It took over 100 artists to paint this full-length movie, the first of its kind: a work where every frame was hand-painted, then combined into an epic animation about, in the style and using the techniques of Van Gogh (oil and canvas).

This first trailer of Loving Vincent shows the brushstroke style anyone familiar with the artist’s world will immediately recognize. The movie is about Vincent’s life, death and works, an honest look at what was anything but a carefree existence. His own work also shows up throughout, 120 of his masterpieces in total, smoothly transitioned into the frames as the narrative unfolds around them.

A great deal of care went not only into the planning process, but also the execution so that each frame is both original and unique but transfers seamlessly to the next, despite the number of painters involved.

Produced by Oscar-winning studios BreakThru Films and Trademark Films, production is still in progress in Gdansk, Poland, but this sneak peaks suggest it will be well worth the prices of admission (h/t Colossal).

More from the filmmakers: “Loving Vincent is an investigation delving into the life and controversial death of Vincent Van Gogh, one of the world’s most beloved painters, told by his paintings and by the characters that inhabit them. The intrigue unfolds through interviews with the characters closest to Vincent and through dramatic reconstructions of the events leading up to his death. Every frame in the Loving Vincent movie is an oil painting on canvas, using the very same technique in which Vincent himself painted.”

Using the unique regional shapes of structures to his advantage, street artist ROA has created a series of large-scale works as part of a neighborhood art project in Djerba, Tunisia, drawing 150 artists from 30 countries.

While a number of impressive and well-known painters and muralists contributed to Djerbahood, ROA’s work is particularly site-specific, drawing on the architectural details (like domes) present in the regional landscape, mainly in deserted buildings.

The artist’s signature creatures, as usual, vary with the locality as well – in this case his work features a combination of desert and sea animals, reflecting the water-surrounded space as well as the dry land of the area.

The largest island in North Africa, Djerba has become a true open-air museum, contrasting authenticity and tradition with a space for expression by artists of various cultures. This project was made in part to appeal to tourists, aiming to draw in additional visitors from Europe and around the world. Additional work by ROA includes urban street animals in Mexico and Panama City as well as London.

Where Architects Live, a special exhibit scheduled for Milan Design Week 2014, features a rare glimpse into the residences of leading designers including Shigeru Ban, Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind,  Mario Bellini, David chipperfield, Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, Marcio Kogan, and Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai.

Seeing what architects do to their own domiciles can provide a unique window into their work as well – for some designers, their own spaces become places of experimentation and discovery. These homes are where they have full artistic liberty – the only time they are their own clients. In some cases, like Frank Gehry’s wild residential remodel in Santa Monica (shown above), these projects can even be professionally pivotal – turning points for entire careers.

Famous for his light-touch, site-specific architecture of paper and cardboard, there is a contextual delicacy to Ban’s forest home in Japan. It is bright and open, and was designed specifically to avoid the need to cut down trees already on the property.

The abstract art and physical curves found in the home of Hadid should come as no surprise to those familiar with her work, which is also prominently on display in drawings and models around the house.

The home of Libeskind features an eclectic mix of furniture and objects, from conventional modern chairs art materials – nothing so aggressively angular as his typical architectural projects, but perhaps suggestive hints to be found in the relationship of chaos and order.

Bellini loves books, and it shows in the incredible multi-story scaffolding he has built in order to be able to climb up and interact with his huge personal library.

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Sneak Peak Inside The Homes Of 8 World Famous Architects

It is a fantastic endeavor and nearly finished – a movie made up of 56,800 stop-motion paintings, all presented in the style and told by the characters of the tale’s protagonist: Vincent van Gogh.

The first full-length feature of its kind, Loving Vincent uses van Gogh’s own techniques to explore the life and death of the artist, “through his paintings and by the characters that inhabit them.”

As its creators explain, “the intrigue unfolds through interviews with the characters closest to Vincent and through dramatic reconstructions of the events leading up to his death.”

This production by Breakthru Films features 120 of the artist’s paintings and draws its plot from 800 letters, using them to flesh out a deeper picture of this often-misunderstood painter whose work goes well beyond his famous works, such as Starry Night.

In van Gogh’s own words: “Well, the truth is, we cannot speak other than by our paintings” – these industrious filmmakers are taking him at his word, and animating his images and subjects to tell his story.

Breakthru was founded by Oscar award-winning animator Hugh Welchman. Fortunately the project raised sufficient funds on Kickstarter, so given how far they have come one can only hope that (unlike the life of the painter featured) this work will not end in tragedy.

Though times and vehicular technologies change, at least one thing remains the same: concept cars drive vehicle design, both on and off the drawing board. What seems visionary and perhaps impossible today may well become a standard feature tomorrow, and perhaps even inspire generations of designers to come. Lincoln has tasked WebUrbanist with a bit of creative time travel – first backward, then forward. Our journey begins with this series of five future-shaping concept vehicles of the 20th Century.

The Ford Seattle-Ite is something of an historical wonder – a World’s Fair show item in the 1960s, it portended interchangeable fuel cells and bodies, safety glass as well as interactive computer and mapping systems fascinatingly (strikingly similar to the GPS units found in more and more models every day). Of course, not every innovation comes true – the proposed compact nuclear fuel source has yet to materialize, but who knows: it might yet.

As early as the 1930s, though, designer ideas pushed beyond their time in models such as the Phantom Corsair. This prototype never entered production, but its flush fenders and minimalist lack of running boards inspired future sleek and modern designs. Even now, it looks streamlined and deceptively light despite weighing in at nearly 5000 pounds.

Another failed but famous flop from the same decade was designed by notable architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller – his Dymaxion car strove for fuel efficiency and maximum passenger room, carrying up to a dozen people at a time. While aerodynamic due to its shape, it was scrapped after a serious accident during a demonstration that showed it could roll too easily due under the right (or more accurately: wrong) conditions. All the same, its emphasis on efficient engineering from power usage to body configuration still inspire modern designers to this day.

And then there is the iconic Lincoln Futura, which made the rounds (and headlines) at auto shows in the mid-1950s. Unlike many concept cars of its time, the Futura was fully functional – at the same time, it was all about design. From its bubble-top canopy to its sweeping tail fins, it stretched aesthetics in all directions. It went on to become a cultural phenomena, starring in the classic television series Batman and featuring prominently in major movies as well. Its eccentric curves may have been too much to handle as an open-road, mass-production model, but it managed to make a long-term mark nonetheless.

Success comes in strange ways in the realm of design, as each of these examples illustrates in a different way. In some cases, a trend is anticipated or even started by an unsuspecting source. In other cases, an extreme idea ultimately becomes everyday reality. One thing, though, is for certain: coloring within the lines is no way to jockey for position in the never-ending race to create the next great vehicle – pushing limits, testing and experimenting are, paradoxically, perhaps the only way to to stay on track. Our second article in this two-part series skips straight through the present and pushes into the future, featuring design concepts and prototype cars suited for everything from land to sea and air.