Smart Waterbomb (Design by Philip Chapman-Bell)

I find the models on the blog – The Fitful Flog – really intriguing and pretty. Most of the models are based on tessellations and can be folded with common printer paper or construction / kraft paper. The ideas in this blog are ingenious and the blogger even provides links to PDF downloads of diagrams to most of the models presented on the site.

I have never tried folding any design from here coz I am not good at CPs at all and unfortunately, almost all of the diagrams on the site are CPs with some being accompanied by worded instructions which always get me confused.

However, this time, I found this particular model which is pretty easy to construct but a tad tricky to fold. Oschene as the blogger is known has even gone to the extent of recording an instructional video on this model and posting it on his site. I hope you find it easy to follow.

Instructions to folding the Smart Waterbomb:

All you need is a circular piece of paper. My advice would be to start off with a fairly large circle measuring 8 to 10 inches in diameter. You can use common printer paper or even wrapping paper for this model. However, it should not be flimsy or thin as the model will not “stay” very well. This is the instructional video from the post by Philip Chapman-Bell.

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.

Lizard 1 (Design by Robert J. Lang)

I received the book – Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art – last week and was eager to try out something from it. I chose this Lizard to start off with, as besides being less tricky, I have never folded any reptile so far.

Lizard 2 (Design by Robert J. Lang)

This is a great book to have and I would recommend buying it, too, as the Author – Robert J. Lang – explains in detail how he has designed his various models as well as provides tips and ideas into designing your own model.

Paper to use:
This model will require a bit of wet folding, so it is better to select paper which is thicker than your regular kami. I selected duo colored green kraft paper which is thicker and makes wet folding easier. You can also use single side colored, too – you will have start with the colored side up in this case. The sheet I started folding with measured 10 inches in size (square).

This model is referred to as “lizard, opus 337″ on Robert Lang’s website. The only diagram to this – as far as I know – exists in the book “Origami Design Secrets”.

This model has around 45 steps to complete and most of them are sinks. I would place this model as an intermediate level model.

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.

Spiral Star (Design by Tomoko Fuse)

Spiral Star (Design by Tomoko Fuse)

This is a design from Tomoko Fuse’s book – Shells and Spirals 3 – which is available in Japanese language. The technique used in this model is same as that of Tomoko Fuse’s Spiral design and is pretty easy to fold, too.

What you need:

3 square sheets of origami paper, wrapping paper or any other paper of your choice. It does not matter what kind of paper you use to fold this model, because the folds are pretty simple and repetitive. However, it would be beneficial not to use card paper or very thick paper for this as it would become difficult to fold the repetitive folds towards the end.

You would also need a paper cutter or a craft scissor for this model. Don’t worry, there is no ‘cutting’ involved during the folding process. However, each of the sheets you have selected to fold this model, requires that they be cut into half diagonally.

How to fold this model:

I have recorded an instructional video on this model and am hoping that you will find it easy to follow. 5 pre-creased units are required to fold this model; and it requires that the placement of the units are done carefully when starting to fold them together to form the star.

Have a good week ahead!