5 Stars for working with and accomplishing this with 3DVIA Shape! The more examples of more difficult curved surfaces we have, the more our imaginations are freed.

Thanks Don!
I was wonering wether I could create such a model in 3DVIA Shape, and the answer is ‘yes’ :)
Aactually, I discovered that the most powerful feature is the push-pull tool. Used together with boolean operations, freeform and symetry, nice surfaces can be created. I have been really inspired by tip 16 in:

http://www.3dvia.com/blog/3dvia-shape-30-tips-and-tricks/

http://www.youtube.com/v/YjaUKl7wzZE

Basically, if you draw on 3 non-parallel planes of a cube 3 different profiles and then use the push-pull tool, their intersection leads to a surprisingly complex volume, such as the ‘glass’ of the helmet above. Using freeform is very intuitive but the technique descirbed allows you to have total control over your final surface!

Good one!! all the best for 3dvia challenge13 -helmet….

Thanks for your support!
I basically made this model more as an experiment with 3DVIA Shape and mostly because I have fond memories of the ‘Battle of the Planets’ comics. I have always been intrigued by the design of the heroe’s helmets: they are really catchy, but they don’t seem that useful. Indeed, the helmet is more cumbersome than protective, the ‘antenna’ and ‘eyes’ seem useless and ressemble arcade cabinet controls :) But graphically speaking, the original shape of the helmet makes it unique, immediately recognisable, and seems to radiate heroism :)

For a very thorough illustration of this concept, please also see – http://www.3dvia.com/trigram_QWQ/models/E49389DAECFED0E2 – it can be a big help to see what FatherT3d is describing.

I find the all white planes, shapes and results to be difficult to visualize, so I used abu_roadking/Trigram_QWQ’s original model and added color to the planes.

http://www.3dvia.com/dswavely/models/B44E17AABC8EA0B2

This makes it much easier for me to see what is going on. You can use whichever works best for you.

Thanks for posting the tutorials here!

I’ve created one for the ‘beak’ of the helmet here:

http://www.3dvia.com/FatherT3d/models/368B992C3E102234

I’ve provided the basic outlines of the ‘beak’ so that anyone can give it a try and see how simple it is to get an interesting surface once the inital curves are done right! Tell me if there’s something missing so I can add it!