For this project I had to create a helmet which is strong and can handle a bit of wood weight, as a precise working individual I really enjoyed this project despite facing some difficulties throughout the journey of reaching my final product. The start of this project was quiet interesting I started off with exploring different patterns and origami shapes. I found out that I began with following instructions to create a certain shape or object then ended up adding my own folds and gave it a unique twist as to what it is supposed to originally look like.
I started with researching online on the different folds, and origami shapes one can do. I wanted to keep my options wide therefore I gathered all the images which I believe would be suitable for my helmet and represent me, I also wanted to make sure that my helmet would stand out in between others. I like my work to be very symmetrical most of the time, keeping the objectives of this project in mind using polyhedral shapes. Throwing it Back as a kid I always enjoyed playing the fortune teller game done in many different ways which underlies in the origami making sector and as an adult watching the stars always struck to me. Here was when I knew exactly what I wanted to create for my helmet. It started off by following the way in which a fortune teller is done, and ended up with me creating a pattern of my own. I was not impressed with the shape in the first place, I kept on playing around, and adding folds everywhere until it resembled something to me. The shape I ended up with looked like a star and the fortune telling game in my eyes and that was when I decided to create multiple replica’s of it in order to build my helmet.
Some difficulties I faced during the process of creation were minor despite had an effect on the final product I created. Firstly, getting familiar with the Bristol board was not the easiest thing to overcome, since its a heaver type of paper it was more difficult to fold, as it got harder the smaller the fold gets or as the paper multiplied in folds. The second problem I faced was carrying my finished shapes abroad with little material to continue the helmet with. As this project is very hands on and I spent a lot of time creating my pieces I had to take what I have done with me back home, that being stated it was of disappointment to have them arrived in really bad shape of which I wasn’t able to use whatever I have previously made. Moreover Having shortage of material and being on lockdown also had big impact because I had to use found materials that I had already. I was under so much pressure when I knew that everything I have done for this project has gone to waste, despite that I managed to create a helmet that went beyond my expectations on how it will end up looking like. I have overcome the first problem by practicing on several Bristol board papers, and using different tactics on how to fold, I kept on opening and folding the paper several times, used a scoring knife and a ruler to get the crisp edge look on my folds. After the many trial and errors I have faced, finding that creating multiple folds might not be the ideal way to proceed with this project so I ended up using the scoring knife for some folds and the ruler for others. As for the second problem, I have doubled the paper in some of the shapes to hold the helmet still on my heard.
Overall, I believe it worked really well and created an amazing outcome looking at the counter side on how it would’ve been more stable if the Bristol was still available.
