DRAGON MASK:
A D.I.Y. PAPER MASK FOR YOU TO BUILD! INSPIRED BY EAST ASIAN DRAGONS.
TASK: To develop a design for a Mask that can be cut from a single sheet of Bristol Paper.
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN CATEGORY: Product Design
SKILLS USED: Ideation, Sketching, Lazer cutting
TIMELINE: 4 Weeks
Week 1-2 : Ideation
Week 3-4 : Design Development
MOODBOARD
The primary inspiration behind my mask is that of Dragons found in East Asian Culture. As it is the year of the Dragon in Chinese culture, making a mask symbolising power, longevity and wisdom seemed appropriate. Aurelion Sol, my main champion in the game League of Legends is also based on an East Asian dragon, thus the mask has a personal connection with me.
SKETCHES
Dragons are mythological creatures, since no real pictures exist, by taking inspiration from renders by digital artists and traditional chinese art, I could construct different views of, whatt i think to be, a chinese dragon.
DRAFTING MODELS
I experimented with how to shape the snout, the directions and length of the horns, the shape of the nose and most importantly how we see out of the mask. The mask was too small to draw eyeholes so I resorted to look out of the open mouth. Various fins were later added to hide the top half of your face, concealing your identity and functioning as a mask.
TRANSLATING TO DIGITAL
This process was simple yet vital in the execution of the project. The 3D model we made was dismantled and layed flat between a black sheet of foam and a clear acrylic panel the size of a singular sheet of Bristol. This way we can create a digital file by tracing on illustrator and be true to scale.
INSTRUTION MAKING
The importance of instructions cannot be undervalued. Clear instructions can make the hardest problems easy to solve. My mask had a lot of parts as such i couldn’t make a step by step instruction manual in one sheet of paper, thus i resorted to making a template that number and color codes tabs and their respective slots.
