Meet the Maker: Robert Quattlebaum of Lumanoi
Wave your hand once over Lumanoi, and it’s clear why Robert Quattlebaum’s flowing LED artwork was highly recommended at Maker Faire Bay Area.
Finding Creative Flow: Kayte Sabicer’s Maker Faire Wisdom
RAS2026-02-03T02:01:08+00:00The energy of Maker Faire Bay Area creates a palpable buzz steaming from creative minds sharing their passions. This year, one of the presentations came from Kayte Sabicer—a professional model maker and fabricator whose hands have helped shape the tangible worlds of films like Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, The Mandalorian, and Phil Tippett’s Mad God. For those who follow Adam Savage’s Tested, Kayte is also a familiar face. But hearing her speak in person was an important...
Best Dev Boards for Cosplay
RAS2026-02-02T17:30:00+00:00Even the most gorgeous gowns and amazing accessories are static when you’re standing still. But cool cosplay can come to life with moving lights and sound effects. If you want to add LED animation, audio atmosphere, or sensors to your wearable creation, you’re in luck. These days there are plenty of great boards to choose from. Here are five to get you started.
Beginner-Friendly Boards
Adafruit Circuit Playground Express
Photography by Erin St. Blaine This board is packed...February 2, 2026RASUncategorizedboards, cosplay, Costumes, Cosplay, and Props, Craft & Design, make950 Comments
From Shoe Box to Smart Robot: A Maker’s Journey to Autonomy
RAS2026-01-26T23:47:30+00:00Have you ever stared at a common, ordinary item and imagined a whole universe of possibilities within it? That’s exactly what maker Survy did, and he shared his journey with us at Maker Faire Bay Area. Survy demonstrates the powerful, real-world process of turning a vague idea like “I want to build an autonomous robot” into a machine that can successfully navigate a park and identify objects. The best part? He proves you do not need a fancy laboratory...
January 26, 2026RASUncategorizedCraft & Design, design, DIY Projects, Education, engineering, Maker Faire, prototype, raspberry pi, robotics, steam0 Comments
From Sketch to Success: Prototyping Secrets with a BattleBots Designer
RAS2026-01-20T17:50:07+00:00Ever wondered how ideas for toys or gadgets start as scribbles on paper and then turn into something tangible you can hold in your hands? How designers collaborate to bring even the craziest ideas to life? Well, professional product designer and BattleBots robot fighting champion Bam Singnghasaneh to talked about the wild, wonderful world of professional product design last September at Maker Faire Bay Area. Unlike most designers who discuss theoretical best practices, Bam shares some real-life examples of...
January 20, 2026RASUncategorizedBattle Bots, Craft & Design, design, Education, Maker Faire, prototyping, robotics0 Comments
Quinn Liu on Tactile Art, Teamwork, and a Giant Cat Butt
RAS2026-01-15T17:00:00+00:00About the maker:
Qingyun “Quinn” Liu is a mixed media artist, an indie game developer and the Founder/Creative Director of DaChu Interactive. Her practice focuses on embodied interaction and alternative controllers in games and interactive media, creating tactile experiences rich in emotions. She has presented work at The Grand LA, GDC Alt.Ctrl, IGN Live, and CatCon, leading teams across creative direction and technical pipelines, and has received recognition from organizations such as the Themed Entertainment Association. Her recent projects...January 15, 2026RASUncategorizedaltgdc, art, Art & Sculpture, controllers, Craft & Design, Fun & Games, games, Makers0 Comments
Behind (The Walking) Hand of a Sci-Fi Icon: Animatronics Designer Jesse Velez Gets into the Geeky Details
RAS2026-01-13T01:28:45+00:00You might consider pausing your Netflix account for a while—no spoilers, we promise. Meanwhile, in a niche corner of the internet where creators still occasionally surprise audiences with real animatronics rather than relying on CGI, Jesse Velez, an animatronics designer, reveals the process behind building one of the most impressive sci-fi props for a notoriously popular TV show from recent history. He and his team built a fully wireless, portable animatronic robot that mirrored human movements in real time, enabling...
January 13, 2026RASUncategorizedanimatronics, Costumes, Cosplay, and Props, Craft & Design, film, Maker Faire, props, robotics0 Comments
Waterlight Graffiti
RAS2026-01-07T17:30:00+00:00This article appeared in Make: Vol 94. Subscribe for more great projects. French artist Antonin Fourneau’s interactive exhibit known as Waterlight Graffiti recalls a combination of two classic childhood toys: the Etch A Sketch and Lite Brite. However, to draw on Fourneau’s installation, a wall made of thousands of LED lights, there are no dials to turn or bulbs to plug in — all you need is water. In 2011, Fourneau went to China where he discovered...
January 7, 2026RASUncategorizedart, Art & Sculpture, Craft & Design, graffiti, interactive art, leds, Make940 Comments
Lightweaver – Illuminating Museums and Festivals
RAS2025-12-31T17:00:00+00:00This article appeared in Make: Vol 94. Subscribe for more great projects. In 8th grade, Todd Moyer fell in love with making after combining a shop class assignment — a little gadget that varied a lightbulb’s voltage in response to audio signals — with his home stereo and some Christmas lights, turning his room into a disco club. “The exhilaration I felt was not just from pretty lights and music, but the feeling of empowerment that came...
December 31, 2025RASUncategorizedart, Art & Sculpture, Craft & Design, interactive art, lights, Made On Earth, Make940 Comments
90’s Techno Art: Rap Caviar
RAS2025-12-26T17:00:00+00:00This article appeared in Make: Vol 94. Subscribe for more great projects. Over five decades ago, in 1973, DJ Kool Herc changed music forever by using two turntables, each playing the same record, with a mixer to switch between them, in order to extend percussion breaks indefinitely. In the 1980s the “failure” of Roland’s TR-808 to successfully emulate a real drummer was embraced by hiphop and techno pioneers who used its synthetic sound as the bedrock to...
December 26, 2025RASUncategorizedart, Art & Sculpture, Craft & Design, Fun & Games, Made On Earth, Make94, mashup, sculpture, technoart, video games0 Comments
