dalí prepare for an upcoming exhibition – while Dalí’s marriage to his wife, Gala crumbles. From director Mary Harron (American Psycho).

Maker Peter Brown once made a handle for an ice cream scoop out of moldable thermoplastic, but it didn’t last. So he decided to retrofit his brass scoop with something more appropriate. He took a big batch of colorful sprinkles, submerged them in resin, then turned the block on a lathe to form the handle.