Awesome Art & Design

John Heisz wanted a place to store some of the tools and other items that didn’t have a home in his shop. So he created a wall-mounted cabinet that provides cubbies, drawers, and a work surface on top. He built it from scrap plywood and wood from previous projects. That gizmo in the upper left is a twin-screw vise John also made.

Taking a hike through the great outdoors can be a relaxing and serene experience. But if you’re squeamish about bugs and other wildlife, you’re better off staying indoors. Thanks to the Molski Brothers’ A Trail Tale, you can experience a hike along the Appalachian Trail without leaving the comfort of your web browser. (Thanks Rob!)

Los Angeles-based home decor collective Cölle makes some truly unique candles. Our current favorites are these handmade candles inspired by the Mercedes-AMG G63 “G-Wagon” and the Land Rover 110, both boxy and classic SUVs. Unfortunately, the limited-edition handpainted versions already sold out.

The latest LaserPecker is a tabletop laser engraver that can place designs on all kinds of materials, including wood, acrylic, stone, metal, ceramics, dark glass, and even food. It has both a diode laser and a pulsed fiber laser for working with different materials. With its slide module, it can engrave items up to 6.29″ x 11.81″

With the right lens curvature, it’s possible to project an image that’s not visible until light shines through it. Science educator Steve Mould explains the optical and mathematical properties of these uniquely engineered lenses. A similar effect can be created with mirrors and reflected light. Rayform specializes in the technique.

The creators of PIXIO magnetic building blocks have invented another fun toy for building 3D art. VOXART uses lightweight panels which click together to create life-size voxel art. They fold flat, so you can store thousands without taking up much space. Sign up for a pre-launch discount, or get notified on Kickstarter.

Located in Playas de Rosarito Centro, Mexico, the Straw Art Gallery specializes in portraits created by placing thousands of tiny pieces of naturally dyed broom grass into beeswax. We won’t spoil the subject of this particular work, so you’ll have to hit play to see the finished product.

New Zealand’s Wētā Workshop takes us behind the scenes to look at the incredible costume work that went into Avatar: The Way of Water. The outfits took an average of 200 hours each to create, and artists applied over a million beads. Each real-world costume was then digitized for use on CGI character models.

Blake McFarland is no stranger to making sculptures of animals. He was recently commissioned to build his largest work yet, a life-size bison for the Henry Vilas Zoo. He started by welding the beast’s horns from stainless steel, then used a foam taxidermy form, spray foam, and fiberglass as the structure for its bike tire “fur.”

Derealisation is a psychological condition that can cause individuals to feel disconnected and distant and may result in a distorted perception of the world around them. This trippy short film by Panoply attempts to capture that sense through a surreal sequence of images that play out in photorealistic environments.

Kinetic sculpture maker JBV Creative shows off one of his coolest builds yet, a machine that creates a sine wave motion as ball bearings roll along its horseshoe-shaped ribs. He sells an STL template for 3D printing your own, along with a detailed assembly video. He’s also made a version that’s twice as long.

Looking for a pen holder to go with your cobra phone stand? The artisans at Coppertist.wu also make a pen holder that looks like a rattlesnake. The brass snake is incredibly detailed tactile scales along its entire body, inlaid black zircon eyes, and a .925 sterling silver tail tip. Its mouth doubles as an incense holder.

After seeing Top Gun: Maverick, model maker Boylei Hobby Time wanted to make a diorama inspired by one of the movie’s big action sequences. While he found a 1:144-scale model of the soviet gunship helicopter, he couldn’t find one of an F-18 fighter jet a the same time, so he decided to swap in an X-Wing from Star Wars.

We’ve seen a handful of keycaps made from wood or metal, but most of them are made from plastic. Cerakey is making the first production ceramic keycaps. They’re designed for a smooth feel, pleasant sound, and durability, thanks to their alumina ceramic construction. They come in a variety of artful glazes.

Typical 3D printers can output one or two colors at a time, but this 3D printer from Mimaki can print objects from a palette of more than 10 million colors. 3D Printing Nerd got look at its capabilities during Formnext USA. It creates objects by printing layers of UV-curable CMYK resins encased in a water-soluble support material.

These days, it’s pretty easy to find a clock that tells time with words. But this clock from Twisted&Tinned is the coolest variant we’ve seen. Behind each of its 114 letters is an individual servo motor that moves the letters into focus as they light up, adding a sense of depth to the display. A DIY kit is available on Tindie.