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Warren Lotas Helmet
My brother got employed by the famous streetwear designer Warren Lotas and loves his job. Warren's designs for clothing are as emasculate as they are stylish. The brand really exudes punk energy. Out of our fondness for Warren Lotas, my brother commissioned me to make a helmet in the fashion of Warren's trademark skull characters. I had the pleasure to meet and collaborate with the Warren Lotas team and was able to design a prototype for a helmet that encapsulates Warren's style. This was an enjoyable project and I hope to work on future projects involving Warren Lotas.
Virtually Designing the Helmet
For this project, I wanted to use virtual reality for designing the structure of the helmet. VR has become a trademark tool in my design workflow. The added benefit of VR was being able to try on the helmet without the need for fabrication. I initially sketched the design of the helmet in a sketchbook and shared the drawing with the Warren Lotas staff. Upon approval of the design, direction proceeded to sculpt the model in the VR program Gravity Sketch. I was able to send snapshots of the model's progress allowing for feedback and adjustments to the helmet's design. The Warren Lotas team was gracious enough to send files of 3d models used in previous projects as a reference. Once a final design of the helmet was constructed it was exported from Gravity Sketch as a .obj to be further altered in Fusion 360 to become more suitable for manufacturing.
Desktop CAD Processing
I wanted to add some unique features and capabilities to the Warren Lotas mask. They were incorporated the programmable LEDs in the eyes to simulate a burning fire, a hinged jaw that follows the mouth movement of the wearer, and an attachable miniature fog machine that emits smoke through the teeth. The 3D model of the helmet was further edited in Fusion 360 to incorporate these designs. In Fusion 360, I was able to model containments for the LEDs around the eyes, hinges for the jaw, adapters of the fog machine, and a rear latching system in the back of the helmet so the helmet can be easily put on and taken off. The latching system is akin to that found in power ranger helmets, thus allowing for the helmet to fit closely to the form of the wearer's head. After the model is finalized in Fusion 360 it is sliced up into manageable parts for 3D printing.
Processing the Hardware
Once all of the parts were 3D printed on my Ender 3 pro, the parts were glued together with two-part epoxy. The helmet is then smoothed with 2 coats of XTC-3D resin and sanding to remove layer marks. The helmet is then coated in primer to be prepared for detailed painting. Neopixel LEDs are installed in the eyes of the helmet. These LEDs are operated by an Arduino Pro Micro and are powered by a rechargeable 3.7v battery. The sockets of the helmet's eyes are sealed with polarized lenses. A cotton mesh is layered behind the mouth of the helmet to further obscure the wearer's face while keeping the helmet breathable. Elastic is attached to the hinges of the jaw to allow the jaw to retract to a closed state as the wearer talks. A separate, attachable smoke machine compartment is created out of an atomizer commonly used in vape pens. Glycerine is used as fog juice in the smoke machine. A rechargeable 3.7v lipo battery powers the smoke machine of the helmet.
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