creepy crawly

1095: A Wing and a Prayer

| wonko

Having just treated my first 2 bits of Wenzhou paper, I was itching to fold something (and running out of time to do so). I decided on a Praying Mantis, designed by Jo Nakashima model that I have not yet folded:

Jo Nakashima's Praying Mantis

Based on a 40 grid, using fairly standard box-pleating tricks, this model is a lot of fun to fold. Jo helpfully provides diagrams that detail how to efficiently and accurately lay in the crease pattern (check it out here) and in doing so I learned a LOT about treated wenzhou: It is deliciously thin, crisp and really strong (it allowed me to bugger up a collapse 2 times before getting it right, without paper fatigue). One thing I did not expect was it’s relatively poor reversibility – ie. you fold in one direction and then turn it accurately inside out. I was expecting it to be easier to reverse.

Jo Nakashima's Praying Mantis Views

Instead of “parachuting” (apparently a CP solve no no), I used the central axis and formed the head, thorax and as a consequence formed the front 2 pairs of legs. The abdomen collapse is fascinating and bends back under the wings making it really tidy all round.

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1081: l’escargot

| wonko

I was doodling with a scrap of 2×1 note paper and arrived at what I think might be an original model:

le escargot

This little snail has a volumetric shell and body, along with some lovely poseable eye stalks.

le escargot views

Originality in Origami is tricksey, as most models recycle techniques from other folds, and the head/eye end uses a fairly standard waterbomb-accordion sink, but I cannot remember seeing it used in this way.

The shell is formed initially by outside reverse-folding the body and as such offers a colour change opportunity if folded with bi-colour paper.

I made a video tutorial if you want to fold it, or read further for a set of photo diagrams.

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1055: Hermann the Hermit

| wonko

Looking for something to de-stress and unwind to after a brutal term, I turned to “The Works of Satoshi Kamiya II”, and a model that I was astonished to find I had never tried – his hermit crab:

Satoshi Kamiya's Hermit Crab face to face

Starting with a 70cm square of natural/white Kraft paper, the fold was challenging as you allocate one side of the sheet to the crab, the other to the shell. Via a fabulous fold sequence, you tease legs, claws, antennae, eyes and mouthparts while delicately colour-changing the rear and then spiralling a shell as his home.

Satoshi Kamiya's Hermit Crab views

This is, (der), genius design – I always am amazed with Kamiya designs, and the elegance of the developmental sequence – as if the journey is every bit as delightful as the destination.

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1028: Montroll’s Butterfly

| wonko

Flipping through “Bugs and Birds in Origami” by John Montroll one gains an appreciation for the clear design skills on show:

Montroll's butterfly

This is Montroll’s “Butterfly” – published in 2001, representing ‘old school’ design, the resultant model is lovely, efficiently uses paper and is morphologically pretty accurate – all this without the hundreds of instructions typical of more modern designs.

Montroll's butterfly views

Folded from a 30cm square of Daiso unryu (do they still make this? i have not been able to buy it for years), the work to isolate legs and antennae is delicious (if requiring precision) folding, and overall is a fun sequence minimally diagrammed.

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1027: Wasp

| wonko

I was scheduled to go on a weekend away with the missus, then the State Government called a 3-day lockdown because of a small outbreak of a new strain of Covid-19, so found myself home with some time on my hands:

Stephen O'Hanlon's Wasp

After 2 glasses of wine, I decided to see what Kraft paper could do, and decided to throw a 70cm square of white/natural at Stephen O’Hanlon super complex wasp photodiagram design.

Stephen O'Hanlon's Wasp views

I fully intended to stop when it failed – Experience has taught me that insects like this require really thin paper, but I just kept folding and the model worked out pretty well. There is a lovely proportion to this model and the sequence is intense (I must have some skills because the wine seemed no impediment) and fun, borrowing from many designers – namely Shuki Kato, Robert Lang and Anibal Voyer – having folded from all these designers I can certainly feel the influences.

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