Doom-scrolling on Insta, as you do, I came across an astonishing reel by Kimiro, featuring a new design for a snake resting on a branch.

I was determined to fold some version of this design, but knew I did not have the paper (large enough) or the patience for a 128 grid (with partial 256ths) grid-based scaled-shaped model. So I scaled down – working out the minimum size scale I could reasonably shape consistently, then working out how much of a 70cm square duo sheet of Kraft would be the snake.

The design is ingenious – an 8-grid strip down the diagonal of a square becomes the snake, the rest of the paper becomes the colour-changed branch. One consequence of re-scaling the snake was that the paper allocated to the branch diminished to barely protruding from the snake’s body – so I thought “fuck it” and tucked it inside (like the layers of waste paper in a Ryujin) to give the body bulk, allowing me to fashion a lower jaw and forked tongue.

Another consequence of re-factoring the snek was that it’s overall length is diminished to almost comic proportions. This little guy is a grower, not a shower, indeed.

Accepting that the project was cursed from the beginning (by my lack of commitment 😛 ) I decided to just go for it, treating the fold as an exercise in precision. Pre-creasing took an age, then scale collapse went smoothly. I then pre-creased all the scale-shaping also took an age, not nearly as long as the actual scale-shaping however. My Ryu Jin 3.5 PTSD returned at times, causing me to walk away from the project a few times.

The scale structure is a tessellation/corrugation, it is astonishingly beautiful in it’s own right, so for me it was so satisfying (if infuriating) to finish: a LOT like banging your head on a concrete wall – great when you stop.

Finishing the model, I added a soft wire armature, sealed up the belly seam after bodgying the lower jaw and forked tongue and then realised this thing was impossible to photograph because it looks like a turd from many angles – lol. Also because it is so short, adding curves made it look even weirder, so I resorted to photographing it emerging from something (bush, grass etc).

Am I happy with it – not really – I am SATISFIED with the folding however. Would i like to re-fold it to address the shortcomings – hell no. Happy Chinese New Year none the less.