The problem I worked on for my drawing assignment was: Superheros need something that covers their head that is made out of glass.

Once I got past the initial shock of trying to make a good glass helmet that wouldn’t accidentally impale the superheros in the face, I started thinking of other glass-based materials. I found fiberglass, which is plastic reinforced with glass fibers. It is excellent for making complex shapes and several fiberglass motorcycle helmets are already on the market so I decided to focus most of my superhero headwear on fiberglass.

All three of my sketches focus on full head coverage. It never quite made sense to me that superheros wouldn’t all opt for helmets seeing as they provide full face coverage (for protecting their identity) and they provide far better protection against attacks.

Sketch 1: “The Updated Rocketeer”

For my first helmet drawing I wanted to pay homage to one of the only superheros who does wear a full coverage helmet: The Rocketeer. It’s got a similar head ornament but the main differences are that I pushed out the glass window in order to provide better visibility, I made it so that the glass has a mirror coating so it completely protects the superhero’s identity, and I made the head ornament out of clear laminated glass. This would unfortunately be incredibly heavy and this helmet would make it very difficult to breath so I decided to abandon this sketch idea.

Sketch 2: “The Gutsy Superhero Limited by their own Lack of Powers”

For my second helmet I decided to go with all glass and no fiberglass. This helmet would ideally be for a superhero who has to travel underwater or to space often but still requires oxygen (so mostly for superheros without powers). This helmet opens with a hinged flip-up door for when the superhero is back on the surface. This helmet is not intended for 24/7 wear, rather it is intended for use under special circumstances, so I decided to abandon this sketch in favor of a helmet that would be consistently worn.

Sketch 3: “The Roman Helmet”

For my last sketch I went with a play on a classic roman helmet that would provide easy breathing (unlike the Updated Rocketeer) and would become part of the superhero’s everyday costume. It’s a fiberglass construction with a wide, mirror coated window for good visibility. I wound up choosing this helmet to draw because it’s a good marriage of practicality and comfort that would not get in the way of the superhero’s everyday work.

Drawing 1 of Sketch 3: The front view

When I was doing this drawing I made a few tweaks (just to superficial things). I changed the shape of the eye opening to make it more interesting and I just tried to make the whole thing look more symmetrical. I then used photoshop to do a proposed color scheme:

Drawing 2 of Sketch 3: Side View

In this drawing I really just wanted to show the angle of the front face because I noticed in the front view it looked a little flat which would be very uncomfortable for someone to wear. I also did a proposed color scheme for this view:

In the future, this design could be improved in several ways. First by adding integrated gadgets and communication devices to the helmet and also by adding padding to the inside to make the helmet better at protecting the hero’s head. I didn’t add either of these things to my sketches or drawings because I was limited to glass materials but they could be easily added and the would improve the helmet greatly.