Oh, I like this.

Sometime a couple years ago I discovered David Lanham’s “Somatic” icons and fell in love with them. It’s a work of art in the scope of computer graphic design: an organic, animated style that avoids the photorealistic look of most OS X icons, while simultaneously not appearing flat or uninspired. But the set came out four years ago, and since Leopard’s release in October of last year, Somatic’s 128-px sizes and lack of a matching Dock have left it a bit dated.

Honestly, I had more or less forgotten about Somatic until I read about its update today at the Iconfactory. It’s one of the best icon “remasters” I’ve ever seen; rather than simply scaling the resolution to 512×512 pixels, Somatic’s entire aesthetic has been tweaked, shined and polished. It looks more realistic and vibrant than the old version, and the new icons included (and Dock, for that matter) feel like a perfect fit. Lanham’s release is available for free at the Iconfactory, and if you want a matching background, try perusing his personal website, dlanham.com.

(for what it’s worth, I interviewed David Lanham in September of 2007.)