Materials Upfront Search Results

How To: Prep any non-patent leather shoes for custom painting

When fancy kicks started making their way into the indie scene, the art of custom leather shoe painting exploded. If you want to custom paint some kicks to show you creativity in this high-visibility area, watch this video for an in-depth guide to prepping any leather (not patent leather) shoes for painting by using Acetone, cotton balls, and other basic materials.

How To: Make an electrophorus and use it to create electricity from your cat

An electrophorus is a type of capacitor that generates electrostatic energy. Most of you probably know this force as static electricity, the domain of door handles and polyester shirts. It can be used for all sorts of other fun science experiments though, and this video will show you how an old hard drive, some plastic, Styrofoam, foil, a cat, and other simple materials can be used to make a a simple functioning electrophorus.

How To: Make a DIY Tony from Die Hard Halloween costume

Tony is not the most well-known of Die Hard characters. He's the guy who McClane writes, "Now I have a machine gun ho-ho-ho" across the sweater of and leaves for Hans Gruber to find. He makes a good, quick, conversation-starting Halloween costume, and this video will show you how to make a Tony costume yourself out of a sweatshirt and other basic materials.

Make edible prop bodily fluids: poop, vomit, snot, and blood

The human body is full of different kinds of fluids, most of which are either gross or dangerous to remove from a person for use in one of your films. Fortunately, most of them are pretty easy to replicate using household materials. This video will show you how to make edible prop fake blood, feces, vomit, and snot. They all look great, are safe, and will make you movie much more realistic.

How to Make 2 props: a laser pistol and a gas mask

This video is a 2-for-1 special. It will teach you how to make not one, but TWO cool props for a film or costume. They are, in no particular order, a gas mask / ventilator and a laser pistol. Both look very cool, require some materials and carpentry skills, and are sure to make your next sci-fi film much more realistic and enjoyable to watch.

How To: Use a soldering iron when circuit bending

In a time of ubiquitous electronics, soldering is an essential skill. Fortunately, if you don't already know how it's done, it's an easy skill to pick up and the tools and associated materials can be had for cheap. This video tutorial from MAKE will get you started. For more information, and to get started using a soldering iron yourself, take a look.

How To: Export a scene from Cinema 4D to Adobe After Effects

See how to prepare your renders in Cinema 4D for export into After Effects. This tutorial also delves into the process of importing your render into After Effects and adding materials to your 3D scene. For more (and better) information, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started transfering your own work from Cinema 4D to After Effects, watch this free video software lesson.

How To: Tilt-shift photography to create a miniature effect

Kipkay from Make Magazine shows us how to create a photographic illusion, making things look smaller than they really are with tilt-shift photography. Materials needed include rubber plunger, an oversized lens, a plastic body cap, a single lens (or digital single lens) camera, a hot glue gun, a sanding file, and a disposable object for a plastic backing, such as a VHS tape case. With this great tutorial and a little work, create the illusion of a miniaturized world with this photographic tech...

How To: Make a multitouch table computer pad

Multi-touch input has been spreading throughout a huge variety of devices, from phones to all-in-one PCs. However, most multitouch (table) displays that can function with your computer tend to be fairly expensive, so with this project we're going to make our own display, that can run on any operating system, and reuses some useless everyday materials.

How To: Make a clock projector

Time flies. Particularly when it's projected. The magical box in this how-to uses light and mirrors to project the image of a working clock face on any wall. To build your own working clock projector, you'll need the following materials: a mirror, a jeweler's loupe, a clock and a flashlight. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on the assembly process, and to get started on this Daliesque hack yourself, take a look!

How To: Create a super-quick carbon fiber effect in Adobe After Effects

After Effects makes it easy to create wonderful designs and great looking material, and this tutorial makes it even easier! Watch and learn how to create a really quick carbon fiber (or carbon fibre for all you British folks) effect using After Effects. Carbon fiber is a great-looking material, and you can used the standard toolkit in After Effects to create an instant carbon fibre texture in seconds. Great for your next extreme sports car and high-tech driver video intro title sequence! Get ...

How To: Create global illumination in a MAXON Cinema 4D scene

This tutorial will explain some of the ways you can implement global illumination in your scene, using luminous materials and HDRIs. It also presents a look at how to set up realistic reflections in your materials, using the standard reflection channel with a fresnel mixed in. Whether you're new to MAXON's popular 3D modeling application or are just looking to get better acquainted with Cinema 4D and its various features and functions, you're sure to enjoy this free video software tutorial. F...

How To: Stretch a canvas

It's no secret, artists are broke. That's why they're referred to as "starving artists". One day these artists will achieve unimaginable success, but for most of their lives, they'll be struggling to survive… struggling to keep their vision alive. That's why they need to work cheap. And that's why they stretch their own canvases, not buy pre-made ones or have the hobby shop do it. If you’re a starving artist, save a few bucks, hone your carpentry skills, and stretch your own canvas.

How To: Use the Blender Make Links tool

When you begin working with complex scenes, you'll often find yourself applying the same material to a multitude of objects, which becomes quite time consuming. By using blender's "Make Links" tool you can quickly apply a single materials to as many objects as you'd like. Whether you're new to the Blender Foundation's popular open-source 3D computer graphics application or are a seasoned digital artist merely on the lookout for new tips and tricks, you're sure to be well served by this free v...

How To: Make compost from homehold kitchen scraps

This video shows you how to make compost from organic debris in the garden and leftover food.To make compost, you must add organic debris or scraps of food to such as pine needles, leaves or fruits to your compost bin. You should use horse or cow manure to speed up the process. You can also use nitrogen fertilizers as long as they do not contain herbicides. Then add water to the whole mixture.It is recommended that the compost bin should be about 3 feet high and 3 feet wide in order to insula...

How To: Build a unique terraced garden

In this episode of Southwest Yard and Garden Curtis Smith shows you how to turn a steep slope into a usable garden. By building walls along the slope using serpentine designs he shows you how to obtain a compromise of both strength and artistic design. Starting with a good concrete footer and rebar you can construct a retaining wall strong enough to hold the weight of the slope. Materials such as wood and railroad ties can be used but may not stand the test of time as the weight of the soil c...

How To: Build a tomato cage

A piece of concrete reinforcement wire is cut and separated by a bow cutter at about 4 feet. The wires on one side of the separated section is bent in the form of a hook to hold the next side. As it would be hooked together to hold a tomato tree in position. It was suggested that rope cover material or material with small holes that can absorb sunlight be placed around the cage and held together with a clothes pin. Doing so would prevent bug plant, frost bite, curly top viruses , squash plant...

How To: Recycle old gift wrapping to make an origami ornament

Shiho Masuda Teaches you to make 3-D origami star using recycled materials. The materials required are leftover wrapping paper, ribbons, two 3. 25" cardboard squares, ruler, scissors, glue, double sided tape and an X-acto knife. She cuts out 8 6"x6" squares from paper and glues them back to back to make four double sided squares. The four pieces are folded into 3"x 3" squares and stuck together with double sided tape. The 2 cardboard pieces are covered with paper and 12" ribbons are taped to ...

How To: Sew a blind hem stitch to make Roman shades

This video demonstrates how to sew a blind hem stitch to make Roman shades. This stitch is very easy to do. You need a sewing machine that has a blind hem stitch already programmed in it and a blind hem foot. The video shows two different kinds of blind hem foot for two different sewing machines. The one for Viking machines is used here. Fold and pin a one inch hem on your panel, making sure that the pins are pointing off the edge of the panel. Lay your panel on the machine with the hem side ...