OBDF 110 Project 5: PAPERCRAFT OBJECTS: DIGITAL SAMPLES - Skateboard

For this project, we were tasked with creating eight objects that represent something significant from our childhood and then unwrapping them as a practice to produce forms that could be created with papercraft. I decided to use eight smaller objects that would combine to create a larger item from my childhood, which is my skateboard. I decided to create wheels, bearings, trucks, screws, nuts, the board itself and rails on the bottom.  

Here are some rough designs I drew trying to figure out in my head how I wanted to model the skateboard. 

Below is a test shape for wheels and other things for the skateboard, was just trying to figure out the unwrapping mostly, and I will revisit these. 

This is the design I am going to use for the wheel, and also the bearing and nut but smaller. I am going to experiment with different versions to see what works best, but for now, this is the unrolled result with a preliminary shape. 

Here is a photo of an overhead view of a breakdown of the truck. 

And another! 

Here is what the truck looks like when it's all together, I forgot to get a rendered version of this one so it's just the wire mesh, unfortunately. 

Above is an unrolled part of the truck that goes across, and below are the mounting bars that the wheels, bearings and nuts go onto. 

Trying to determine the thickness of the board was a struggle for me. Typically skateboard decks are constructed out of wood, and multiple layers. This is communicated through what is called "ply count". I was initially thinking of just modelling one piece, but I also had the idea of printing and cutting and assembling nine pieces of paper stacked on top of one another to create plys, but the dimensionality might not be ideal. 

Finally here is a guard rail, there will be two of these on either side of the skateboard deck to protect "the graphic" lol. 

This object is significant to me because as a child I used skateboarding as a means of transport but also as a form of self-expression and a way to help me continue to be active. Because skateboarding is a solitary pastime, I have spent more time skateboarding than I have with certain family members or friends. I thought this would be a perfect choice for this project because most of the components of a skateboard are important and are also customizable by the rider to help create a deeper connection, but also in a way, it's a strange relationship because although the skateboarder remains, and certain pieces can be transferred from board to board, inevitably the skateboard is replaced through time bit by bit.