…and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for a mouse:
Prep for festivities is always fun. Family feast tomorrow, lots to do. I hope you and your families enjoy the prep time as much as the day itself. Continue reading
Author: wonko
907: (357/365) Mr Origami
Always on the look out for a model that somehow incorporates traditional cranes (Tsuru), I stumbled across this design and knew I had to try it:
A clever pre-folding sequence caches paper that later emerges as “bird-baseable” end points you can locate at the ends of arms. Continue reading
906: (356/365) Top of the Food Chain
As custodians of this planet, we do a pretty lousy job overall at looking after it. We see apex predators as threats and demonise them for acting naturally in their own domain:
In Australia, we employ shark nets which each year kill more OTHER things things than keep out sharks – time to think more about our place in this complex ecosystem. It is heartening to see activist groups like Sea Shepherds and Greenpeace actively working to change peoples perspectives but our News and media have much to learn about this – headlines are seductive but rarely paint a balanced or objective picture. Continue reading
…this happened
…so apparently this happened
Currently ranked 20th in a list of 30 Origami Blogs that you can subscribe to if you subscribe … I think this is a good thing?
905: (355/365) Emperor Palpatine
I am sure you remember the good old days, when things were better. In the Star Wars Universe this meant Luke, Leia and Han battling the dark side of the force wearing cheesy costumes, in squeeky clean spaceships, among a rain of pew pew pew:
The truth is there were no “good old days”, they were just days, and at the time they seemed amazing but you know, they were just days. This is Lee Armstrong’s “Emperor Palpatine” – you know that evil prune who bar-b-qued people with lightning by channelling the dark side of the force. Continue reading
904: (354/365) Caterpillar
When looking for a simple fold, one’s attention naturally falls on a torturous corrugation-based model that takes an age to fold (not):
This is Maarten Van Gelder Caterpillar – an exhaustive corrugation executed on an 8×1 rectangle (although I think it would be more effective on even longer paper). Continue reading
903: (353/365) Slippery Little Sucker
I must admit to being a bit of a fanboy when it comes to the works of Satoshi Kamiya. His designs are genius, fabulously complicated to fold and make good use of the sheet:
This is his Octopus – an amazing fold from an octagon that yields lovely little legs, a beady set of eyes and a pendulous 3D head/body with a modicum of paper torture. Continue reading
902: (352/365) Satan
So apparently a symbol of the festive season is a portly old beardy man in a red suit that gives presents to kids who have been nice (and not naughty):
This is Steven Casey’s “Santa”, a lovely exercise in colour change and layer management. Continue reading
901: (351/365) Little Bird
On my “must fold” for some time has been this design bu Hideo Komatso:
Entitled “little bird”, I folded it in black to make an obese crow. A deliciously complex fold that ends up being a 3d representation of a robin-like bird. Continue reading
900: (350/365) Calamari
I stumbled across a “dollar fold” designed by Daniel Brown and decided to try it:
An interesting exercise in sinking, point isolation and layer management, this charming squid looks fresh enough to cook. Continue reading
899: (349/365) Spikey Cube
Continuing the modular bent, I had bookmarked this fold in my collection of Tanteidan magazines as a “must try”:
This is Jun Maekawa’s “Spikey Cube” – a 6 part modular that only holds itself together when the last part is slotted in place. The locking mechanism is difficult to master initially, and seemingly different each corner. Continue reading
898: (348/365) The Droid You Were Looking For
Now I am as much a Star Trek fan as the next one, and love a comedy sidekick movie plot device. It was interesting that the Star Wars franchise returned to the tried and true “quirky beeping droid” sidekick in “Force Awakens” and the BB8 droid seems a cute successor to the more limited R2 units (that they decided could fly in later/earlier messes of movies):
This is Martin Hunt’s Modular BB8 droid model. A torturous fold of many parts.
4 different modules combine to make a roughly spherical ball with a “head” that can be affixed wherever you want, sort of captured the overall morphology of the droid. Continue reading
897: (347/365) Deathstar
Tomorrow in Oz the next chapter of the Star Wars saga opens in cinemas. I am not likely to see it until the crush of “real fans” abates but thought on the eve I would fold something relevant:
This I have labelled “Deathstar” because it bears an uncanny resemblance to the space station the Liberator encountered just out from Far Point, while captain Mal and his rag tag band of cylons, and their computer Aurac, cruised the belt looking for replicants (how many scifi franchises are hinted at here? :P). Continue reading
896: (346/365) All 3 Dimensions
I have folded a number of axis-type geometric modulars in my time:
This is Nick Robinson’s XYZmbe, a 6 part model that shows the intersections of the X, Y and Z planes with a curious twirly intersection. Continue reading
895: (345/365) Tightrope
Life is a delicate balance, kind of like being on a tightrope way above the ground in the bigtop. Balance is important, lots of things effect balance:
Work, life, play, people, things that all take their toll on our balance, and we all struggle to walk the line sometimes, tipping this way and that as various forces pull at us. Continue reading