Awesome work done already!
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are you considering 3d printing these? I only have a small fdm printer (4.7in^3 build volume) but, I’d be willing to help
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Thank you! I will probably do the winning Helryx art by @Mister-N somewhere on the canister, maybe the front. Ideally both the moc and art winners will be represented. Open to ideas on how to do that though!
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I really like the Metru canister design as well.
yeah i’ve gone back & forth on that actually - part of me wants to have it be compatible, but part of me wants it unique as the first Toa canister in existence. Maybe a compatible bottom to stack with the Mata canisters? Not sure yet.
As far as numbers, I’m planning on 1 for @TheUnderscoredDouble, 1 for @Mister-N, and 1 for @Eljay /TTV. I’m totally open to make more though, it just might cost money as I am broke haha
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@GX_05 I think the transparent idea could be cool, I will explore that
thank you @Rons_oc
@Dadertrix I most likely see myself 3D-printing these yes. I would love your help! Once we get a little further in the process I’ll be sure to touch base
@Hawkflight thank you! haha still getting the hang of things here but I appreciate the help lol
I do like this idea, perhaps it will end up in my next iteration
Thank you! I agree with the OG feel. I’m trying to find the balance of having it resemble that time frame to fit in with when Helryx existed/used a canister into the timeline of Bionicle, while still making the canister feel unique to her as the first Toa. Feedback as I continue to walk this line is greatly appreciated. Definitely going for a Mata feel
This is a cool idea! I do want to make it feel “prototype” or “mk I”, so to speak. Feedback on the next round of sketches to this point would be greatly appreciated
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Don’t forget you can quote people’s responses like this by dragging your mouse over the text and pressing the button that pops up.
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Perhaps if you were able to, implementing a silhouette of Daxia might be a nice nod towards her involvement in The Order of Mata Nui.
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Love these sketches. Given that the Toa Mata were created around the same time as Helryx, I think it would make sense to go with a more og canister. The Toa Mata’s canisters were initially stationed in Karda Nui and one Order agent used a canister to get to Mata nui. However, I can see why some might want the Mistika or Glatorian canisters, because Helryx was arguably introduced in 2008. Perhaps a Toa Mata canister with some ridges would suffice.
All in all, I think Helryx’s canister should at the very least arguably resemble the Toa Mata but I’m open to whatever you do.
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I think it would be cool to see a sort of prototype canister. Maybe something like a cube.
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Helryx Canister Design mini-update 1
Got some orders in the mail recently for this project! I’ll open them soon for all to see…
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Any update on the canister design?
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Yes sorry, I have definitely been working on it! A few of my co-workers got covid (both recovering well) so I had to take on both of their responsibilities as well as my own, so I’ve been a bit busy. Hoping to post sometime soon, this weekend at the latest. Glad you are still interested!
Its definitely not too late! Still sketching! I’m finding it a bit tough to use this canister design, but I’m going to sketch a few ideas for it - not throwing any ideas out yet
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First time I’m seeing this topic, and if it’s not too late to influence the design, I think it would be cool if Helryx’s canister looked similar to the Roboriders canisters. Her armor already uses Roborider heads, and the winning mask design was in turn also based on those head pieces. I think it would be cool and a little funny if we could keep this meta reference to Bionicle’s immediate predecessor going.
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Hey all! First off, I am very sorry about the delay - as some of you know, a few of my co-workers got covid (both recovered now praise the Lord
), which meant I had to take on their responsibilities and therefore didn’t have as much time to work on this as I wanted. But they are back now, and I can spend time on the real priorities haha. I appreciate all of your patience with me.
Helryx Canister Design Update #2!
I really didn’t want to rush this. I want to do it right. Therefore, I am still in the idea exploration phase and am not ruling out any ideas that pop into my head yet. This is how I was taught product design, so I’m simply defaulting to it during this process.
A couple of my thoughts:
I think this canister should be (relatively) simple. Since Helryx is the first Toa, and she deals heavily with the Mata, it seems fitting.
I have also developed a list of design criteria to help influence the project. They are as follows:
- “Dome”-shaped lid (based on early Bionicle artwork, this seems fitting. @Kodiak @akirk47 striving for that early ‘prototype’ look)
- Smooth canister main body (for display wrapping - @Eilrach this is probably where a picture of some sort will go)
- Mask display (this was suggested by @GX_05, and I really like this idea. I’m not sure exactly how its going to play out yet, but I do want the mask displayed in some fashion, especially since it was part of the contest)
- Logo resin disc (you’ll have to wait to hear more about this
)
Not an end-all be-all list yet, but I am going to try to stick to these. If you have any further suggestions, feel free to post in the comments
I’m still going super wide with these sketches, & purposely not narrowing it down yet. Each sketch is a new idea, so I’d love your feedback! I enjoy incorporating your ideas into this, and it gives me something to go towards when my mind goes blank haha.
An idea was mentioned by @Kanohi_Cantri to give a nod to Daxia in this design. I really like this, so I thought of an outline of the island on the bottom of the canister (sort of ‘foundational’ vibes).
Another idea was to make this canister compatible with others (@Lesnichiy). I’m having a bit of trouble with this tbh, and she is kind of a unique Toa… still giving it a shot though
This was suggested by reddit user Pirate_Puma on r/bioniclelego - having a set of guidelines (as there will be many more of these to come). I really like this idea. These are not hard rules yet and obviously not fully flushed out, but I’d love input on this as well.
Oh I almost forgot, but as you can see the Bricklink parts are for my canon Helryx, who I * almost * have all the parts for 
cannot wait to see her standing next to her canister!
I’m really enjoying this process 
I have so many ideas, I cannot wait to see the final product. I’m going to be able to post much more regularly now - hoping to have at least 1 more page of sketches up by this weekend.
Well, thats enough of me talking. I hope you like the project so far. Please please please leave your comments, questions, and criticism. It really helps me make this the best it can be.
HM
- edit * : canister guideline #3 should say FIT the theme, not fix the theme
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With the mask displaying: why not use the Mata canister lid, it fits your concepts (all the Mata-Related thing) + it already has a Mata head on top, so you can just put the mask on it.
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RIP - The design of the mask will not allow it to fit on the mata lid 
. Plus, I would like Helryx to have her own unique lid, being the first toa and all
@CMO thank you for your support! I’m glad you understand haha as I’m quickly seeing this will take awhile, probably until after the Artakha contest is done and even then some.
I have heard this suggestion a few times - I think either this next round of sketches or the round after I will put up some inspiration material from that era and see what happens and if I can reconcile the '08 aesthetic with the direction of the project.
sometimes, humble matoran draws first and thinks second 
thank you so much again for the kind words and support! really blessed to be part of this community.
yeah 
… that is the question of the day haha. I’m leaning towards doing something other than a canister for Artakha…not only because the titans came in boxes, but also because a canister doesn’t seem to fit this character as well…
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Hey, glad to see you’re still doing this! This is a really cool idea, and a nice reward for the winners. And don’t feel rushed to get this finished. Something as unique and intensive as this deserves all the time it can get! (Also, I know this is jumping the gun a bit here, but I’m curious, for Artakha, do you plan on doing a canister too, or a traditional box, since he’s a titan? Obviously if you haven’t thought that far ahead yet I totally understand!)
As for C&C, I’d think that keeping Helryx’s canister similar-ish to the Mata’s is the way to go, seeing as how in-story they were created around the same time, and the Mata would probably be based off of Helryx, seeing as how she’s the first Toa. However, seeing as how she made her first big appearances in 2008, it might be neat too to base it off the '08 canisters, particularly the Mistika ones. That way, you could put her mask on the side of the canister like how the Ignika was for theirs. I really do like too your idea for using Daxia as a “base” around the canister. I think that’s a really cool incorporation of it.
Additionally, I’d be slightly worried about this canister’s stability, since it might be a bit too top heavy. I suppose though that more so depends on the material used and how wide you’d want it to be there.
Hope this helps, and good luck with the designing!
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Helryx Canister Design Update #3!
More sketches! I have added another page of exploratory ideas to this process - would love more feedback, & thank you to all who have provided some thus far.
Still striving for an old skool design language here
. I’m starting to have some ideas in my head for what this might officially turn out to be…
Getting some of these shapes not only from the mood board I have up but also from pieces of Helryx, most notably the mata head, foot, and robo rider head.
Let me know what you guys think! Would love feedback as I progress through this design process!
Also, I’ve taken another look at my guidelines:
I really want to push the artwork as the display portion on the canister, since it was equally as much a part of the contest as the moc portion was. These are just rough ideas at this point for how to go about that. I’d also like to include some sort of booklet with a bit of the ‘story of the contest’, if you will. I feel like it could be a nice touch for those who want a canister, & a nod to many of the good designs that didn’t win. I also feel like it can really showcase the Bionicle (or Bonkle) community. Let me know what you think!
My next steps will be to sketch some designs inspired by the '08 year/theme. I’ve had a fair amount of people say this is pretty relevant to Helryx, so I’m going to see what happens!
I know originally I said I wanted this to last the duration of the Artakha contest, so that when his contests were done I could start right on him, but obviously I got a little delayed in the beginning…oops haha. I’m still going to finish in as much of a timely manner as possible, but I really don’t want to rush this and I’d rather take my time and do it right. Thanks all for being patient with me during this process!
And as always, any feedback/comments/critique is ALWAYS appreciated 
HM
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Non-round canister? I think the round one is much better.
Your sketches are … hard to understand. Am I right that there are several Coliseum-inspired designs? Are those ones on the right are side views ?
Idea with separate booklet for the contest is super neat. I think that canister should have art on the one side and the MOC on the other, just like some official canisters show the main image on the front and some functions/features/promo materials on the back. Maybe Daxia image can be added on the back side too. Maybe something else. Also the mask probably should be replaced on the MOC via photoshop.
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Not saying it will look exactly like the 08 canisters, just may draw some inspiration from that year’s overall visual presence.
Most of the designs are inspired by 1) Mata/Nuva canisters, 2) FaberFiles early concept art, 3) Helryx pieces, 4) Bionicle 2001 architecture (in that order)
you are correct. exploring overall profile here, from a different angle other than the top of the canister
thank you! I agree, and (as of right now) I’ll probably put the art on the front of the canister as it is the canon version according to BS01
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