Skateboard Re-Attempt / FINAL ??!
I want to preface this with, This is a fun project, and it is one that I attempt again in the future because I know I can do better... again... and again... and again... As you can probably tell by my previous blogposts, I was unhappy and ultimately somewhat embarrassed by how my attempts have turned out this far. Admittedly this class has been quite challenging for me, and it isn’t a matter of unwillingness to learn but truly just due to this being out of my wheelhouse. Aside from my excuses, I did feel like I was able to learn a lot by constantly reapproaching and reconfiguring my design, and although it didn’t turn out exactly how I originally envisioned I am at least happier with this final product.
THE BEARINGS ON THE TRUCKS LOOK BETTER STYLISTICALLY THAN THE HUGE WHEELS I DESIGNED TO FIT OVER TOP OF THEM. D':
I was really blown away by my classes papercraft finals, as well as the papercraft finals of the students who have taken this class before me and I wanted to make sure I put in as much effort as possible to try to live up to the expectations that have been self-imposed upon me – I also want to showcase that even someone who lacks traditional design insight or experience may even be able to accomplish this task with enough hard work and discipline. Looking back, I think I may have tried to design some sort of paper airplane with cool supports and structure because this did also kind of give me a nostalgia trip back to constantly creating paper airplanes as a kid, and also led me to think about the possibilities of paper airplanes with cardstock and the ability to design, render and cut/score the idea before unfolding and reassembling (I think it would be so fun and really cool, I’m certain I could make some really airworthy designs!) I digress, maybe that will be something I pursue for fun in the future though.
I redesigned the board yet again, adding more room for folds and just overall cleaning up the design as best as I could after many helpful laser cutting sessions with Jessica. (She is extremely helpful, patient and polite and if you ever need help with this class do not hesitate to book an appointment with any of the techs.) I also spent most of the time on this project redesigning the wheels, and the bearings to not only be larger but hopefully so that they don’t implode upon my folding attempts. I had to redesign this while keeping in mind that my motor skills are not very different than that of a child, so I tried to make the reassembling of the model as easy as I could. In terms of the rails, and trucks I basically did the same thing as the wheels in terms of just simplifying and enlarging my design for ease of folding and making it overall look cleaner. I still don’t fully understand how some of the students were able to get such clean folds and aesthetics, but comparison is the thief of joy and I am just happy with how much I have learned and the amount I’ve improved even over the course of this project.
I know in my last blog post I opened with “welcome to my personal hell”, and that is by no means a complaint about the project itself, but more so to do with my own struggles surrounding the project and the toll this semester has been taking on my sleep schedule and mental health.
Here is a photo of my personal skateboard that I used as inspiration for this project. Thank you very much for reading through these ramblings and posts – I do truly appreciate it, and If you are a fellow student who is having a hard time, I hope that my persistence is inspiring if you are struggling with this project as much as I did.
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