THE BEST Art & Design

Board game players looking for a fun way to randomize their dice rolls should check out this very cool and unique dice tower from RUBrand. The tower features undulating layers of laser-cut, high-density wood fiberboard with cutouts that tumble dice as they cascade from the top to the coliseum below. Assembly required.

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!)

There’s a musical instrument called a steel guitar, but it’s named for its metal slide, and not the material it’s made from. But metalsmith Paul Pinto decided to actually make a guitar out of the weighty metal. Watch as he cuts, welds, forges, and grinds a steel plate into a beautiful chrome-plated instrument. Now how does it sound?

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.

This unique, illuminated wall art helps create a calm and relaxing environment. It features a multi-layered geometric design laser-cut from thin sheets of wood fiberboard. The colorful LED edge lighting really makes the patterns pop, and can be set to change colors. Available in 23.2″ H x 19.3″ W and 26.4″ H x 23.2″ W sizes.

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.

(PG-13: Language) Filming things against a green screen and then replacing that area with digital images has become the norm in visual effects shots. But with the dramatic improvements in rear-projection tech perfected on The Mandalorian, Mr. Sunday Movies wonders if that could spell the end of the long-standing chromakey technique.

Lightfarm Studios and Area 23’s intense award-winning animated short film features takes us un a truly wild ride, as a baby finds itself under attack from a universe of terrifying monsters. But if you stick around until the end, you’ll find out the real reason things seem so unsettling.

Inspired by this video, prop builder and experimenter extraordinaire Adam Savage decided to see if he could put together a poker table from scratch in less than a day. It’s a great video to watch if you want to learn some tricks for cutting and bending wood curves, along with some good shop safety tips.

Artist Amber Share created this hilarious series of travel posters she calls “Subpar Parks.” Each illustration is accompanied by an excerpt from an actual 1-star review from a jaded visitor to a US National Park. The images are available as prints, postcards, and stickers on her website. Collect them all!

Created in collboration between filmmaker Jacco Kliesch and Erlangen City, Germany’s public library, this short film offers a cinematic take on the playful “bookface” art trend, in which people line up real-life scenes with photographic images on book covers.

This weird and wonderful very short film attempts to answer the question “what kind of food would androids consume, if they needed to eat?” Apparently, the answer seems to be something very colorful and strangely textured. Directed and animated by Lukas Vojir, with music and sound by Resonate for XK Studio.

Artist and designer Daniel DeBruin created this interactive thrill ride, which gives its rider some control over their destiny by using biometric feedback to adjust the speed at which it flings them around. The 7-meter-tall ride uses sensors to measure heart rate, muscle tension, body temperature, as well as orientation and gravity.

UK leathersmith Victory Leathercraft is working on collectible pens made from oak timber from the famed ship HMS Victory. The wood was gathered during renovations of the British warship, which fought in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Available in ink or rollerball versions, and with an optional leather case.

After wowing us with his Fallout-inspired Red Rocket, metal artist Engineer BrunS is back with an even more challenging build, a big bronze rocketship. Watching the precision-milled components fit together so perfectly is wonderfully satisfying. If you’ve got 1500 bucks to spare, you can even own this masterpiece

This wing-shaped aluminum ruler incorporates a variety of small refinements that make it more useful than most. It’s got English and Metric sides, large whole numbers, clearly-labeled fraction and millimeter tick marks, and won’t scratch up if you cut with it. Available in 6″/15cm, 8″/20cm, and 12″/30cm lengths.

There’s so much to love about the style, stories, creatures, and characters in Hayao Miyazaki’s catalog of animated films. But what is it about these artful pieces of cinema that make them so dear to us? Kaptain Kristian digs into how Studio Ghibli breathes such life into every frame.

CG artist pedro3dbh’s short film sends us on an epic journey deep within the most mundane of objects, the tip of an ordinary ball-point pen. As the virtual camera zooms deeper and deeper into its structure, we eventually reach the subatomic level.

This might look like some old industrial equipment, but it’s actually a clock. Ren Kitchener of Limaflo designed this unique timepiece that displays hours and minutes on analog gauges. It’s also got an oscillating “pendulum” gauge. Each one is handbuilt in a solid wood enclosure, with authentic Bakelite and glass gauges.

HomeMadeModern wanted to find a cool use for glass blocks, so he set about making an outdoor LED-lit glass deck. It’s definitely not a project for everyone – it takes a lot of expertise and work – and not everyone has a freakin’ mountain, but the setup is pretty sweet.