Origami 101: Master Basic Skills and Techniques Easily through Step-by-Step Instruction - Benjamin Coleman

Look, Learn & Create Origami

CONTENTS Introduction The Kite Shape Folding the Kite Shape Folding the Penguin Folding the Broad Leaf Folding the Loon Folding the Roosting Robin Folding the Tropical Fish Folding the Parakeet Folding the Peacock Folding the Baby Seal Folding the Chick Folding the Simple Swan Folding the Sitting Dragon Folding the Snail Folding the Graceful Swan The Collapsed Square Folding the Collapsed Square Folding the Crocus Folding the Rambunctious Dog Folding the Eight-Pointed Star Folding the Ornamental Box Folding the Tree Ornament Folding the Flowering Branch Folding the Fractal Geometric 1 Folding the Pigeon Folding the Scary Bat Folding the Lily The Basic Form Folding the Basic Form Folding the Flying Crane Folding the Sitting Crane Folding the Old Crow Folding the Sea Lion Folding the Silly Goose Folding the Rooster Folding the Flamingo Folding the Mosquito Folding the Sea Gull Folding the Flying Dragon Folding the Tyrannosaurus Rex The Collapsed Triangle Folding the Collapsed Triangle Folding the Frog Folding the Rock Lobster Folding the Hermit Crab Folding the Three-Legged Gecko Folding the Sea Turtle Folding the Brown Bear Folding the Hungry Fawn Folding the Fractal Geometric 2

Folding the Human Being Symbol Index Bookmark

Introduction Origami literally means “fold paper” in Japanese. Ori means fold and gami, or kami in Japanese, means paper. The art form was started in China and then brought to Japan where it became quite popular by 1614. Traditional origami is performed on a square that is colored on one side. There is no tearing or cutting allowed. Origami folding patterns have been used in the design of spacecraft parts since the 1980s when Koryo Miura’s origami-based solar panels flew on a Japanese rocket. A mass-produced origami folding pattern is as close to you as the air bag in your car. The first mass-produced origami flower was introduced in 2010 by the author of this book. Origami is increasingly used in engineering consumer products. Cellular phones with self-folding antennae for better reception and microchips that automatically reconfigure themselves through folding are likely under development. One newer origami technique is called “crumple folding,” where the paper is crumpled rather than folded. This has led to highly complex paper models that cannot be repeated exactly. Origami has moved beyond traditional squares. The flowers on this page were made with a star shape, which is then folded using an origami pattern, but a glass cutter is used to impress the folds on the paper first.

How to Use This Book This book was designed by an origami enthusiast to teach those unfamiliar with origami how to fold. Directions for folding origami figures always include symbols, and the key to success is learning what these symbols mean and how to execute them. Rather than create a long introductory chapter consisting of folding symbols and their descriptions, folding symbols are explained as they are encountered. Each folding symbol is explained in a blue box near the step where it is introduced in a pattern. This gives you immediate explanation of a new symbol. Detailed photographs help you along the way. You will find a Symbol Index Bookmark at the back of the book, which shows the folding symbols and the page numbers where they are explained. You can cut out one bookmark to mark pages while you fold and keep the other one in the book for quick reference. Whenever you don’t remember what a symbol means, just flip to the Symbol Index and turn to the page indicated.

Top: blue boxes explain symbols. Bottom left: diagrams. Bottom right: detail photos.

New Symbol: Glow and Afterglow

Learning a three-dimensional art form like origami from a two-dimensional page isn’t easy. One of the advances you will find in the diagrams in this book is called glowfold. Glowfold tells you what surface is going to move during a fold and where it went after it was folded. A surface that is about to be folded will glow with a red hue on top of it. In the diagram that follows, you will see afterglow. This afterglow not only tells you what surface moved, but it also tells you where the open edges should be and how to confirm the orientation of your paper. The afterglow will only be present in the step immediately following a step where glow was present. Here is an example of how it works:

Origami 101: Master Basic Skills and Techniques Easily through Step-by-Step Instruction - Benjamin Coleman

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