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.

41: Pavlova

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Now generally my students rock. Often they do really cool things and this bunch of Year 12s seem to enjoy, from time to time, homebake.

I was approached, post Australia Day, and canvassed as to whether it would be ok to bring Pavlova to share in our double IPT … silly question really:We as a group ate dessert in the lab, it was very cool (many thanks James and Joe) – they organised fruit (strawberries, blueberries and passionfruit), cream, the works – wow!

This is my attempt to modify a twist-flower into the swirls of meringue that is a Pavlova – I fully realise I FAILED to recreate the magnificence that was morning tea today – the intention was there however (I have been sick, it was late, I was tired). I sort of thought the things on top would look a little like fruit (strawberries) but there was something lost between idea and realisation – they cannot all be gems I suppose.

Not to put a damper on the gesture – I thought it was awesome, those guys rock! (all of my students do)

40: A Catfish

| wonko

This fish, designed by Davor Vinko has the most splendid eyes, and a nice 3D body, most impressed.
Why a fish? Well, it is the School Swimming Carnival today and I am at home being beaten up by a middle ear infection so I thought I would get as close to the spirit of the event whilst staying quiet and dry.

You can have a go at this model yourself, it is actually pretty easy once you get the 1/6ths sorted out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUcp0EiZ2xU

39: An Orchid Bloom

| wonko

Robert J Lang is a living treasure in the origami world for many reasons. He is a mathematician, artist and seeming magician (for he can do with paper the seemingly impossible) but more importantly he specialises in realistic Origami models.

It is my Mother-in-law’s birthday today and I thought I would attempt a hideously difficult model of Lang’s which attempts to accurately represent a bloom from an orchid called a “Phalaenopsis” as a suitable birthday present.

A Real Phalaenopsis

These lush beauties have 5 petals, often frilly or oddly beautiful throats or slippers at the nectary.

Nectary Detail

All my reading and advice to folders suggested the model was not for the faint-hearted and boy, was that understating it – so many folds, so much folding, pre-folding and unfolding then bending into new shapes.

I am amazed the photocopy paper I am using actually did not tear or just disintegrate. This model would benefit from a “wet fold” where you wet the paper as you fold it, the shapes are softer and hold when the model dries.

I must admit to being completely chuffed and proud I could actually make this model, first time fold, and love how beautiful the end result is.

It is amazing that it started as a plain square cut from an A4 page, it ended up so organic with such bulk of paper tucked, crimped, sunk, and pleated in exotic ways.

I must try to find some of Robert Lang’s books – they are considered “bibles” of form, technique and contain so many iconic models.

Back and Side Views

You can have a go yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-UPR_HIyQo

38: Rowboat

| wonko

Sometimes simple designs are beautiful – this rowboat, whilst folding-wise is not challenging, it is proportioned correctly and perfectly seaworthy, with a neat stern and a nicely locked bowWhy a rowboat? Well, I figured the Victorians could use it in the light of floods they are having right now – gotta love a sunburnt country – hot, bushfires, floods and cyclones (not to mention the wildlife) – wouldn’t live anywhere else for quids.

Thanks @ackygirl for the loan of the book with this in it, I like it, a lot (at 8 folds total it is such a nice respite from the complex models of late)

37: A Kiwi

| wonko

New Zealand has a national day celebrated variously but often on the 6th February called “Waitangi Day”. One of the species endemic to that place is a small, nocturnal and alltogether odd flightless bird called a Kiwi:

A very difficult model on a bunch of levels, designed by Roman Diaz. The feet were fascinating, and made from straight edges crumped into 3 toes each (curiously a Kiwi has 3 toes/claws on each foot it uses for digging with). Amazed with this first time fold as I was convinced it was going pear-shaped at a number of junctures.

I had to cheat with a couple of blobs of blutac under the feet to get it to stay upright for the photo, the balance is a bit out of whack. I would prefer the models to be free-standing but you get that sometimes; very happy with the body shape (morphology) however, clever.

You can have a go yourself (good luck understanding the person doing the tut, swarthy Latino accent and directions are unclear) kiwi

36: A Hoodie

| wonko

All cities have them, that anonymous dissociated youth that lurk on the periphery, just outside the light pool, wearing a hoodie (hooded fleece/jacket) plunging their face into deep shadow.

I really like this model (having been a bit nervy to try it), and am so completely chuffed that, first time fold, it turned out so nice – down to the elbows and shoulders … and it is free standing also – wow. ONE square of paper, no cuts or glue, very neat indeed:

how to foldThe construction principle is actually pretty simple: fan-fold to 16ths horizontally and vertically, crease the corner to corner creases both ways and it just collapses into this wonderful base from which you can tease arms, legs, body, neck and head; crimp elbows and knees, rabbit-ear feet and hands and presto, done.

Have a go – not so much a challenge as it looks, so long as you are neat and accurate in your pre-folding.

35: A Banana

| wonko

When bad weather beats up the tropical coast, we have a banana shortage. When Cyclone “Yasi” ripped through Cairns, Townsville, Innisvale and further afield we lost crops – I am doing my bit by making my own banana (the ultimate low calorie, high fibre snack):

Quite a cute, sort of 3D model with a partially peeled fruit, quite appropriate for a “banana bender” like me.

You can try this also:  banana

…also kinda hoping the OTHER 365’ers keep going, else it is gonna be real hard for me to keep going also

34: A Bantam Rooster

| wonko

When I was a kid, we had chooks – poulets that were egg layers in a pen in the back yard of our country farmhouse. It was decided that we needed a Rooster to keep the chickens happy so we bought a black Bantam for the job (later nicknamed Mussolini because he turned out to be a control freak psychook*):

This Model reminds me of the stature of young, brave, cock-sure Mussolini. His incessant crowing was the reason that he became a quite decent casserole not too far into his hen-servicing career.

*Chooks that are tiny seem to have inflated opinions of their own ability – Mussolini would charge and fly at your face, scare the dogs and generally terrorize all other forms of life (including alienating himself from the hens he was supposed to be special friends to).

Why a chook? Well, in choir today the choir master asked us to do all manner of coordinated movements and vocalisations (including crowing of a cockerel) all of which I more or less completely failed to do correctly, yay me!

33 A Weasel

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Allegedly, weasels go “pop” – not really sure how, why or the actual mechanics of it though. A snarly fold (partly invented) from a ferret-like figure, today’s model is a weasel:

Why a Weasel you ask? I am programming a “bang the weasel” game with my IPT students, and it seemed as good an idea as any for the model. It helped me realise I had no idea what a weasel looked like (thanks google for helping out) – quite happy with the model given how much of it had to be made up on the spot.

32 White Rabbits

| wonko

An odd tradition I have inherited is to say “white rabbits” as the first thing uttered at the beginning of a month, hence the inspiration of today’s model:Not real sure where that came from, or why a sane, rational adult would do that, but it is ingrained and part of my monthly ritual.

This model is actually a cute variation of a waterbomb (turn it over and it looks just like one) – nice and simple, suggestive of a rabbit without the nit-picking detail of folding every whisker, which is a good thing too as I am buggered after a long day teaching.

It is my SECOND rabbit, different model, so all is fair in love and paper folding I figure.

Have a go yourself: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-fold-an-origami-bunny-rabbit

January, Done and Dusted

| wonko

Wow, January is over and here am I with 31 models down, on the road to 365 all up … hope I have the stamina: When you see them all together they are … amazing – some tricksey stuff there that is throwing down the gauntlet to me for the coming months.

I will try to remember to do a monthly post with a summary – not sure I have the oomph to do it cumulative – will pack these away in a shoebox for now and start tomorrow afresh.

31: Flutterby

| wonko

So I have begun Flash Animation with my year 9 ICTE students, and one of the orientation exercises is building a Butterfly, animating it and then making a scene with them in it – all interesting stuff and the inspiration for today’s model:

Akira Yoshizawa is a luminary in the Origami world, being a prolific inventor of folds many figurative, some very lifelike indeed. His butterfly is simple but lovely –  the body gets so thick that the copy paper split at the head, sadly, but the intention is there.

30: Ring Box

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Boxes and containers are a branch of Origami that I find fascinating – how you can bend a flat sheet into a container has always interested me. This jewellery box, by David Brill, is a masterpiece of pre-folding

Inside, it is finished, lined, refined and tidy, has a “lip” that, if the model is made with coloured paper turns out to be the inside colour – the lid closes down on that lip smoothly, a beautiful hinge and just … works.

A hideous fold actually, based on FIFTHS, everything is folded using them, so the size of the box is 1/5 the length of the starting square, the trick is to tidily tuck away all that paper and lock it into place so it does not sproing apart. I started with a square cut from an A4 page, and the resultant ring box emerged the size a REAL one would be – nice happinstance.

Feel like i achieved something here as I had never done this fold before and there were moments when I was sure I had my first failure, because it just goes to hell and then re-emerges in an organised way.

Have a go yourself: http://www.happyfolding.com/instructions-brill-box_and_lid

29: Horse

| wonko

There are many horse models, some extraordinarily complicated – this is a simple one and I will work towards the more difficult ones. Made with 2 squares (both cut from the same A4 sheet), you fold the front and back then join them: Do not panic, I do have ONE sheet complete horses, I have allowed myself ONE COMPOUND model a month also – this is it for January.

The front and back sort of lock together by twisting the body bit into a pocket under the front legs (or a cheat staple concealed under the flaps of the front legs) – neat I think and fairly horsey. I realised I could have gotten 2 ears (with some reverse creasing in retrospect as there is plenty of paper there to do it, or more naughtily with a cut) but decided to leave it simple this fold.

This model was taken from a much loved Japanese Origami book I have owned since I was 13 called “Origami” by Toyoaki Kawai.