Ultimate Origami for Beginners Kit Ebook. Michael G. LaFosse
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Introduction
What’s all this buzz about origami? It seems that everywhere we look, people are folding paper! Paper folding is no longer just greeting cards with cranes folded from pretty scraps of paper. Origami art has advanced so much recently that now we are seeing it grace retail store windows; on television and in print ads; as clever dollar bill folds on display in restaurants; being used as “tangible manipulatives” to teach geometry more effectively in our schools; on display in libraries; and even as fine art exhibitions in the poshest museums around the world.
Perhaps paper folding appeals to you, but you have never done it. Maybe beginner’s projects were too simple and did not appeal to you? Thanks to the video, an origami novice can attempt a wider range of challenging subjects. We created the Ultimate Origami Kit for Beginners to help you become acquainted with the fun and surprising breadth of origami today. We have developed or selected these projects from several popular categories of design: traditional favorites, multi-piece flowers, clever paper airplanes, cute and cuddly animals; and dollar bill folds. Whether you are a relative newcomer to origami, or have folded paper all your life, this kit has several projects that are sure to become some of your favorites.
How to Use this Booklet and Bonus Material
Origami has always been a “show me” activity, so we suggest you begin by watching the video clip for one of the projects that most interests you. It is best to begin with simpler forms to develop a vocabulary of terms and techniques. If you watch an instruction all the way through (without folding the paper), the actual folding journey you take after picking up your first square will be much easier, since you will have already seen your destination.
It also helps to be patient with yourself, and understand that we expect you to use the playback controls on your DVD player or computer to pause and replay the instructions as needed. As you watch a video sequence (without folding), we recommend that you refer to the diagrams. You will see that the video actually helps interpret the diagrams! Soon you will have learned enough origami notation to anticipate the video, simply by glancing at the next drawing.
That said, some diagrams are rich with instruction, and for efficiency, some of the steps may be combined into one figure, even though the folding sequence may be slightly different. Looking ahead to the shape of the paper shown in the next figure is the best hint we can give. Beginners are often confused by the way an experienced folder constantly moves the paper to fold away from them for comfort (as shown in the video), while the diagrams keep the figure in the same orientation for clarity. While this may seem perplexing at first, rest assured that soon you will be happily folding from diagrams in books that may not have a video accompaniment.
Origami Symbols Key
Even though this key looks simple, please do not ignore it!
Many highly educated people with technical backgrounds assume that the diagrams do not need a key, and they become frustrated when they skip over the basics. Do yourself a favor and invest a few moments to learn what each of the symbols mean. It will save you not only time, but frustration as you work your way through these projects. Origami should be fun, and indeed, it is even more fun when you don’t skip learning the basics. Refer to this page as needed.
CRANE’S EGG
designed by Richard L. Alexander
The original three-piece triangular box attributed to Molly Kahn is rich with possibilities, and even our youngest folders enjoy coming up with new combinations of patterns, indentations, and decorative treatments of the flaps to create festive ornaments, clever gift packages, and even tiny earrings. This version takes advantage of decorative folds on the extra front flap, as well as an indented shelf suitable for nesting a precious object. The angularity of the traditional Japanese crane made me immediately think that the egg must have been quite a special form, and probably angular too!
1. Begin with the minor color side facing up. Valley-fold in half diagonally, bottom corner to top.
2. Valley-fold in half, Bottom right corner to bottom left.
3. Unfold, bottom back corner to the right.
4. Valley-fold the top corner of the top layer down to the middle of the bottom edge.
5. Valley-fold the left and right corners of the top layer down, forming two triangular flaps that meet in the middle of the top layer, and with the bottom edges parallel to the bottommost folded edge.
6. Valley-fold the bottom corner up, level with the horizontal edges of the triangular flaps.
7. Turn the paper over, left to right.
8. Valley-fold the bottom corners to meet at the top corner.
9. Valley-fold the right half over the left.
10. Loosely open the paper to the largest triangular shape.
11. Valley-fold the middle crease to close the paper into a triangular party hat shape. Make two more for a total of three units.
12. Each unit has two pockets and two tabs.
13. The tabs of one unit go into the pockets of another.