Some nice motion graphics work to share:

• The ad campaign for the new Honda Civic features a rad homage to the movie Tron; check it out in high or low res. [Via]
• Meanwhile the campaign for Honda’s new CR-V features some beautiful, understated 3D work from design shop Superfad. I really like Coffee and Popcorn spots. More here.
• Director Michel Gondry does amazing work^*, and now his video for the White Stripes’ The Hardest Button to Button has been honored with a terrific Simpsons spoof. [Via Russell Williams]
• And speaking of bands, album covers come alive (and are quickly killed off) in this ultra-(cartoonishly)violent battle of the bands. [Via]

^* [Seriously, if you like this stuff at all, treat yourself to this little collection of his work. It’ll be the best $15 you’ve spent all week.]

Veteran engineer Steve Perlman has unveiled Contour, a system for capturing facial details in 3D space. The system goes beyond traditional motion capture methods by covering actors’ faces in phosphorescent powder, then recording their movements from multiple angles. The NYT story features a quick video of the results, and Studio Daily’s got more background on these developments.
Speaking of 3D capture,

• Human Eyes offers photographers a system for creating 3D data using off-the-shelf equipment; here’s an example of the output.
• Capture devices continue to decrease in size and price. Next Engine’s 3D desktop scanner costs $2,495 and is about the size of a cereal box. [Via]
• Microsoft researchers this week unveiled Photosynth, a system for analyzing a large number of 2D photos to generate a 3D fly-through. They depict related research in this video.
• Hardware makers continue to step up and deliver hilariously large amounts of processing power, as with this 80 billion pixel-per-second Nvidia expansion unit. (Somewhat of a bummer, the $17k box is not equipped with actual tank treads or a smokestack.)

Developments like these, combined with tools like Acrobat 3D driving proliferation, mean we’ll be seeing more & more approachable, practical 3D implementations. Interesting times ahead.
PS–On a more analog 3D tip, check out Richard Sweeney’s beautiful paper sculptures. [Via]

The work of two artists is opposite & complementary, creating flatness in space & depth in flatness:

• Felice Varini creates 2D images in 3D space, producing the appearance of flat shapes when seen from a particular spot. Samples of his work are collected here and here, and an animation on his own site depicts how the illusions emerge & disintegrate based on one’s perspective.
• Kurt Wenner rightly calls himself a “Master Street Painter,” producing amazing images that create the illusion of depth on asphalt, concrete, and stone. On his site he discusses the impermanence of his medium, comparing fragile chalk renderings to music & calling their creation a performance.

[Obligatory, if completely tenuous, Photoshop-related tie-in: anyone remember the impossible object that formed the original icon for Photoshop plug-ins?] [Thanks to Marc Pawliger for the links.]

The work of two artists is opposite & complementary, creating flatness in space & depth in flatness:

• Felice Varini creates 2D images in 3D space, producing the appearance of flat shapes when seen from a particular spot. Samples of his work are collected here and here, and an animation on his own site depicts how the illusions emerge & disintegrate based on one’s perspective.
• Kurt Wenner rightly calls himself a “Master Street Painter,” producing amazing images that create the illusion of depth on asphalt, concrete, and stone. On his site he discusses the impermanence of his medium, comparing fragile chalk renderings to music & calling their creation a performance.

[Obligatory, if completely tenuous, Photoshop-related tie-in: anyone remember the impossible object that formed the original icon for Photoshop plug-ins?] [Thanks to Marc Pawliger for the links.]