Sunny’s birthday is coming up and she loves Giraffes:
In browsing for a suitable model, I discovered a Tanteidan containing a Satoshi Kamiya giraffe that I had not folded, so it seems it was meant to be.
I lke this model a lot – it is full of the essential giraffe features, economically uses the sheet and contains some wonderfully complicated folds. Continue reading
I have a stack of Lotka that is just waiting to be folded into beautiful things, so I looked for something that would be suitable as a WTF (because it has been a while and my procrastinator is running on full right now):
Taking the largest square I could from a barely rectangular sheet, I pre-creased then began collapsing
As a member of JOAS (Japanese Origami Society) a present arrives in the mail every now and then – the Tanteidan magazine. Although it is written in Japanese (and I can not read Japanese) there are lots of fun things to try, occasionally amazing models to try:
Now I know I should be marking, but I have all this amazing paper and when presented with a folding challenge I get a little OCD about it.
This lovely crab, designed by Jason Ku, is a mathematical masterpiece – teasing the legs and claws from edges of the paper, shaping the carapace and the final, tidying does not just happen by chance. Continue reading
When I first saw photos of this model, I could not believe it was folded from a single sheet, without cuts, folds only:
In case you were wondering, this was WTF (What’s That Fold?) # 8. I was determined to give it a go. Noticing it was made from hundreds of pleats, and given the crease pattern folded down to 64ths in places, I upscaled the suggested paper size (to a 70cm square of 80GSM brown Kraft) to allow for my fat, clumsy fingers to make the creases.
I saw this AMAZING design, and figured it could not possibly be made out of ONE SQUARE without cuts, or glue and became determined to try and make it for myself:
I found a crease pattern but little else to go by, so sort of wrestled the initial creases into place as best I could. Continue reading
Anyone who knows me understands my fascination with the Sydney Opera House, as a kid I saw the sails of it being built:
Set magnificently on Bennelong Point right in the heart of the harbour, it together with the Sydney Harbour Bridge (no, do not panic, I am not making that) are quintessential Australian icons.
Googling one day I stumbled across a design idea from Gerwin Sturm (2007) for a box pleated version of my fav building on earth, and some vague explanations of how it “should be possible to collapse and shape based on a 32×32 grid”. Continue reading
…so it has been a while I know, and it is raining, and I am too lethargic to do much more than bend paper so I thought it a good plan to do another WTF competition.
This fold is experimental in that I only have a kinda-sorta vague idea how to do it, but will bend it like … well … me I guess
After taking a 70cm square (yes, it is HUGE) and dividing it up into 32nds horizontally and vertically, I lay in some odd diagonal zig zags (you can make them out if you squint one eye, close the other, raise your left leg and hop on the spot), you get to this (the stage before the first round of collapses:
Ok boys, girls and small green aliens from alpha centauri, I present to you clues for this week’s WTF (What’s That Fold?) also model #434
I start with an enormous square (using a square cut from an a1 ish sheet of litho, no idea if it should be nice side up or down so I just guessed. Using the ourPAD as the repository of instructions and not yet known if I will need anything from my origami toolbox:
For this week’s WTF (What’s That Fold?) #5 we go to a Japanese Designer.
I thought I should try something easier to guess (but harder to fold). This model is complicated (has over 100 steps) but the end result is really obvious
Those of you who were guessers for the WTF (What’s That Fold?) #4 will be interested to know that this model was actually a Spider Conch designed by Robert Lang:
I once taught on Palm Island – which is seaward from Townsville, North Queensland. Whilst there I loved to snorkel the reef nearby. Whilst doing so, I managed to find a pair of “spider shells” that I still have today.
Ok kids, this week’s WTF (What’s That Fold?) #4 is a doozie, it is from a fairly old publication and is NOT land-based (that is what is called a hint people).
Step 1 (the fish/camel base) looks like this:
My wife and I spent some time in a rainforest cabin – whilst there I folded this week’s WTF#3:
On a tropical theme, I left the model for the cabin owner as a thank you for a lovely time away.
A simple, slightly asymmetric fold that teases an odd number of petals, stamen and stem, cleverly managing the layers so the flower face and stamen would be one colour, stem another if I used duo paper.
I was looking for a simple fold and amongst my Tanteidan magazines I spied this figure, designed by Yamaguchi Makoto – must try it with colourful paper.
No one was able to discern it was even a flower – very disappointing people!
So I hope you are getting the hang of this, follows is this week’s WTF (what’s that fold):
the successful guesser can have the model if they assist me with the postage (if necessary), so put your best thinking caps on and begin guessing.
After some clever asymmetric bending, you get this at step 9:
After some inside reverse folds and assorted bending, you get this:
With a few swivels and a bit more bending, you get this:
…this is your LAST CLUE – any closer to guessing?
Give up? CHECK OUT THE ANSWER – no guesser this week – get your act together people!
Anyone who knows me realises I am a huge fan of the Alien movies, the first one is, for me, close to perfect science fiction horror:
I had been aware of Kade Chan’s Alien design for ages, had the crease pattern and wrestled many times trying to make it with no luck. I had relegated this to the “give up on it” pile – there are a few that have just beaten me for the moment.
Kade posted a near complete video tutorial, suddenly this model was back on the radar. The video is pretty clear – you should have a go – it is NOT a beginners model but the techniques for forming the main features are pretty clear.
So I set about a test fold, in Litho paper – the paper gave up half way through, splitting on most major creases, but I learned the basic collapse and some of the featuring before it gave up so resolved to fold it with something more durable.
I cut a 55cm square of Kraft paper off the roll and, very carefully, began folding. This, like most models, relies on accuracy for things to work out – a part of a mm out here and it compounds when you do accordion pleating, and this model has so many layers because of the amount of the sheet that is hidden.
I like that most surfaces provide layers that you can then texture in the modelling, sculpting them in graded steps to create carapace, armour and small beautiful details like the rib cage and prehensile tail.
The alien as envisaged by the movie franchise took on shape and general morphology from the host it bursts through the chest of – this one is fairly certainly humanoid and so posing it I found myself anthropomorphising its stance a little. I used a little MC to ensure the pose was rigid, clamped details in place until the paper was dry, then mounted him on a textured circular base and am quite chuffed with the result.
This was WTF (What’s That Fold) #2 – stay tuned for more paper bending
So, last week’s fold became obvious, I gave LOTS of clues and many guessed not only what the model was but also the designer and the book it features in – nice work.
On a different tack this week, I present the first clue in WTF#2:
Take guesses as to what this will become (assuming I can achieve the model and it does not end up a scrunched up mess in the bin).
Depending on how it turns out, you can win either this actual model or a refold of it (the refold will be tidier I suspect).
Thinking caps on, suggest away (and expect less clues this time)
After Step 25, the model looks like this:
And a little later, it looks like this:
After a LOT of open/close sinks, it looks like this:
And with some nifty wrangling, it looks like this:
Follow that up with some shaping and modelling and you have this:
A critter only a mother could love – a Xenomorph that is fairly faithful to the HR Geiger original – Alien, designed by Kade Chan and wrangled to it’s final shape by me.
I have yet to apply MC to stabilise and pose this chap, but already I like him a lot – the paper is so very thick in many places (my prototype fold actually disintegrated in my hands as I was folding it – litho paper fell apart at important creases) – I had to get creative with the shaping as, although the video instructions are great at getting the base, the modelling and shaping is not covered well at all.
