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…

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…

Don your favorite bathrobe, cream that coffee and get comfortable with this week’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. The Weekend Reader features a handful of the most interesting articles featured on the ‘Smack over the past week ranging from tips and tricks to inspirational designs, processes, and more. So lay back, relax and take a load off while reading the top stories on SolidSmack this past week. Oh and uh…don’t forget to shed some much-needed sunlight on your face, too. These Insane Lifelike Replicas of Animals Are Created by Hand with Paper and Wood You know the book you’re reading is excellent when it escapes your imagination and enters the reality. Fan…

A trip across the roots slowed us down but, gaining speed as we had, we were nary less than 100 meters upon the blast pad. There was something about the sparks as we reached it, seen for a blink as our grapplers sank through the metal. Once we were onboard, stopping the planet melt would be simple–all we have to do is initiate these links. Josef Anton – I love the scale of Josef’s work, but also the rich attention to technical detail, especially on his ships and vehicles. Falcon Heavy – Tuesday, history was made. SpaceX launched a successful launch of Falcon Heavy with both booster and core return…

Developed in collaboration with the Aluminum Company of America in 1944 by Wilton C. Dinges, the Emeco 1006 Navy Chair is one of the most iconic chairs in the history of industrial design. Initially designed for the Navy submarines during WWII as a chair that could withstand the rigors of life at sea—including a torpedo blast—it has since become a mainstay in high-end restaurants and the catalogs of discerning interior designers. To date, more than one million of the chairs have been manufactured over the last half-century. In all, over 77 steps are used in the process to turn ordinary aluminum into the extraordinarily strong chair. These include forming, welding,…

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…