Awesome Art & Design

Petrol Vibes makes metal wall art based on the silhouettes of sports cars and motorcycles. In addition to classics like the Ferrari 250 GTO and C2 Corvette, they can fabricate custom designs. Each is made from laser-cut 2mm steel and comes in sizes from 31″ to 55″ wide.

After making a BB-8/Hulkbuster mashup, Adam of North of the Border imagines what it might be like if two of our favorite green characters combined forces. The figure features the muscular body of the Hulk with Yoda’s head, hands, and feet. Smash or do not smash. There is no try.

From dice towers to dice spinners to dice cups, you can roll dice in many different ways. Pixelcadet’s dice-tossing blunderbuss might be the best dice roller yet. This large-bored, rubber band-powered gun uses dice as ammunition instead of bullets. Here’s how its cartridge works. You can purchase the .STL files to print your own on Etsy.

It’s amazing what you can do with a precise laser cutter. This video from Tranyond shows how a powerful fiber laser can cut such fine lines that it can turn a flat sheet of aluminum into a series of nested spheres. The trick is that each cut leaves a tiny bit of metal on its edges to keep them connected when it’s opened up.

Beatles fans will adore these colorful playing cards from Theory11. The box set of four decks is illustrated with vibrant, psychedelic designs inspired by the Fab Four. The boxes and Kings are based on John, Paul, George, and Ringo’s look from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, while the other face cards feature not-so-subtle callbacks to classic Beatles songs.

This fancy artisan keycap set includes 16 metal keys made using the element indicated on their face. The materials include zinc, nickel, chromium, aluminum, copper, iron, brass, black aluminum, titanium, tin, bismuth, magnesium, gold, silver, platinum, and rhodium – the first dozen use solid metals, while the more expensive ones are electroplated.

Musician Nicolas Bras is known for inventing some truly unique musical instruments from off-the-shelf parts. In this video, he shows us how to build a simple string instrument from metal cans, wood, an electric guitar string, and a little water. You can grab blueprints to make your own aquatic harp on Patreon or download digital sound samples from Soundpaint.

Modelmaking has always fascinated us. Cath from The Square to Spare shows us the steps to make a miniature fridge that looks just like those fancy French door models. Its cabinet can be 3D printed or cut from balsa wood, with acrylic or resin shelves, wrapped in stainless steel contact paper, and lit with LED fairy lights.

Electronic instrument maker Elias Jarzombek created this unique synthesizer that looks like an abacus. The otherworldly sounds it makes are controlled by sliding and spinning its triangular “beads” on metal bars, along with turning its side dials. Read more about the Abacusynth on Elias’ website.

Before the 2000s, models, and miniatures were commonplace in moviemaking. But with the advent of CGI, it’s become something of a lost art. Vox sat down with expert prop and modelmaker Simon Weisse to learn about the renaissance brewing with filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, John Favreau, and master of miniatures Wes Anderson.

If you’ve been to a science museum, you’ve probably seen those funnel-shaped tables where you can drop in a marble, and it spirals towards its center. Olivier Gomis shows us how he built three gravity well tables by cutting up pieces of walnut and maple veneer, gluing them into layers, turning them on a lathe, then sanding them to a smooth finish.

This video from domino artists FlippyCat, Klein24, and B 16 offers a fun and collaborative approach to building (and knocking things down.) Each of its screens is a separate domino setup, but they appear to be linked together into a much larger construction through editing.

Illustrator Chet Phillips created this series of 11″x 14″ signed prints inspired by vintage Modern Mechanix magazine covers. Each of his imaginative Modern Machines and Inventions covers features a reimagined version of an iconic vehicle or spaceship from pop culture. We can’t decide if we like the Back to the Future or Firefly design the best.

ChenYi makes these stitched-edge cloth desk mats with colorful illustrations of our solar system. Measuring 35.4″ w x 15.7″ d, they’re big enough for a full-size keyboard, a mouse, and other desk accessories. Choose from six variants, including Celestia, Galaxy, Nebula, Orbit, Revolution, and a white Solar System.

Anyone who has worked with 3D graphics software knows about composing scenes with virtual cameras. Sirrandalot used Blender’s Cycles path-tracing engine to model a 3D camera body, simulate the optical properties of a film camera, then render scenes through its virtual lens. Check out the final not-photos on Imgur. (Thanks, Orion!)

Spiral staircases offer a stylish way to add access to another level without taking up too much space, though they’re made in a very different way than traditional stairs. How It’s Made shows us the modern way of making these staircases using metal platforms and wood decks. The railings look like the trickiest part.