Cardboard Wearable
The cardboard wearable art project featured an armor-suit design with leg and arm guards inspired by the centipede's exoskeleton. Repetition was used to represent the long scaly nature of the centipede, along with its many legs.
EMPATHIZE
What are the project's parameters and constraints? The cardboard wearable must:
1) Cover 50-75% of the body; 2) Be able to stay together during movement up and down stairs; and 3) Be able to be taken on and off.
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Materials list and additional constraints:
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Cardboard
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utility/xacto knife
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hot glue gun
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paper tape
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ruler
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scissors (maybe sewing supplies or riveting supplies).
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Xacto knife
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Trimming mat
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The cardboard cannot be painted or colored by you in any way.
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Must have full mobility
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Structurally sound (cannot be formed around the model, but must be able to take off/on or equip)
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Must only use materials specified, you can use color cardboard that is precolored not painted by you.
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Form and function- make it pretty and functional for a practical purpose.
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Masking tape cannot show on the outside.
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Must resemble something.
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Must have a practical use as well.
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Additionally, we will use a small voice recording device.
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DEFINE
Five artists working in cardboard and/or wearable art that intrigue me were found. I then printed off photos of their work in color and put them in my sketchbook. In my sketchbook, at least 10 different sketches with multiple variations were created for the cardboard wearable sculpture.
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IDEATE
After hearing everyone else’s ideas and research, three ideas were sketched out in greater detail while devoting at least 1 whole sketchbook page to each of these ideas. Our team then began a scaled paper mock-up of the final 3 ideas. After selecting our final idea, we begin working on the specifications for the cardboard wearable design.
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PROTOTYPE
During this phase of the project, the different sections of the costume were split between the group members to be built. The different sections were then assembled to create the complete Centipede inspired cardboard wearable armor.
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![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aa3f06_42426a9cbb0a4fa4947864d099f0cf1d~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_222,h_127,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/aa3f06_42426a9cbb0a4fa4947864d099f0cf1d~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aa3f06_9f1200ae21c149298dee8d608233643d~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_222,h_126,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/aa3f06_9f1200ae21c149298dee8d608233643d~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aa3f06_d8d591340a654c498f72e66bbd99bebf~mv2_d_1440_2560_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_116,h_207,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/aa3f06_d8d591340a654c498f72e66bbd99bebf~mv2_d_1440_2560_s_2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aa3f06_88ff1106d5fa477a8760a338cb5e1492~mv2_d_1536_2048_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_172,h_229,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/aa3f06_88ff1106d5fa477a8760a338cb5e1492~mv2_d_1536_2048_s_2.jpg)
![Brainstorming Prototyping](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aa3f06_c78ed18ce5804a1e88efb4354bb971b9~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/aa3f06_c78ed18ce5804a1e88efb4354bb971b9~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
Group discussion, brainstorming, and referencing images online is truly a great way to begin a project.
![Supplies for the Project](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aa3f06_42426a9cbb0a4fa4947864d099f0cf1d~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/aa3f06_42426a9cbb0a4fa4947864d099f0cf1d~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
Our form had to follow the function of the limited supplies allowed. This project was restricted to allowing only the use of cardboard, glue (hot glue or rubber cement), tape, string, and rivets. It helps to reference the supplies when eliminating sketches in the early phases of the project.
![The Finished Prototype](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aa3f06_88ff1106d5fa477a8760a338cb5e1492~mv2_d_1536_2048_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/aa3f06_88ff1106d5fa477a8760a338cb5e1492~mv2_d_1536_2048_s_2.jpg)
The completed centipede inspired armor-suit cardboard wearable art. Equipped with arm and leg guards. The sound decided for the project was created using four to five clinking and clanking sounds combined to intimidate predators. https://soundcloud.com/shannon-hanson-34099628/the-sound-of-a-centipede-final
![Brainstorming Prototyping](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aa3f06_c78ed18ce5804a1e88efb4354bb971b9~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/aa3f06_c78ed18ce5804a1e88efb4354bb971b9~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
Group discussion, brainstorming, and referencing images online is truly a great way to begin a project.
FEEDBACK
Overall, the project was a success. The cardboard wearable was mostly structurally sound and representative of the assigned insect, the Centipede.
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Improvements?
While the design did stay together during the stairwell challenge portion of the project, the wearable did get damaged during the equipping stage. However, the rest of the structure was sound in build and an easy fix of tape was able to provide an easy solution.
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The design of the Centipede inspired cardboard wearable actually closely resembled a tick instead of a scaly centipede. While the legs proved to be a bit too long and often would get caught on door ways and nearby tables.