When it comes to woodworking, the quality of your work really can come down to the quality of your tools—which is why it’s critical to invest in tools that perform properly for the cuts you need. Thankfully, wood craftsmen have been refining many of these tools and techniques for centuries. And among others that stand out above the rest are Japanese hand tools—which are different from Western tools in that they are minimally designed, which results in a lighter and simpler tool. The SUIZNAN brand of Japanese Pull Saws is a perfect example. Pull saws are popular in both Western and Japanese woodworking shops because they require less power and…

Allegorithmic, creators of Substance Designer (material authoring software) and Substance Painter (3D painting software), has been acquired by Adobe. Adobe and Allegorthimic both announced the news today. With one big unspecified amount of cash, Adobe now has more substance and a true 3D Photoshop. Substance integration was already available for Adobe Fuse (3D modeling) and Adobe Dimension (3d rendering) with previous additional investment by Adobe. All of this together, along with Adobe Aero (Interactive AR) and Substance Alchemist (Augmented material creation), shows that Adobe is quite serious about 3D. From Adobe: With the acquisition of Allegorithmic, Adobe takes a powerful step forward in adding expanded 3D and immersive workflows to Creative…

They may only look like letters on a sign to you, but sign painters play a critical role in advertising a company’s trade. Take a look at the Disney logo and how it immediately makes you think of Mickey Mouse and his cast of pals. Or the Coca-Cola logo. Noel B. Weber has been in the sign painting industry for over 45 years. He has hand drawn signs for various toy shops, casinos, tattoo parlors, and yes, even some Disney theme parks. For each sign made, he has produced many sketches which aim to bring out the nature of the business and draw the wandering eye to it. A Sign…

Since its release in 1959, Henry Dreyfuss’ The Measure of Man and Woman: Human Factors in Design has been an invaluable resource for designers, engineers, architects, and anybody else responsible for shaping the manufactured world around us. The indispensable resource, which contains thorough and accurate measurements for children, teenagers, adult men and women, and those with physical handicaps, has allowed designers to accurately define the dimensions of their products to suit the immediate needs of their users. Additional data guidelines for the visually and hearing-impaired, as well as other differently abled individuals, have helped shape the standards for numerous government-defined disability acts. Suffice to say, this book is the real…

Contrary to popular belief, solving a Rubik’s Cube DOES NOT automatically make you a smart person; it just means you have the problem-solving skills and the fortune to not be color-blind to piece together a multi-colored cube. Still, it does help pass the time and draw the attention of passers-by as you flick between the many colored segments and land with the same colors on every side. Takashi Kaburagi, who goes by the YouTube handle Human Controller, recently put a—ahem—even more intelligent spin on the classic 3×3 cube by creating a variety of designs that solve themselves. By embedding a tiny computer and a series of small motors into these…

With over two decades of experience teaching how to design, draw, and render at the highest college level, concept designer Scott Robertson knows a thing or two about what it takes to make concepts ‘stick’ for his students. And as one of the most widely-recognized design sketching masters, he’s proven these concepts in his own practice through and through. In How to Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from Your Imagination, the Art Center educator consolidates years of design sketching knowledge—from thumbnail sketches and perspective grids to shaded renderings—into a digestible self-study program that can take anybody’s sketching ability to the next level. Frankly, if you’re even remotely serious…