Novice having trouble making my first pattern

[UnimportantSomebody]

So, a couple years ago I wanted a plague doctor mask for halloween, so like a reasonable person I spent hundreds on leather, cheap tools, and a pattern to make my own. It took me till a week before halloween to get the leather, but with a good bit of work I had it finished on time and I was incredibly happy with the result.

Afterwards I still had quite a bit of leather leftover, and I wanted an entirely unique mask, so I thought why not design my own template? Well that didn't turn out nearly as easy as the last mask. Following the template was simple, the hardest part was finding the right leather. But I had no clue where to even begin making my own template. Eventually, after lots of dragging my feet, I drew mock ups of how I wanted the mask to look. Then, I 3d modelled the design, hoping that maybe there'd be some way to segment off the model, and then flatten those segments into a usable template. The model turned out great, but I couldn't figure out a way to get a template from it.

Where do I even go from here? I'm entirely stumped on what I should do next.

Pictures of the 3d model for better understanding

[Dwight]

I don't do masks . . . I'm ugly enough as it is . . . lol

But I do do holsters . . . and I'm often tossed with "Can you make me a holster for ...........................??"

My usual answer is "Yes" . . . they leave the gun or knife or ax or whatever . . . and I "make the model"

I use two different mediums to create my pattern . . . manila folders . . . marine vinyl.   The folders of course come from any office supply store or Walmart . . . but the thick and heavy vinyl I can only find at Joann Fabric shop.  Fortunately for me . . .  if you sign up with Joann . . . they'll send you their 40 or 50 or 60 percent off deal this week on certain stuff or maybe just one item of your choice.  I grab the one item . . . buy two yards of the vinyl . . . which comes to a piece 72 inches long and I think 45 inches wide.  

LOTS of material to make models with.  

I just take a shot in the dark as to what I think something should look like . . . or I use my thumbs and literally "form" the manila folder around a gun or knife . . . take the scissors . . . cut out the rough shape . . . go from there.

Either medium can be taped on the back to add where you cut off too much . . . then re-cut to the right shape.

Hope this helps.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Littlef]

I'd pick up a few sheets of craft foam from Michaels/Hobby Lobby.  They are a buck or two a sheet.  They have more thickness and pliability than using paper or cardboard.  Then you can cheaply prototype.  If I'm working on something I haven't made before, I make my initial drawing and measurements on paper.  When I work that out, I make it in craft foam.  Once I try it in a 3D foam mock up, I often find things that need to be tweaked before cutting expensive leather.