178: Scuba Steve

Now I was watching this stop motion animation by Sipho Mabona, and saw a humanoid emerge from a sheet of paper, so began doodling with a square of parchment not really having any plan. Oddly a figure emerged with what looked (to me at least initially) like a shell on his back.

Immediately I thought of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” but my son said version 1 looked a lot like a skindiver (he has diving qualifications so I was not going to argue).

Surprisingly, I was able to fold it a second time and discovered a bunch of paper that was useable for a facemask, a nice 3d head, was able to fashion a pair of airtanks of his back and some lovely flippers and…

“Scuba Steve” now lives – I have NO IDEA where i got the name from, but depressingly when I googled it it seems associated with an Adam Sandler movle – my bad. The name stuck.

I am actually pretty proud of this model – i knew where I was going and, without reference to anything else I have folded (well, maybe the arms and legs are influenced by the Hoodie) I think this is pretty neat.

A PADI AOW diver in Florida offered to professionally diagram it for me (which is kind of cool, we shall see if that results in anything – he is a renowned origami author, fingers crossed).

Here is an interim set of instructions: scubasteve (PDF)

Addendum: Version 4 has been submitted to OrigamiUSA and 4Esquinas (the Latin American Origami Society) also seem interested in publishing it – we shall see. Interestingly because it has already been mentioned online, Creased magazine does not want to touch it – curious but fair enough.

3 thoughts on “178: Scuba Steve

  1. Hi there,

    I was searching the web for ‘scuba diver’ Origamis and came across your website. I don’t know much about Origami (it’s my first time looking at this type of website) and I am literally amazed and awestruck by your work!

    I was looking for instructions to make my own scuba diver origami. It’s a diver friend’s birthday in a couple of weeks and I wanted to make him a special gift. Looking at the pictures of ‘Scuba Steve’ I don’t know if a totally inexperienced guy like me could do this. I’m certainly ready to try, but I’m also ready to buy one from you, if you’re willing to sell of course!

    I would appreciate your opinion on this please. Are you selling? Are there instructions that I can use to try on my own? Are there other websites where I can find more information?

    Thank you for doing such incredible work … it really put me in a good mood, seeing all this!

    Best,

    Raf.

    1. I have linked a set of photo diagrams you can try yourself, conversely email me with your requirements and we can do something through the post

      1. Thank you for the instructions,

        I will try by myself, it will be my first time. I need to go buy Origami paper and follow your instructions. It won’t be trivial. If I see that it’s too much for a beginner, I’ll contact you with more details to do something through the post,

        I appreciate your willingness to share instructions, it’s very kind of you,

        Thanks again,
        Rafael.

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