Your first foam piece, start to finish

Each Workshop tool has its own tutorial. This one strings them together into a first project: a foam helmet made to your own head. The screen work takes about half an hour; the cutting and gluing is up to you.

Before you start

1. Start a build

   In My Builds, press + New build, name it, and add a piece called Helmet (Make). This is where the work will be logged.

2. Measure your head

   In the Measuring Room, measure Head with a tape — level, just above the eyebrows and ears. One number is all a helmet needs.

3. Open Piece Forge from the build

   On the helmet piece, press Model ›. Piece Forge opens tied to that piece.

4. Start from a helmet

   Pick Helmet, or the Open-face helmet preset to start further along (see Start a piece and shape it).

5. Fit it to your head

   In Fit & export, choose your profile and press Resize to fit (see Resize to fit).

6. Shape it

   Drag handles to make it your character's — keep Symmetry on. Then save it with Save to library.

7. Unfold and print

   Open Unfold to foam, keep the distortion at 2%, and press Open print sheets. Print at 100% and measure the ruler (see Unfold to foam templates).

8. Make a paper mock-up

   Cut the templates from paper or card first and tape them together. Try it on. Cheap card beats a wasted sheet of foam.

9. Cut and build from the build steps

   Trace the templates onto foam and follow Build steps at the bottom of the Unfold panel: cut, score, bevel, join each band, and try it on.

10. Log it

    Back on the build, press Log progress and add a photo (see Log progress). Tick the helmet done when it is.