Oveja / Sheep (Design by Roman Diaz)

This is a real cute model designed by none other than Román Díaz which he has kindly shared in an online Origami Journal – 4 Esquinas (4 Corners).

The design is pretty much simple and the diagram very easy to follow. There are 21 steps in all and the model itself can be categorized as simple. This publication is planned on a quarterly format and an online version will be made available only, for now. It invites contributions from all its viewers and followers and is a Spanish language publication. All articles and diagrams if contributed in English or non-Spanish, will be translated into Spanish language and published, if chosen.

This is the first Publication which has been published and is available for a download on their blog. It contains crease patterns, articles, reports and diagrams. I am sure you will like to follow this blog!

Paper to use for this model – Oveja / Sheep:
For my model, I have chosen tissue fur which I purchased from Origami-Shop. Its a duo-colored black paper which I am trying out for the first time.

If you do not have this kind of paper, you can also use kraft paper, kami / common origami paper which is single side colored so as to give the look of a white sheep with pink ears. I decided to make mine the black sheep

How to fold this model:
Román Díaz has generously shared the diagrams to this model in this quarter’s publication of 4 Esquinas, which you will be able to download here.

I hope you enjoy folding this model.

Vixen (Roman Diaz)

This is yet another model from the book – Origami Essence, by Román Díaz; the finished model is absolutely great, and the expression on the Vixen’s face is priceless. Very few Origami designs have such an outcome. This book has a lot of interesting models to choose from and with the right kind of paper will make a great result.

'Vixen' from the book - Origami Essence

This model is categorized as Level 3 in the book, with Level 1 being the least complicated and Level 5, highly complex. The suggested paper to use for this model is Tant paper, painted red on a side and white on the other to take advantage of the color changing involved. You can also use Kami paper of as in my case, tissue foil for this model. As per the book, the size of the final model is around 0.4 of the size of the paper you have started with.

This model makes used of the duo-colored paper to form the color changing face, chest and tail.

Paper to use:
I made use of a 20 cm square sheet of tissue foil paper which I bought from the Origami-Shop.com site. The book suggests a paper size of 25 cm to start off with.

How to fold this model:
Sara Adams has recorded a great instructional video on folding this particular model. For your easy reference, I am also embedding the video below:

If you do like this model and enjoy Román Díaz’s work, please do buy the book – Origami Essence – I am sure you will like it a lot and will enjoy folding the models in it. This has certainly become one of my favorite books now and am looking forward to folding more models from it.

Icosahedron

This is a modular design I came across on the Internet recently which is not really Origami but is nonetheless very pretty. It follows the same principle of putting together units to form a modular model but the similarity with Origami ends here. This model requires the use of scissors and glue and patience, of course.

The blog, Jeweled Platypus, has a post dedicated to this pretty model and I was quite taken with the photographs of the model. It makes use of commonly found printer paper and there is also a ready-made template which is available on this said post.

Instructions to make this model:
The blog post also details out the instructions to fold this model and the number of units (20 units) required. 10 copies of the PDF template are required, with each sheet having cut outs of 2 units. I am pasting an excerpt of the instructions from the said post here for your easy reference:

If you’d like to make your own icosahedron (the more elaborate one of those two), download this template (PDF) and print out ten copies of it. Here is what you do:

1. Cut out one figure along the bold lines.

2. Score all its curved dotted lines with a dead ballpoint pen or the tip of a lead-less mechanical pencil or something like that. Fold the tabs back and forth to make sure they’re flexible. Pinch gently along the scored curves to begin to form the curved module shape, with the dashes on the inside.

3. Apply white glue or a glue stick to one of the module’s small tabs and connect it to its neighboring bit of paper.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the rest of the modules (twenty modules in total).

5. Glue modules together on the large tabs. Be sure to have five modules around each corner, i.e. flowers always have five petals. When you have a few modules together, you can insert a pencil or straightened paperclip through the holes to push tabs with glue together to make sure they stick.

I think this model looks really pretty and will make a wonderful hanging in the home! One can try folding this model in colored paper using the template cut outs as a stencil to make the units.

Squirrel (Design by Michael LaFosse)

This weekend, I went back to browsing through designs in Michael LaFosse’s book – Advanced Origami: An Artist’s Guide to Performances in Paper – and thought I’d give this squirrel a try. I loved the final shaping given to this design in the book and wondered if I could get mine to look half as good.

I’d suggest a larger sized paper measuring 9 inches to 12 inches, really, I did my first fold with a 6 inch square sheet of paper, and it turned out miniature. I couldn’t get to finish most of the shaping and finer folds required at the end, too.

Paper to Use:
I used traditional Kami or the common origami paper to fold this model. I started out with a square sheet of paper measuring 6 inches in size and hence the miniature size of my completed model. My next fold will proably be in tissue foil, duo colored, that is; in order to take advantage of the color change technique in this design.

How to fold the Squirrel:
Tadashimori as recorded a great 2 part video on folding this model. If you do not have the book, you can attempt folding this model by following the instructions in these videos.

Pig (Quentin Trollip)

Today I decided to fold another one of Quentin Trollip’s designs. I selected tissue foil as my paper choice and spent my morning making duo colored tissue foil. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time wet folding this model even though it is suggested in the diagram that wet folding will give you the best results. Somehow, I could never do that right without my patience giving way towards the end! Tissue foil turned out to be my next best option as it provides the flexibility to shape the paper at will.

Paper to Use:
I have made tissue foil paper duo colored white at home this morning and used it to fold this pig. I daresay I had problems with the placement of the tissue paper hence the air bubbles you see on the texture of the tissue foil. The size of the paper I used was around 30 cms or 12 inches, square shaped. My end result was a pig measuring 5.5 inches in length and 3 inches in height, approx.

How to fold this Pig:
You will be able to find the diagram to folding this pig on Quentin Trollip’s website. It is pretty well explained and even has details on the type of paper to use and final size to paper ratio.

In addition to the diagram, I have also found an instructional video on Youtube.com which I am sure will aid your understanding of the diagram. I am embedding it below for your easy reference.