Skip to content

Sprial Star (Design by Grzegorz Bubniak)

Spiral Star (Design by Grzegorz Bubniak)

This is a modular origami design which is quite simple to fold but a bit of a hassle to put together. Make sure you have a few paper clips or pins to keep the units in place when you start to fold this model. :!:

What you need:
You would need 6 sheets of paper - square shaped - of anything from 6″ in size to 9″ in size. The larger the size of the paper you use, the larger will be the size of the overall model.

Color variations:
1. For a multicolored model, you would have to choose 6 sheets of paper each of a different color.
2. For a tri-colored model (such as the model in the image above), you would need to select 3 colors, 2 papers each.
3. For a uniform colored model, you would have to select 6 sheets of the same color (as per your choice).

How to fold the spiral star:
Youtube yet again comes to the rescue in providing detailed videos on how to fold this model. One thing the video doesnt depict is how the units are actually put together and also that this video is in Portuguese. However, at a certain point in the video towards the end, the contributor pinpoints the areas where you need to attach the units, so it is not a big problem.

Basically, when putting these units together, remember that there is a unit on top and at the bottom and 4 around these in the middle. So, you need to attach 4 of these units to the top unit intially, and then proceed to affix the last unit at the bottom. Make sure you have your paperclips and pins ready to hold the units together, coz it can get a bit tricky here. :)

YouTube Instructional Video: How to fold the Spiral Star

Happy Folding!!

Posted in Modular. Tagged with , .

By Ancella
June 21, 2009

2 comments

Chocobo, the Yellow bird (Design by Satoshi Kamiya)

Chocobo (Yellow bird)

It all started when I couldn’t make up my mind as to which origami model I should fold this weekend…this ignorance made me ask my fiance to choose. Needless to say, he ended up choosing this particular model from none other than Satoshi Kamiya! :shock: So, I decided to give it a shot.

This is a high-intermediate model and from the book “Works of Satoshi Kamiya 1995-2003”, by the master himself – Satoshi Kamiya. Yes, I finally managed to fold something from his book and which didn’t end up as a crumpled ball of paper in the wastebasket. :D

I was going through the steps in the book quite earnestly to understand each of them and the folds to watch out for. I then came across 2 videos on youtube.com, which made it easier to follow / visualize the tricky steps. Let me remind you at this stage, that these videos on YouTube do not depict details all of the 80 steps in the book but demonstrate the main folds, only. So, you basically need the book in order to fold the intricate folds and to enhance the look of your very own Chocobo. :!:

Now, this model is also known as the ‘Yellow bird’ and the book says that Kamiya’s inspiration for this model is actually the Chocobo from the Final Fantasy series (of video games).

Kind of paper to use & size:

I used a large origami paper, which was singe-side colored, square and 9” in size. The book has a recommended paper size of 15×15cms. You should also be aware that the final model is about 60% of the size of the paper used. If you are using a single side colored paper, then you need to start off with the white or blank side facing you.

How to fold Chocobo:

A YouTube contributor has put together videos on how to fold Satoshi Kamiya’s Yellow bird or Chocobo. This is a 2-part video and only shows the main steps or folds to complete the model. The steps, which are not shown, are the ones, which enhance the model, and even if you fold this model by just following these 2 videos, you will still be able to fold a cute little Chocobo. For the detailed steps, you would need to follow the book itself.

Folding Satoshi Kamiya’s Chocobo – Part 1

Folding Satoshi Kamiya’s Chocobo – Part 2

Folds to watch out for:
The part I found to be very tricky was the feet of the bird. There are open sinks to be incorporated along with numerous reverse folds. The paper used for this model also plays an important role. The thicker the paper you choose, the more difficult it is going to be to fold. The rest of the steps are reasonably easy to follow, knowing that Satoshi Kamiya has a penchant for over complex and intricate models.

Posted in Fantasy Creatures. Tagged with , , .

By Ancella
June 14, 2009

2 comments

Cattleya Orchid (Design by Michael LaFosse)

Cattleya Orchid (Design by Michael LaFosse)

This is an intermediate model taken from Michael G LaFosse’s book - Advanced Origami: An Artist’s Guide to Performances in Paper, which incorates wet folding for the shaping of the petals and the use of tissue paper / crepe paper to enhance the look of the finished model.

This is my first try with this model, and as you will notice there is room for improvement. I used tissue paper (from American greetings), which you normally use for gift-wrapping. This is because of the fact that this model required fine paper or crepe paper to be used to give it the final shape.

This is one of the models in the book for which the final result really depends to a large extent on the manner in which you use your imagination to shape the flower. So with my imagination on a roll, this is what I came up with. :grin:

The size of the paper suggested by the author is that it should be twice as wide as it is long. So I started out with a sheet of tissue paper measuring 10” by 20” inches in size. This paper made it very easy to fold the model, but however, when it came to shaping the model, I found that it is too delicate.

The section, which I am not entirely happy with, is the petals (top left and right), which are somehow not shaped as nicely as I would like them to be. Wetting the petals didn’t make it any better as the paper started to crumple up a bit too much. So I had to leave it at that. :???:

I think the next try would be with crepe paper, which is usually used for flower making, in any case! :!:

But overall, this is an ingenious design and the steps in the book are relatively easy to follow. The overall size of the finished orchid is about 7″ inches or so.

Posted in Miscellaneous. Tagged with , , .

By Ancella
June 13, 2009

No comments

Horseshoe crab (Design by Michael LaFosse)

Horseshoe Crab (Design by Michael LaFosse)

I folded this horseshoe crab this afternoon, but am not too happy with the end result. Maybe it’s the paper I used or some creases I messed up on the shell itself, but somehow I am not satisfied with the overall final model. :(

This design is from the book - Advanced Origami: An Artist’s Guide to Performances in Paper
- by Michael G. LaFosse and it took me about half an hour to fold. I found it to be easier than it looked on the book, too. :)

The paper I used was a single side colored Large Origami Paper by Dover publishing which is 9″ in size. The final model is about 70% of the size of the sheet of paper you use.

Folding this model based on the instructions in the book is quite easy as the diagrams and explanations are clear and the author has clearly indicated the colored and white side of the paper in the diagrams, too.

Although its not explicitly mentioned, you would need to start folding this model with the white or blank side facing you. Hence, even if you are using duo colored paper (with contrasting colors), the color which you want on the outside of the crab (or the color you want the crab to be in the end) should not be facing you when you start folding the model.

Posted in Sea World. Tagged with , , .

By Ancella
June 7, 2009

No comments