Awesome Art & Design

Created in a visual style that reminds us of LittleBigPlanet, this animated short tells the story of a little king who tries the control the almighty Sun. Co-directed by Anton Brand, Guillaume Klein, Charlotte Quillet and Raphaël Théolade.

Mercedes-Benz AMG made a remote-controlled 1:1 scale model of its Vision Gran Turismo, a virtual car that will be featured in Gran Turismo 6. More images here. In-game footage here. Skip to 3:38s in the video to see the model in action.

As we already know, an abandoned building, graffiti artist Sofles and videographer Selina Miles make for an awesome time-lapse video. Also featuring artists Fintan Magee, Treas and Quench. The songs are by DJ Butcher.

Gilles Azzaro used a desktop 3D printer to make this voice print of a portion of President Obama’s 2013 inauguration speech about a new industrial revolution. Regardless of the audio, the sculpture looking like a cool alien landscape.

These awesomely designed Breaking Bad playing cards are the start of Jeff Nichol’s project to create a full deck. He’s still got a ways to go but if the rest are as cool and appropriately illustrated as these we can’t wait to see the final result.

British Airways is getting creative with their ‘Look Up’ campaign to promote the airline. They have installed digital billboards that show footage of cute kids who recognize, point out and announce their arriving flights.

Inventables is an amazing shop for anyone who likes to create. They stock all the materials and equipment needed for digital manufacturing: 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC mills, and supplies to make just about anything you can dream of.

Artist Zheng Chunhui has spent four years carving away at a single tree trunk to create this intricate 40-foot-long sculpture, with 500 hand-carved figurines. The scene replicates a famous Chinese painting created 1,000+ years ago.

The design lover/office supply junkie in your life will love these forged metal book binder style scissors. Rustic and refined, they’ll look gorgeous on a desk or the workbench. You can throw those cheap plastic handled ones out now.

(NSFW: Language) Poet and professor Mark Grist reveals his taste in women, explaining it with such clarity and sincerity that posers would be daft to cite this performance in their favor. Presented by Roundhouse London.

The full version of Anders Ramsell’s Blade Runner: The Aquarelle Edition, a hazy re-cut of the cyberpunk classic made using 12,597 hand painted frames. Made for and by someone who’s seen the film multiple times.

Korea’s Hobby:Design posted a guide about making “light bulbs” that don’t need electricity to work. Make a mold from an actual light bulb, then use it to make replica bulbs out of a mixture of silicone and luminous pigment.

Bring street art into your home or office without having to inhale nasty spray paint vapors. SUUMO makes graffiti murals ranging from 2×3 to 10×7. Hi-resolution printed on matte fabric with a reusable, repositionable adhesive backing.

If this groovy gnome doesn’t help you tend your garden, it should at least raise the morale of its fellow spirits. Designed by The Novogratz, each gnome has thousands of tiny mirrors on it, each applied by hand.

Have some CDs lying around? Don’t just use them as coasters! Revamping a classic form of animation, frames were printed onto 189 discs to produce a very cool and appropriate effect for the video of Life is Music by Japanese band SOUR.

Artist Andy Scott has spent seven years building this pair of steel horse heads, called The Kelpies, along the Forth & Clyde canal in Falkirk, Scotland. They measure 98+ feet-tall, but smaller versions of his horses can be found around the globe.

The folks behind the shape-replicating surface show off the full appearance of the device. The video also provides more possible applications of inFORM (beyond looking awesome). Find out more from MIT’s Tangible Media Group.

(Gore) The short comic book Batman: The Deal is an impressive piece of philosophical fan fiction created by Gerardo Preciado and Daniel Bayliss. Once you’ve read it, check out the source of the lines they quoted at the end.

It takes a while to load, but it’s worth it. This 360-degree interactive version of David Bowie’s Sound and Vision was created by artist Chris Milk and performed by Beck. You’ll need headphones and a webcam for the full experience.

Watchismo have designed the first in their own watch line – XERIC. This mechanical marvel features a visible movement which rotates and functions as the hour hand on the watch. It’s kinetically powered, and never needs batteries.

Amsterdam/Beijing-based NEXT architects won the competition for the bridge for the revitalized Meixi Lake district in Changsha, China. The 150-meter-long bridge has a Möbius-inspired design, with multiple undulating paths for pedestrians.

This intriguing device uses small rods to imitate the size, shape and motion of objects placed under its sensor, all in real time. It was built by Professor Hiroshi Ishii and his students at the Tangible Media Group of the MIT Media Lab.

While you could go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art or MoMA, if you’re looking for a NYC museum you can get through in minutes, not hours, check out Museum, a tiny Chinatown exhibit space featuring everyday curiosities.