Typically, I'd spend some time trimming and bending cardboard or chipboard to craft whatever I envisioned, then I'd reach out to a fabricator friend to work his magic and create it for me in aluminum.

If you want to bend metal to make shapes, you might use equipment like a brake. But if you don’t have one, no worries. You can still do a lot with common tools like a vise and torches. [Bwrussell] ...