The gig economy is great. You can hail a cheap cab home with Uber, get McDonald’s delivered with Postmates, beer with Drizly, sit back and watch someone from Task Rabbit assemble your Amazon delivered furniture while your hair is cut with Priv. The positive of the gig economy is that everything can be outsourced, however, therein lies the negative, everything can be outsourced. If you’re on Solidsmack, chances are you’re a 3D modeler, designer, engineer or something in-between. And, if you’ve been working or looking for a job in the last 10 years, it’s painfully obvious, you can be outsourced. By outsourced, I don’t mean overseas, I just mean, if…
Continuing the tradition of making miniatures of some of the world’s most remarkable automobile designs, LEGO and French car manufacturer Bugatti have teamed up to create one of the most complex block builds you’ll ever find: a 1:8 scale LEGO Bugatti Chiron. The stunning model measures 14cm high, 25cm wide, and is made up of 3,599 pieces which all play a part in crafting the car’s many features. To begin with, the cockpit has an 8-speed gearbox with a movable gearshift and steering wheel. Even the seats were recreated using different panel, beam, and tile LEGO blocks. You can also insert a top speed key to switch the rear wing…
When it comes to SubD topology, having the ability to construct a variety of meshes with clean polygon flows can mean the difference between yelling an obscene amount of profanities at your monitor or having a blast. Thanks to a new book from the renowned 3D artist, writer, and director William Vaughan, getting to that fun place won’t have to be so challenging after all. Vaughan’s comprehensive 125-page Pushing Points Topology Workbook includes over 60 exercises to train anybody in managing their mesh topology. Even those who may consider themselves “experts” at SubD could certainly learn a thing or two from the master modeler—whose portfolio spans across Nickelodeon and Pixar.…
Deadly objects crafted by and from molten metal are nothing new here on Solidsmack, but it isn’t every day you see an old hardware material get repurposed into a Southeast Asian curved knife. This is precisely what Australian knifemaker Steve has done with an old drill bit he found in one of his drawers. With lots of cutting, filing, and hammering, he transforms it into a karambit – a curved knife with origins in Indonesia resembling a claw. Steve begins by firing up the kiln and heating the tip of the drill bit. Though this used to be the most dangerous point of the object, he hammers it down flat…
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…
A spray of foam exploded out the sockets of the metal chewer’s rusted neck seams. It was the first time he’d laughed in centuries. Before he had finished devouring any more of the pickled light orbs though, there was a job to do. It was time to get to work, hunt down, and capture these links. Alexandr Iwaac – Paint over renders, keysketches, and speedpainting with finished ship and scene pieces throughout. Nobe – The three-wheeled car/trike is launching. Top speed – 68 mph. 0-60 in 5.9 seconds. Fully charged in two hours. This is the video. Project Wingman – There just are not enough flight sim games, and this…