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 “Chinatown” from Wild Nothing and work our way through a clean and cool mix of Girls, Beach House, Youth Lagoon, Lou Reed, The Chills and others before wrapping up with “Strange” from Galaxie 500. Have suggestions? As always, let us know what you listen to, what you…

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…

As any designer or engineer knows, the sky is the limit when it comes to staying on top of 3D software and workflows. While becoming an expert in one or two software packages may make sense for your day-to-day projects, it never hurts to stretch that 3D content creation muscle – even if just a little bit. Thankfully, a plethora of online courses has made this easier for both aspiring creatives and product design masters alike, regardless of any previous foundational skills. If there are any programs you’ve been wanting to dabble in without spending an arm and a leg for a time-sensitive course, then this Ultimate Design and Animation Bundle…

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 ten stories on SolidSmack this past week. Oh and uh…don’t forget to shed some much-needed sunlight on your face, too. LiquidPiston’s 4-lb Rotary Engine Shows What it Can Do “LiquidPiston has invented a new rotary type engine that is piston-less, valve-less, and weighs only four pounds. They published a proof of…

The Crumbling Cliffs. That’s where the creature lived, but nary a soul had seen it. Oblong-shaped and bent, with a single leg and, what looked like, a meat slicer off each side of a small container of fizz which strangely enough and quite magically allowed it to dispense endless amounts of these meaty links. Sleepypang Li – So much color in this detailed exercises, with animal characters, ships and vast lands, islands and bridges, mountains and more. Animal Facts – “The zoo is more fun with made-up facts.” This I completely agree with. Accidents, Blunders and Calamities – A father possum goes through the ABCs of animal dangers with his children, then…

Despite being one of the most celebrated meals of the day, few people ever really have the time to make a full breakfast before running out the door. Unsurprisingly, this has led some to create automated breakfast machines that attempt to make waking up to a fresh plate of bacon and eggs as easy as setting the drip coffee machine the night before. While we’ve seen various prototypes – such as The Breakfast Machine from Simone Giertz, who describes herself as “an expert in shitty robots” – few of these machines have ever been convincing enough to settle into an automated breakfast routine for good. Aiming to make his retired…