Looking for today’s fold, I returned to a collection of bookmarked models from my growing collection of Tanteidan magazines:
Made of 4 tetrahedral modules, each with deep tabs along a pair of adjacent sides, you then fold a pair of interlocking preliminary bases as the core. Continue reading
I have passed this model many times, thinking “not sure what that is, maybe later”, but decided to give it a whirl tonight:
What a curious object. Designed by Jeremy Schafer, from his book “Origami to Astonish and Amaze”, this odd ripply mathematical conundrum hurts your brain to look at.
A fun paper manipulation first makes a nested tetrahedron, which is then accordion pleated to make the deltoid. You can then open it up like some surreal book, 4 separate rippled deltoids emerge – curious indeed. Continue reading
Who could have foreseen that the concurrence of a series of parallel mountain folds interspersed between a series of concentric parabolic valley folds would result in something with such sculptural simplicity?:
This is Jun Mitani’s “Spheroid”, well, at least as close as I could get to it by guessing the intervals between parallel lines and the curve on the parabolic ones. Continue reading
I am often asked why some of my posts are preceded with a number. I must admit to folding paper, on and off, since I was 11, but more recently I took it back up again as a sort of physical therapy to convince myself (as much as anything) that I could control my nerve-damaged hands after spinal reconstruction.
The numbering makes sense to me, really. On January 2011 I (in retrospect rather naively) decided to try and fold a different model every day for a year. I numbered the models as I folded them, using that index to catalogue the unique folds I managed to achieve.
When I got to 365, I ran out of 2011 and no longer had the one a day madness that was actually really interesting.
I decided to keep folding. When I fold something I had never folded before it too is granted a number. I will continue – it is a useful metric for me, might be an organiser for you but it reminds me of the staggering variety of models out there, and reminds me of the fact that I have really only tried a tiny fraction of them so far.
Now you know …
To celebrate the 500th unique fold documented on this blog, I thought I would hold a guessing game whilst trying a fold I have been considering for a while.
This is “Horse Laugh” by Kunsulu Jilkishiyeva from Nicholas Terry’s “Drawing Origami Tome 1” – a fun fold that sees some amazing box pleating and layer management to make a really detailed head (with lips, teeth, eyes, the works), tail, rather lovely mane and some funky legs. Continue reading
Sometimes I just need to fold, it is difficult to explain but I find great clarity in wrestling with complex geometry. We ALL have much to learn GRASSHOPPER. 
Having bought Robert Lang’s “Origami Insects Volume 2” I thought it was high time to fold something from it.
Lang’s models are great technical exercises, amazing manipulations of the plane to the extraordiary.
I am also searching for a model to use a sheet of Origamido paper I have on, but will not use it as a first fold – it costs too much.
There is lots to like with this model, and it was a good WTF exercises – sadly my origami friends probably recognised it immediately and my other friends had no clue.
Fernando Gilgado is a legendary character folder, I have made many of his models, this one is a charmer:
from one sheet of paper, you get 6 pages, a hard cover, arms, legs, a smile and eyes peeping over the top – neat
So, as I mark furiously (having run out of the ability to put it off any longer), my procrastigami takes hold and I started bending something. I also wanted to try out my new self-healing craft mat (the green griddy thing) and have discovered that folding from an iPad or other tablet is better than a book because of the pinch-zooming possible to help old eyes see details of diagrams. Continue reading
I was exploring a corrugation technique I last used with Eric Joisel’s Bandoneon and stumbled across a sort of plan to fold Joisel’s Snail:
You start with an extraordinarily long (my estimate – 3.25m) and narrow (in my model 9cm) strip of paper, then start folding slanted lines (using a 3:1 gradient) in both directions
In days of old, when people of a township were threatened they retreated (as their last best hope) into the Keep – a heavily fortified “core” of the castle that was designed to withstand the most vigorous of attacks
So I had this odd but interesting idea that it should, given the right size of paper, be possible to fold an entire castle from it. After being inspired by Gachepaper and his exploration of Lotka I decided to give it a whirl
I stumbled across low res hand-drawn diagrams of a Ryu (Chinese dragon) and with a cursory glance said “why not give that a go”:
Two weeks later and a whole bunch of improvising helped me realise that may not have been a wise choice but I have something that is at least based on Hoang Trung Thanh’s model but not faithful to it.
On folding the range of pleats I added a ziggy zaggy spine, decided on 3 rows of scales and invented a method of locking the leg units (each leg is a separate sheet of paper) into the body pleats. I also stuffed the body (with neutral facial tissues) for a little shape and added a nice row of belly scales which I think make it look pretty nice.
The head instructions were un-followable (to me at least) so I sort of wrangled a new head with some lovely horns and a nice open mouth. Continue reading
Sunny’s birthday is coming up and she loves Giraffes:
In browsing for a suitable model, I discovered a Tanteidan containing a Satoshi Kamiya giraffe that I had not folded, so it seems it was meant to be.
I lke this model a lot – it is full of the essential giraffe features, economically uses the sheet and contains some wonderfully complicated folds. Continue reading
I have a stack of Lotka that is just waiting to be folded into beautiful things, so I looked for something that would be suitable as a WTF (because it has been a while and my procrastinator is running on full right now):
Taking the largest square I could from a barely rectangular sheet, I pre-creased then began collapsing
I had one last piece of Nicholas terry’s “Tissue Foil” and a little time on my hands so decided to try and nut out Satoshi’s Lion:
This lovely little model is a right pain to fold – some astonishingly complicated twists and turns that are not really well explained in places – some of the odd sinks and manipulations to encourage the body shape were very challenging to understand.
After nearly completing it, I then decided to repeat the process with a piece of mid-tan Tant (newly purchased and arrived) and that also was a challenge – not because I was now unfamiliar with what needed to be done but rather that the paper was so thick that it became very difficult to complete folds.
I amazed myself by completing both – fairly happy with them – I learned lots along the way and, should I fold them again (and yes, I am not against the idea) I think I can do a lot better, now that I know what goes where. Continue reading
Perusing a Tanteidan, I noticed a crease pattern challenge, set by Jason Ku, and filed it as a “that’s impossible” fold:
Needing to unwind from a hectic and punishing term at work, I cut a 55cm square of light weight Kraft paper and set about working out, geometrically, where the myriad of creases were.
Although there was some regular geometry to place landmarks, there were some “mystery meat” creases that I just sort of fudged really – professionals would have measured it but I know I am an amateur.
I saw this AMAZING design, and figured it could not possibly be made out of ONE SQUARE without cuts, or glue and became determined to try and make it for myself:
I found a crease pattern but little else to go by, so sort of wrestled the initial creases into place as best I could. Continue reading
