mammal

101: A Ram

| wonko

I was cruising sites in Polish (no, don’t ask) and came across a rather nifty animated archive of charming animals – this is a ram:

He has a rather splendid set of horns, cute feet, twisty tail and nicely formed muzzle (with a lower jaw you cannot see in the photo.

Happy with this as a first fold, there was some lovely precise rabbit ears (the main technique – odd – rabbit ears for a sheep, but in the end it all tastes like chicken), I do think I would mod it a little on subsequent attempts to round out the body.

You too can have a go: http://dev.origami.art.pl/show.php?id=31&format=SWF&dzial=FLA

97: Joisel’s Rat

| wonko

I have been wanting to try this model ever since I saw it:

Eric Joisel designed a lovely, character-filled rodent that was fun to fold. Paws, claws, a stoned/bemused expression on it’s face and lovely ears and tail – what more could a rat want?

You can fold this yourself – Eric, as part of his legacy, publically shared the instructions for this model at http://www.ericjoisel.com/ps_assets/pdfs/rat.pdf

Why a rat? Well, My son turns 23 today – HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTY – he spent the last 2 years or so of his life studying rats in Macadamia plantations as part of his Honours program but I bet the rats he had to deal with are nowhere near as cute as this little fellow.Hopefully he will find it when he wakes up this morning.

89: Koala

| wonko

Not to be beaten, I returned to my Japanese Origami book (all instructions and nomenclature are in Jap) to try to learn conventions and symbology on a simpler model, given how the centaur yesterday turned out I figured I should start simpler:

I like this model – a Japanese figurative Koala (probably folded from an idea, not by someone who has ever seen one) – the tummy is full, it has a “stoned” expression on it’s face and it’s posture is satisfying.

I had never seen koalas in the wild (except for far off blobs someone else tried to convince me was actually a koala and not a dead branch) until Jo and I traveled to Cape Otway in January 2011 – to see them in such great numbers, clambering skillfully in trees, close enough to touch was a rare privilege (and a secret safe because no one is following this blog:P )

88: Centaur

| wonko

Fools rush in when angels fear to tread:

This looked simple, and the instructions made sense (up to a point, they were in Japanese and some odd symbols I had not encountered before) but I should have looked ahead … this size and type of paper (and my noobishness in this fold) resulted in a poor first fold – but I learned something in the process. I was rushed, stressed and interrupted but meh.

The hind-quarters are sort of right, interestingly the hands have 5 fingers each, the head/shoulders malformed and the arms out of proportion. Were I to fold this again I am confident it would be better. The SCALE was the main issue.

They cannot all be gems I suppose

82: Scottie Dog

| wonko

Looking for something that was quick, as I was out for most of the day, I came across a rather charming Scottie Dog:

This model by Neil Elias looks more like a pug puppy, but it could have been how I folded it – cute as a puppy, sitting, in profile however.

80: Knut in Memoriam

| wonko

To be honest I am not a great fan of Zoos, but in the case of Knut, a little Polar Bear cub rejected by it’s mother at birth, he would not have had 4 years of life in relative captive comfort.

I have been wanting to try Robert Lang’s Bear, from the book “Origami Zoo” for ages, this seemed appropriate, given the unexpected death of Knut yesterday (News Article). After you get past the odd proportioned rectangle (25cm x 15cm, cut from an A4 page), the actual design is fairly easy.

I really like the head, lovely ears and muzzle, powerful neck and suitably powerful legs (I even sneaked some bear claws in there – Mr Lang, there was paper, why not hey?). Although actually a brown bear, in white he looks suitably polar.

Happy with this model, as a first fold it could not have gone better.

79: Joisel’s Baby Hedgehog

| wonko

Prepare to be AMAZED – even after 3 hours folding I am!

This is a hedgehog, well in truth the “baby hedgehog” – it has 5 rows of spines (as opposed to the “mother” which has 9). I remember seeing hedgehogs in New Zealand (yes, I grew up there for a while) – shy little creatures you only usually met when you ran them over, sadly. This model is not unlike an echidna, and in truth I fashioned a head that was more echidna-like merely because the instructions stopped with a step “make the head” but no ideas as to how.

I have not worked on a model that resolves, on the fiddliest folds to 64ths until now, it is exhausting. I should have realised that it was going to be tricky when Joisel himself stopped explaining a stage (formation of the first row of spines) saying it was difficult but here is what it should look like when you have finished – lol. I also discovered that Joisel’s favourite paper folding tool – a Japanese chopstick, was needed to combat the fat fingers that would otherwise mangle fiddly pleating.

Eric Joisel was a master of paper folding, arguably the worlds most accomplished folder of human characters. Some of his work defies reality and the techniques he pioneered for paper sculpture are forever his legacy to the origami community. I hope he is smiling at this model, I am so chuffed I managed to achieve it.

You can find the instructions for this and 10 other Joisel Models at his tribute website: http://www.ericjoisel.com/ps.html Good luck, you will need it.

You may applaud now.

72: A Load of Old Bull

| wonko

Unusually for me, I have not featured cow-like models yet. This is strange given my predilection for all things that MOO, so to redress this, I have started with the least cow-like models I have:

I am really happy with the head of this model – nice and 3d, horns, big soft nose, the ears are a little low but overall the head is a highlight – this is a particular miracle as the instructions are most unclear how to form it, so I sort of improvised.

The body is clumsy, sadly, the legs thick and stocky and the body out of proportion, nevertheless it is cow-ish and a suitable first moo.

You too can have a go at this model – see if you can improve upon it: bull

70: Wild Boar

| wonko

Apparently it is “Bacon Week” – why was I not told? I find out on Thursday that it has been bacon week and all this time I could have been celebrating bacon-goodness

This is a little wild boar – I quite like the stance, the ears and the fact it also has tusks – it came from one of my Japanese origami books so do not know the designer, sorry.

I have a bunch of other pigs, more some other month.

(I made it to 70, yay me)

63: Polar Bear

| wonko

Looking through the British Origami Society website, I stumbled across a simple pattern for a Polar Bear:

Made from 1/2 a square triangle, you fold half the bird base and massage from there – nice little model designed by Max Hulme that uses creases to create a 3d body and hindlegs out of nowhere. As a first fold I am very happy with this one, but would improve the posture and expression next time I folded it now I know what makes what.

Why a Polar Bear? Well a colleague suggested it (thanks Bruce).

You can try it too (diagrams are a little rough and leave a lot open to interpretation): http://www.britishorigami.info/practical/creative/bestof/mh.php

62: Horse

| wonko

I intend to try a few horse models – thought I would start with the least horse-like and work towards something nicer:A tiny-wee model that takes a square from A4 and reduces it to a very tight mass of paper. Not sure that the legs  work very well and the tail is clumsy (partly because of the bulk of paper bent to form it), but it is a start

60: White Rabbit

| wonko

Yes, I know, it is a habit, but a useful one to say “white rabbits” on “The Ides of March”:

A quick, but nicely posed rabbit for the beginning of the third month, hope you like it. I have done other rabbits – notably 32 and 10 but am not sure I can find 12 of the little blighters – we shall see.

58: Rhino-cocerous

| wonko

I was lent a book (thanks @ackygirl, must remember to return it) that contains some designs I have been meaning to try – the Rhino looked impossible:

The head of this beastie has some 15 layers of paper in it, bending it puts stress on photocopy paper (it began to split up neat the ears) but I like the body formation, it has the cutest little hooves and tail. The body armor looks right (as my feeble memory allows me to remember the last one I saw at Western Plains Zoo).

I was mightily pleased when this model worked first-fold, as there is a bit of guesswork needed to get the proportions right – it looks rhino-y tho so I am happy with the first fold.

54: Monkey

| wonko

Now according to the design I was working to, this should look a LOT like a monkey:

Sure it has 4 legs, a tail and a curious pot-belly, but it is monkeyish as a biro is blue-whale-ish.

After what seemed like an age, and some serious paper torture, I am not entirely sure this is not almost completely unlike any monkey I have ever seen (and yes, i have been bitten by one in Kuala Lumpur) … anyways, I tried – they cannot all be gems.

Thanks Harry for the suggestion, have a try for yourselves: monkey

51: Quentin Trollip’s Pig

| wonko

A pig is such an interesting (and apparently intelligent) animal, pity it exists for nothing else but food. This model, designed by Quentin Trollip (love that name) is adorable:

From shout to tail, all details are there, including beautifully dainty trotters (with cleft hoof, thank you fingernails) and a plump delicious looking hind-leg.

Why a pig? Well, we are having roast pork for dinner, so it only seemed fit to honour the animal whose murdered bits we shall consume later tonight (with gusto and gravy).

You should try this – it is relatively easy (apart from 3 snarly sinks in the head):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEh5jDf0ViA