Hey there,
Over the last couple of weeks, I've made some great progress on my retro game engine. So much so that I've even mentioned the name on social media. It's kicking off with two websites: BeepMini.com and Beep8.com.
BeepMini is a fantasy video game arcade that will feature a collection of games. There are currently four in various stages of completion. If you want to play them, I recommend using a keyboard. Mobile controls exist, but they're not quite perfect yet.
Beep8 is the developer site, home to documentation, examples, and some tools.
There's more to come on both sites, but it's exciting to see everything starting to come together. Once I'm happy with these first four games, I'm planning to build something a bit more advanced and release it on a gaming site.
I'll keep posting screenshots and updates on social media, so if you follow me on Bluesky, you'll get a sneak peek at what I'm working on before it goes live.
Blender
Blender is already well-known - especially in digital art circles - as a free and open-source 3D art application. But it recently grabbed even more attention after a feature-length film made with Blender won an Oscar!
Flow is a story about a young cat on a boat, trying to find her way home. It was created by a small team of, 15 - 20 people, artists over the course of 5 years, with a budget of €3.7 million (tiny by Hollywood standards). The film is a brilliant showcase of what's possible with Blender. It proves you don't need a massive team or budget to make something amazing. You can watch the trailer for Flow on YouTube, and there's also a behind-the-scenes look here and an interview with Gints Zilbalodis, the creative mind behind the film, on the official Blender website.
Blender itself is also a fantastic example of open source done right - free to use, widely adopted, and actively developed (something I'm aiming for with Beep8). First released in the late '90s, Blender has grown steadily thanks to community donations and sponsorships from companies that use it. It's supported by the non-profit Blender Foundation, which helps fund its development and nurture its creative community.
It's used by indie creators, hobbyists, and professionals alike. Even big studios like Ubisoft, Epic Games, and EA have used Blender in various ways - from game development to cinematics and prototyping. It's also been part of workflows at companies like Netflix and Microsoft.
Some standout features include:
- 3D modeling and sculpting
- 2D animation with Grease Pencil (this could easily be a product on it's own)
- Animation, rigging, and skinning
- Real-time rendering with Eevee and ray-traced rendering with Cycles
- Smoke, fluid, cloth, and particle simulations
- Video editing and node-based compositing
- Scripting and automation with Python
I first discovered Blender around '97, while getting ready to start university. At the time, the interface was tough to use, and I didn't have the patience (or know-how) to learn it. We didn't have YouTube tutorials or online courses back then, and it felt too technical. Fast forward 20 years to the Covid era: Blender had just gone through a major UI overhaul, I had some free time, and a 3D art degree under my belt (from my days using 3D Studio Max). That combo finally clicked - and now I love it. I just wish I had more time to dive in.
If you want to learn more, check out the Blender website or the official YouTube channel. There are also some great tutorials from:
- Blender Guru - the famous donut tutorial, perfect for beginners
- Polygon Runway - paid courses, this is how I learned to use Blender during lockdown
- Ducky 3D - focuses on stylized shaders and effects
- CG Cookie - structured learning paths and in-depth courses
And if you already use Blender, consider joining Blender Studio - you'll be supporting the project and gaining access to a treasure trove of resources.
Note: All of the artworks in this post are splash screens from various Blender releases. The Blender files for these, and more, are available on the Blender website for anyone to download and learn from.
Creating Illustrations from Scratch
I've been a fan of Francisco Fonseca's art for a while now and have followed him across social media. So it's great to see a more in-depth look at his creative process. I knew he used an iPad for some pieces, but I hadn't realized just how varied his methods are.
This video shows him sketching with pencil, building texture with paint, and then combining everything digitally. It's a great example of blending traditional and digital techniques to create something truly unique.
If you're curious to see more of his work, check out his Instagram for regular updates and behind-the-scenes insights.
Watch the video on YouTube.
Sparked Discoveries
Here's a handful of links I found intriguing recently:
Exeter's unassuming Co-op worker leads double life as 'Lord of the Logos'
I apologise in advance for the ad riddled website I linked to here - but the story was so interesting I had to include it.
Christophe Szpajdel, known as the “Lord of the Logos,” works part-time at a Co-op in Exeter, Devon, while quietly crafting hand-drawn logos for some of the biggest names in music. He's created iconic designs for heavy metal bands, pop stars like Rihanna, and even political protest t-shirts. Born in Belgium, Christophe's love of art began early and deepened after discovering bands like Motörhead. He first made his mark in the metal scene, but his global breakthrough came with the logo he designed for Rihanna, featured at the MTV VMAs. Despite international recognition, industry competition means he still relies on his supermarket job for stability. His work has earned awards and nominations worldwide, cementing his reputation as a true original in logo design.
Gary Panters Sketchbook Tips
I hadn't heard of Gary Panter before, but this post is packed with great sketchbook tips - some of which I'm definitely going to try myself. I'm guilty of treating sketchbooks like they need to be neat and perfect, but this is a good reminder to embrace mess, imperfection, and experimentation.
Literature clock
This brilliant webpage transforms the concept of a clock into a piece of art. Instead of showing a traditional clock face, it displays a new piece of literature every minute - each one cleverly incorporating the current time into the text.
Pokemon Lego
Pokémon and LEGO - two of my favorite things - are finally coming together. There have been Pokémon brick sets before from other brands, but this is the first time LEGO is officially making them. I can't wait to see what they come up with! I just hope they include proper Pokémon minifigures and don't brick-build everything like they did with the Super Mario range. (I'm still waiting for an official Mario minifig!) The sets are expected to launch in 2026, so we've got a bit of a wait ahead.
A Lockdown Brightened by a Library of Vintage Usborne Books
We love Usborne books in our house and have quite a few, but I'd never seen these ones from the '80s before. I think I just missed out on them by a few years - I'm the right age, but we didn't get a computer in our house until the '90s. Still, this is a fascinating glimpse into how computing was taught back then. Today I saw a social media post from a university lecturer saying they're teaching students who've never used a computer - and here are books from the '80s teaching kids how to code in machine code. A selection of these books is available to download from the Usborne website, and I'm definitely going to dig into them.
Have you found anything interesting lately? I'd love to hear about it, just reply to this email!
Until next time,
Ben