amphibian

225: Lang’s Green Tree Frog

| wonko

When I first saw this model, in “Origami Design Secrets” I knew I wanted to try it:

Such a torturous but interesting fold, initial pleating followed by some amazing swivel and sink folds to get the body differentiated from the legs, this is my pose for this model – I like that it looks like ti is crawling and I thought much more interesting that being symmetrical.

there is much to be in awe of with this model – I am and I managed to fold it; the toes, the eyes and the overall accuracy of the morphology are simply amazing – more proof that Robert lang is a maestro mathematician and true artist in his designs.

This model took ages as I was fastidious with my folding, accuracy mattered but wow, no I mean WOW! What a difference good paper makes – I did not attempt this with copy paper – there is a spread/sink/swivel move that would shred the paper early on so I used a sheet of tissue foil and am glad I did.

55: Green Tree Frog

| wonko

Now I like frogs, could not eat a whole one, but they are gentle animals – this model reminds me so much of those lovely soft green ones that we used to get back when the weather worked – you know, they lived under your toilet rim and emerged blinking into the light to feast on moths that fluttered around the flouro tube in the laundry:

I misjudged the scale a bit, sorry – it uses a 2×1 rectangle and initial glimpses at the method seemed to suggest way more crimping than actually was required – he ended up fairly life-size. I like the eyes, and the vestiges of padded feet – must find a more realistic one for my next frog – toes on all 4 feet are not that hard, surely (hahahahaha).

Why a frog? Well, my pastoral care group today (thanks to some superb golf-putting by Josh) won a golf tournament thingy and were presented with a HUGE bag of red frogs – I wisely took them and strategically decided to distribute them evenly AFTER classes finished, else my munchkins would have been bouncing off the walls I reckon with all that sugar and artificially deliciousness.

42: Frog On A Lily Pad

| wonko

…there are lots of patterns for Frogs, most even look frog-like but this one designed by Colin Weber is charmingly sitting atop a lily pad – made with one square of paper you massage enough paper towards a corner to then form the froggy bits – very clever:Frog on a Lily Pad

Why a frog? Well, it is my Sister-in-Law’s Birthday today, she loves all things French (and would move there to live in a flash), so I thought something a little froggy would be appropriate as a present for her – Happy Birthday Sue! It is also my Nephew Andrew’s Birthday, and he is IN Paris atm, so a double froggy celebration for him as well.

You can have a go at making this model yourself: http://dev.origami.com/images_pdf/frogonlilypad.pdf however I think there are a few mistakes in the diagram, I found flaps where there should not be and no flaps where there should have been, thankfully it was possible to get creative and work around if you keep your eye on the final model.

28: Frogs

| wonko

The second model I learnt to make as a wide-eyed and eager 11 year old was this frog. I like that it’s proportions are correct, it has a puffy body and the back legs look right.

…so as a “getting to know you exercise” with my pastoral care group, I thought we could each make this model (as an exercise in listening and doing) and set out determined to explain this complex (lots of simple steps) model. I think we were pretty successful overall:

A Tutor Group worth of Frogs

It was interesting because the boys sat together (year levels 8-12), helped each other out, conversed, concentrated and listened, struggled spatially and got to inflate a frog through the vent in it’s bottom (hey, it is a boy’s school).

Very proud of my boys.

27: Tadpoles

| wonko

Now I am going for a theme here, starting with tadpoles – yes you are correct there are TWO models here, but they are variations of each other – one without legs, the other with … look closely:
Quite cute models from a purely biological perspective because when the legs form, the tail is absorbed into the body much as the model suggests. each made from a square 1/4 the size of the largest one you can cut from an A4 sheet.

We all know a tadpole develops into a ….