While most people outgrow making model airplanes at an early age, others soldier on well into their adult lives; even going so far as to create a sport out of it. Airplane modeling began as early as 1871, where a Frenchman named Alphonse Penaud invented a rubber band-powered airplane. Though it would be more than 30 years before the Wright brothers took off in their first aircraft, the model was a significant influence for the brothers’ design. You would be forgiven if you didn’t know there was an entire sport surrounding the design of model airplanes. In the world of competitive indoor model airplane flying, contestants spend hours working on…
Get that stretch out of your system with this week’s Spotify-powered, TRIP HOP-inspired SolidSmack Radio Playlist. It’s fashioned up, ready to make you pull your shoulder blades back and knock out another week of meaningful work while you bob your head to the beat. Whether you’re in the shop milling aluminum, sketching the latest product prototypes or modeling up a 3D storm, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week on SolidSmack Radio we’ll fire things off with the all-new “Sunflower” from Vampire Weekend before diving into tracks from Morcheeba, Four Ten, Crumb, Reptaliens, and others before wrapping up with “Benjamin” from MUNYA. Ready? Let’s Rock! Have…
Cherished by writers, designers, illustrators, and other creative professionals for its soft dark lead and unique flat eraser, the Blackwing 602 is worth trying at least once—but be forewarned: you may never go back to plain old #2 pencils again. Originally manufactured by the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company from 1934 – 1988, the Blackwing brand was acquired by California Cedar Products Company in 2008 and reintroduced to a new generation of creatives in 2012. And now, you can score your own 12-pack of the legendary pencil for just 23 bucks. Palomino Blackwing 602 Pencils 12-Pack — $24.95 Features: One pack of 12 Palomino Blackwing pencilsPencils feature a soft and smooth…
It’s not always easy to juggle multiple hats in the design and engineering worlds—but if there is a common language that will likely end up saving you a lot of time and frustration down the road, it’s having basic knowledge of visual communication. While few could ever become an Aaron Draplin overnight, having a strong grasp on the fundamentals of color theory and layout could easily make or break your projects—particularly when communication specific details to stakeholders. Thankfully, you don’t need to go back to design school to get started with leveling up your visual communication game. From setting up an Adobe Creative Cloud environment to building a portfolio website,…
For some designers and engineers, 3D scanning physical objects to use as reference models can be the ultimate time-saver. Industrial Designer Eric Strebel is one such design professional—and as always, he has some insightful tips for fellow designers and engineers out there who want to kickstart their 3D scanning game—aka, photogrammetry. Photogrammetry is a process in which a user takes photos of an object from different angles. Using these pictures, computer software calculates the form and size of an object and can recreate it as a 3D model. In his latest video, Strebel shows us how to prepare and scan a bottle using basic photogrammetry techniques: First, the surfaces of…
Mondays might not be your favorite day of the week, but the good news is that we’re all in this together ladies and gentlemen. As purveyors of prime Grade A web content, the SolidSmack crew has done some of the heavy-lifting to make sure you get your Mondays started on the right track. Welcome to The Monday List. Every Monday, we link you up with some of the most insightful, informative, and socially-relevant stories to keep tabbed, bookmarked, reading listed, pocketed, or what have you to get your week started on the right foot. Be sure to check in each week for a new crop of freshly sprouted words curated straight…