This week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist knocks you in the pop sockets with head-boppin’ groove tuneage to help propel you through the work week in style. Whether you find yourself inking markers until they’re dry, grinding material through a bandsaw or working that 3D geometry all day, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week we’ll start things off with a cover or Radiohead’s “Let Down” from Easy Star All-Stars and work our way through some Caribou, Four Tet, Frank Zappa, Primal Scream and others before wrapping up with “Slowly” from Amon Tobin. Have suggestions? As always, let us know what you listen to, what you want…
I think we can all tear open a bag of chips, pour some Saki and agree that, next to Akira, Ghost in the Shell (GITS) is the absolute best of 20th century Japanese Animation. The last scene where our cyborg heroine, Motoko, battles a massive 6-legged spider tank is some of the best animated carnage created. Paulius Liekis is a fan too, and took it upon himself to create a more-or-less scale version of the GITS Hexapod Tank, aka T08A2 / R3000 spider tank, and it looks AMAZING. He’s documenting the entire process, providing specs, electrical, software and yes, the 3D design files. “I’m a bit Ghost In The Shell…
Last September, we shared German illustrator Eilert Janssen’s new Real Markers, a Photoshop brush set with over 120 tools that emulate the look of real alcohol-based and permanent markers. Hej Brush But hej (pronounced hey), he has since then updated the Hej Brush lineup with new brushes that include Draw! – a set of dry media brushes (pencils, crayons, pastels and coal), Ink! – a set of wet/dry ink brushes and Paint! – a set of brushes that simulate painting on canvas and paper. Each set can be purchased separately for a small fee ranging from 5 to 7 Euros or bought together in the All! package for 30 Euros.…
Commonly used to seamlessly join dissimilar materials with different melting points, friction welding has been used to manufacture everything from airplane parts and rocket thruster tanks to even space shuttles and the razor-thin iMac. But regardless of the intended application, the visual spectacle provided by forcefully joining two materials together with brute force is one of the most satisfying manufacturing processes to watch – or at least for some 21 million viewers on YouTube. More recently, The Welding Institute (TWI) decided to take things a little further and shot the linear friction welding process between two bricks of titanium in 32x slow motion. Pioneered by TWI, linear friction welding is a…
At age 80, fourth generation Japanese toymaker Masaaki Hiroi still cranks out classic wood toys from his workshop where he has spent a lifetime mastering his craft. While many might be worried about retirement and slowing down during their eighth decade, Hiroi continues to keep his mind and hands active doing what he loves to do most – handcrafting simple toys in the age of Pokémon Go that continue to make people laugh. Says Hiroi: “Cutting-edge technology is fun, but it’s a pity if children become absorbed only in those toys. There are traditional toys and traditional ways to play in Japan, one of them is spinning top. I am…
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. Each Monday, we’ll 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. Be sure to check in each Monday morning for a new crop of freshly sprouted words curated straight from the source of your favorite…