While I certainly don’t agree with vandalism and obscene graffiti, some ‘street enhancements’ are just marvelous! I especially love this funky 3D mushroom by Sebastián Duccoli. You can find more pictures of the project at the Behance page.
I’m getting used to being in total awe of some of the creativity, innovation, and pure genius displayed by people all over the Internet. The Geek collective especially seems to be amply blessed in all three departments, and this Instructable inspired by the wonderful Close Encounters of the Third Kind, posted by LeoneLabs, is no exception.
Admittedly, this isn’t your easy-to-recreate kind of geekcraft. You’ll need to get your head around electronics, microcontrollers, a bit of code, and it looks like you’d need a fair bit of patience to do all of the optimising and stuff that LeoneLabs goes into in the later steps. The components and materials also cost in the region of $550, but when you look at the results (and there are more awesome images to drool over if you follow the link), it looks like $550 well spent!
Personally, I have nothing further than GCSE (10th grade) electronics knowledge, and probably even less experience wth microcontrollers. So I will just sit back and marvel at the greatness that is PixelBrite, and wish I had one. Or four.
Are you familiar with PixelHobby? To quote their website:
PixelHobby is a new mini-mosaic craft. (…) PixelHobby designs are based upon small plastic tiles called Pixels. Pixels are available in over 300 beautiful colors. The molding process creates a soft plastic tile with a matte finish. (…) Each pixel location on a baseplate provides a small peg onto which a pixel is positioned. No adhesive is necessary to hold a pixel onto a baseplate since a snug fit occurs between the pixel and baseplate peg.
You can show your passion on 4×5 inch baseplates, but also use medaillon-sized plates. I’ve already spotted PixelHobby in my local crafts store, and in various online shops, including their own.
The PixelHobby website offers various designs. If you want something unique, get the PixelHobby Designer Lite and make your own pattern based on photos, art and other images. Or, recreate a sprite! One of my favorite websites for this purpose is Spriters Resource. And finally, nothing keeps you from going with the flow. Don’t use a design or pattern if you don’t feel like it.
Here’s a small preview of what you can do with the craft. Wacker00 is a real genious when it comes to PixelHobby and perler beading and you should definitely visit his DeviantArt!
Now THIS is a GeekCraft: A Boy And His Atom: The World’s Smallest Movie
Okay, so you need a $214 BILLION company to sponsor you to make one of these for yourself, but this is pixel art at its most tiny, and science at its most frivolous.
IBM this week released their mini stop-motion movie made using atoms. Yep, those dots acting as pixels are carbon monoxide molecules – two stacked carbon atoms – which have been manipulated frame-by-frame to create a story about a boy and his atom. It took a small team two weeks to complete using a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM), which uses quantum physics to move atoms and molecules around. The video has earned IBM a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the teeniest tiniest stop motion film.
Want to know more? Watch the second film all about how they made it: Moving Atoms: Making The World’s Smallest Movie
I love this new set of gamer-worthy Pixel Perfect invitations from Hello! Lucky – adorable!! If you just got engaged on V-day, or are planning a geeky wedding, check these out for sure. I’m already married, but these designs sure would make cute stationery…
Today’s reader submisssion comes from Etsy seller Donna Aka Arcade Artist:
Hope you like ’em :) “
Wow Donna! What a challenge! and so far so good, she’s made The Silence and The Siren from the current series. Go to her shop regularly to check back on new creations!
I think whole concept is really unique and interesting, I love pixel art, I love Dr Who, I love cute things! This ticks a lot of boxes! Speaking of cute, check out her pikmin magnets! (anyone else hoping for a exciting, inventive new pikmin title on the upcoming next gen Nintendo console?)
