Blue whale

I love this whale. The design comes from Sok Song's new book Crease + Fold.


I started with a piece of art paper cut down to a 6" square. It shrank down to form about a 3" long mini-whale.

This is yet another piece of art folded in lovely Cafe Zing (free plug). The green patch on the table is clearly some sort of plankton ol' mini-whale here hasn't gotten around to devouring yet.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

And now, the classic Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", re-created with paper cranes.





*sniff* So sad.

The Kirk and Spock cranes are traditional models folded from 4-1/2" squares of standard origami paper. The Lokai and Bele cranes are variations of the traditional model, folded from 5-7/8" squares. (The variation "shrinks" the paper somewhat, making them roughly equivalent to a 4-1/8" square.) The cranes measure 3-1/8" to 3-3/4" from beak to tail, owing to variations in pose as well as paper size. Folding sequences for the traditional model may be found pretty much anywhere; a good folding sequence for the variation may be found at Origami Club under the heading "traditional".

Photography courtest of Danielle Osterweil.

Chickens

Ah, what have we here? Some sort of moonlight tryst?


These chickens are based on a very fun and simple model by Kunihiko Kasahara. Easy enough for beginners, but elegant and evocative.

Which one is the rooster? Which one is the hen? Can you tell? One of the joys of origami is in making subtle adjustments to the pattern. In this case, slight variations in the shaping of the back, tail, and underside create subtle differences in the completed model. Learning these adjustments and variantions is the first step towards origami design.

And now... cyborg rooster.*


"I'm looking for Sarah Connor."

"Ain't nobody here but us chickens!"

The rooster and hen were made from standard 5-7/8" red origami paper. The cyborg was made from 5-7/8" square gold and red foil paper. Each stands about 2-5/8" tall and is roughly 4-1/4" long (minus tail, in the cyborg's case). Folding patterns for a basic hen and rooster can be found in Kasahara's Origami Omnibus.

* Please, no "Robot Chicken" jokes.

Two cranes in flight

Today we have two cranes in flight, modeled here by the amazing Alex and Jason.

The orange crane on the left is a clever model from the "technical school", based on John Montroll's "five-sided square". (Best name ever.) It is essentially a five-limbed version of the traditional flapping bird, with some extra shaping and detailing. And yes, it flaps.

The purple crane on the right is belongs to the more "traditional school", and is incredibly elegant and fun to fold. Whereas the orange crane has two distinct, defined legs, the purple crane has a single rear flap, folded in such a way to suggest the existence of two separate legs. I find this very clever and aesthetically pleasing.

The orange crane was folded from a 9-3/4" square of standard origami paper. It measures 5-5/8" from beak to foot. The model was designed by Robert J. Lang, and folding instructions may be found in his book Origami in Action. The purple crane was folded from a 5-7/8" square of standard origami paper and measures 5" from beak to foot. This crane was designed by Kunihiko Kasahara, and folding instructions may be found in his book Origami Omnibus.

Pteranodon

It's a lovely day in the Mesozoic Era. The sun is shining... it's a beautiful day... and then all of a sudden... pterodactyl attack!


Caw!

This Pteranodon, photographed soaring above the coniferous forests of the late Cretaceous Period, is actually a sophisticated adaptation of the traditional flapping bird model, as featured in last week's post. The wings of the traditional model are reshaped; the tail and head are split into feet, beak, and crest, and voila! Although the modifications might seem severe, they don't alter the underlying structure of the model. Thus, the flapping action is preserved; tugging the beastie's feet produces a terrific prehistoric flap.


This model was designed by Robert J. Lang and folded from a 7" square of standard origami paper. It measures 3-1/4" from snout to rump, with a 5-3/8" wingspan. Folding instructions may be found in Lang's excellent book Origami Design Secrets.

Flapping birds

Flap. Flap. Flap.

Today's post features three bird models that flap when you tug on them. Specifically, it features photos of these birds. I suppose it would have made more sense to take videos of them flapping, but hey.

The topmost bird is a traditional model based on the bird base. The bird on the left is a modern creation by Samuel Randlett, based on the waterbomb base. It has a much smoother action than the traditional model. The bird on the right is a variation of Randlett's bird by Paul Jackson.

The traditional bird has a property known as one-sidedness. In layman's terms, the entire outside of the model is derived from only one side of the paper. (Most origami paper is colored or patterned on one side, and white on the other. You will note that the model is completely patterned -- the white side of the paper is completely hidden.) The other two birds do not posess the one-sidedness property; in each model you can see the both the upper (patterned) and lower (solid colored) sides of the paper.

You will notice that the traditional bird is significantly smaller than the other two. This is a side-effect of the one-sidedness property: the usable surface area of the paper is reduced by a factor of 50%.

All three birds were folded from 5-7/8" squares of origami paper. The traditional model uses a standard patterned paper. The other models use pattern/solid duo paper. The traditional bird measures 4-3/8" from beak to tail-tip, with 3" tall wings. Randlett's and Jackson's birds both measure 5-1/2" from beak to tail-tip, with 3-1/8" tall wings.

Folding instructions for the traditional bird may be found in many books and on many websites; Origami USA offers some. Instructions for Randlett's bird may be found in Origami in Action by Robert J. Lang. Instructions for Jackson's variant may be found in Practical Origami by Rick Beech.

Be sure to check back next week, when we will take a look at another flapping beast.

Wriggling lizard

This handsome fellow looks like he crawled straight out of the American southwest. Actually, he was designed by Japanese folder Tomoko Fuse. This lizard is a multi-sheet model with a very clever locking system between the body segments, allowing the monster to move and bend somewhat realistically. It's fun to grab it by the tail, give it a good shake, and watch it wiggle!

For this model, I ended up using card stock. Paper would work well for a posed model, but I really really wanted to grab it by the tail and shake, so I figured I needed something a bit sturdier than normal. For anyone following in my steps, I highly recommend the use of a bone folder or other folding tool.


This model was designed by Tomoko Fuse and is constructed from 12 5" squares of green card stock. The completed model measures a bit over 19" long. Folding instructions may be found in Rick Beech's Practical Origami.

Sheep

Baa.

This is a nice ram model designed by Jun Maekawa. My interpretation of it is unfortunately somewhat goat-like, but I hope you get the general idea.

This goat -- sheep, I mean sheep -- was made from a 10" square of standard origami paper. The final model is approximately 3" long. (I can't find my ruler.) The folding pattern may be found in Maekawa's book Genuine Origami.

Three-headed crane

Welcome,. and happy 2009! We start out the year with a traditional standby, the three-headed crane.



Actually, three-headed cranes are not in any way traditional. This model is by Jun Maekawa, designed to illustrate certain aspects of technical folding. My favorite part of this model, however, is actually an intermediary stage -- a six-pointed analogue of the traditional bird base. Using this base, I have created my own (slight) variations on Maekawa's model.

Phoenix.



Triple crane.



Folding instructions for the three-headed crane may be found in Maekawa's excellent book Genuine Origami.

Office frog

Here we see the office frog in its native habitat -- the office. The office frog is a traditional model folded from a 4"x6" index card. (They had 4"x6" index cards in ancient Japan? Just go with it.) Folding directions can be found in many places -- searching the Internet for "index card frog" will bring up some good links.

The office frog is springy and can be made to jump by pressing down on its rear end and releasing.

Moneybird

Today's model is the ever-popular dollar bill peacock. This is a fun model to make, although some of the finer details are rather difficult to do -- the head and legs become pretty thick with layers. It's a fun trick at parties, though.

The dollar bill peacock was designed by Adolfo Cerceda. Folding instructions may be found in Practical Origami by Rick Beech.

Industrial crane

I love paper. I love the feel of paper. I love the smell of paper. I even love the sound of paper, when I riffle* through an old book or wave a large piece of cardstock through the air.

But, y'know... sometimes you want something more than just paper.

The medium for this piece is some nifty aluminum wire mesh I picked up from my local art-n-craft store. It's normally used as a framework for sculpting, so it's cuttable and bendable but stiff. This piece was originally formed from a 6" square of the stuff. It is 5 1/4" long with a 5 5/8" wingspan.

As will all the other photos on this site, you may click on it to display a larger version. Be advised, however, that this image is considerably larger than normal -- I loved the intricacies of the mesh that were caught by the camera, and I hated to shrink the file.

* Yeah, it's not a real word. You know what I mean.

Northern cardinal

Spring has finally arrived in Boston! The end of April was cold and wet, but today the sun is blooming, the flowers are singing, and the birds are shining high in the sky. Or something like that. Anyway, here's a bird.

The northern cardinal is a mid-size songbird common to the eastern United States (and elsewhere) notable for its bright red plumage and crest. It is also the state bird of Ohio (the heart of it all), which makes it inherently cool. You can attract cardinals to your yard with sunflower seeds.

But enough about real cardinals, what about paper ones? This model was designed by Michael G. LaFosse, and is probably my favorite of his. It is simple enough that a relative beginner can fold it, and it looks great! This model was folded from 1 square of 5 7/8" red/black duo origami paper (giving it a realistic coloration), and measures 5 3/4" in length. Directions for this model may be found in LaFosse's excellent book Advanced Origami.

Dragon Hatchling

Peep!

We finish up Dragon Week -- er, Dragon Month, I guess -- with this baby dragon hatching from its egg.

About a year ago I received a fun kit from my buddy Mike entitled "Make Your Own paper Dragons", by Sean Brand and Ivan Hissey. The kit consists of instructions for drawing, painting, and folding dragons, accompanied by a small pait kit and some origami paper. This charming model (by Nick Robinson) was contained within.

The model was folded from a 5 7/8" square of red/yellow duo paper. The egg measures about 3 1/8" wide.

Why a yellow egg? I thought it looked cool. A second hatchling, emerging from a white egg, may be seen below. Which do you like better, yellow or white?

Happy Li'l Dragon

Rowr!

This clever fellow swooping in from the sky is Lassie (short for "Velassieraptor"), one of a collection of hideous beasts given a good home by my friend Marci. The design is my own, developed one afternoon when I tried to see how much of the KNL dragon I could fold from memory. (Answer: not that much.)

As with my shrimp design, the happy li'l dragon has not been published anywhere, although I plan to do so at some point. The head is a traditional fish base grafted onto the body of a traditional crane. Lassie was folded from a 7" square of dark green/light green duo paper. He (she?) measures 5" from snout to tail and has a 3 1/4" wingspan.

KNL Dragon

RUUUOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRGH!

This happy fellow is the Kasahara-Neale-Lang Dragon. We see him in his native habitat, hunting for prey along the fertile plains beneath the majestic Orange Couch Mountains.

This beast is an adaptation of dragons by Kunihiko Kasahara and Robert Neale by Robert J. Lang. In Lang's own words:

...some years ago a composite (multisheet) origami model had become quite popular by combining the head from a dragon by Kunihiko Kasahara (itself a three-piece composite model) with the body, wings, legs, and tail of a simple one-sheet dragon by Robert Neale.... The combination became known as the Kasahara-Neale Dragon.

Lang uses a technique called grafting to create the critter with a single sheet of paper. Essentially, a large bird base and a small bird base are embedded in a larger square of paper, such that both bird bases touch at one point. The extra paper is used to give the dragon larger wings that the original. Unfortunately, it also produces a strange two-toned effect, but with the right paper, this isn't a problem.

This model was created from a square of 13 3/4" standard origami paper. The completed model is 8" from snout to tail, with a wingspan of 6". Diagrams and folding directions may be found in Origami Design Secrets by Robert J. Lang.

Crane comparison

Here we have three crane-like birds. The orange bird on the left is the simple crane, or orizuru. The green bird in the center is the "crane with folded wings", or orihazuru. The blue bird on the left is not technically a crane; it is the traditional "flapping bird" -- unlike the other two, it will flap somewhat convincingly when the holder tugs on the bases of the neck and tail.

Given the similarity of all three models, it should come as no shock that the folding patterns are all remarkably similar. Each model was created from a 5 7/8" square of standard origami paper folded into a standard bird base -- variations in the final folds account for the differences in each model.

Instructions for folding the crane and flapping bird can be found in many beginner origami books or online. Instructions for the crane with folded wings appear to be more elusive -- one source is Origami Made Easy by Kunihiko Kasahara.

Shrimp mk. 3

This shrimp ("Shrimp mark 3"... you don't want to see marks 1 and 2) was my first original design. I'm very pleased with it, although there are some improvements I eventually would like to make, particularly around the head and antennae. It is unusual in that the folder starts with a triangle (a 45-45-90 triangle, specifically) rather than a square, folded into half of a bird base. (Conceptually, picture folding a square of paper into a bird base, unfolding it, cutting the square down one diagonal, and refolding one of the resulting triangles along the existing creases.) The crease pattern and folding sequence are currently unpublished, although I do plan to publish both eventually.

I am particularly pleased with how well the tail came out. (You can see a close-up below.) As I was designing this model, one of my roommates brought out a bucket of shrimp tails ("don't ask," he said) so I could get a good idea of what they actually look like.

This shrimp was folded from one half of a 9 3/4" square of standard origami paper. The shrimp body is 6" long (uncurled) with 1 1/4" long antennae. The whole model is 6 1/2" from antenna to tail.

Zing butterfly

I do much, if not most, of my folding at Cafe Zing. The staff has gotten to know me quite well, mainly because I can't be bothered to bring any of my creations home with me, so the baristas end up with them.

Last week, I entered Zing to discover an addition to their menu.

One of my butterflies was nestled contently among the foliage. It's not real foliage, but then, it's not a real butterfly, so it all works out.

This butterfly is one of my favorite designs. It was created by Michael G. LaFosse, from his book Advanced Origami. I folded it from a 5 7/8" square of standard origami paper, resulting in a model with about a 3 3/4" wingspan (4 1/4" if you squash the wings down flat).

One difference between this model and LaFosse's design: LaFosse gives instructions for folding the head into something more recognizable. Unfortunately, I find that I am not talented enough to fold it using this size of paper, so the completed model gives sort of the impression of a butterfly head, as opposed to something that looks more real.