While there used to be a painful shortage of inspirational design sketching books out there, these days, design students and those looking to refresh their skill set may, in fact, have too many to choose from. The good news is, there’s something different to learn from each—so go ahead and build out that library. Among other design sketching book favorites, we love the broad variety of sketching styles presented in Sketching. While the book is ideal for any design student or classroom, many professionals and design studios will also likely learn a thing or two from the wide variety of sketching styles and form examples presented within the book’s 256…

It’s time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile device(s)! The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional and this week we have a list sure to make you more efficient. Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it into tips@solidsmack.com. Hit it! Paste by FiftyThree (iOS — Free) Beautiful slides for fast teams. From strategy decks to design proposals, Paste automatically formats screenshots,…

We’ve all had remarkable careers as air drummers at least some point in our lives. And no matter how musically incompetent we think we are, there’s always a beat sitting somewhere deep in our bones just ready to bust out. For folks who want to take their air drumming mastery a step further, the Oddball by Oddball Studios takes your air drummer beats and puts them on tracks you can actually listen to. Instead of flailing imaginary drumsticks, the Oddball comes in the form of a handheld, pressure-sensitive bouncing ball. By throwing it against different surfaces using different applications of force, the ball records a variety of beats which you…

We’ve said it time and time again, but the Raspberry Pi is just so dang cool and we believe all designers and engineers should have one in their toolkit—if not on their desktop. While there is a bit of a slight learning curve, it’s nothing that today’s designers and engineers can’t handle on a leisurely Saturday. So why not start now? The Raspberry Pi Mastery Bundle includes 8 courses to get started creating your very own Amazon Echo or even a KUKA-like robotic arm for your desktop (how’s that for office bragging rights). Throw in any of your own 3D printed housing designs—like a drone—and the opportunities are limitless! For…

It may not look like it, but those tiny comics on the side of your tax returns could one day be the next Calvin and Hobbes hit. And while you really shouldn’t be drawing on your tax returns, it just goes to show how something so small can spark a really big idea. The 3Doodler Create+ takes your misplaced creativity and allows you to bring your doodles into the third dimension. Using a special nozzle, it extrudes hot PLA, ABS, and FLEXY plastics which harden rapidly as you draw your desired 3D object. Two buttons near the nozzle allow you to adapt the 3Doodler for slow or fast printing. Slow…

Get that stretch out of your system with this week’s Spotify-powered 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 get the groove going with “Divina” from Toro y Moi before diving into irresistible tracks from Night Moves, Jerry Paper, Hoops, Good Morning, and others before wrapping up with “Fool” from Frankie Cosmos. Ready? Let’s…