The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Arts & Entertainment => Topic started by: linnea on December 03, 2007, 03:48:23 am
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Hey chuanoplast, I would love some advice and suggestions from you, if you have time, considering that you are our resident Origami Master. I just found a modest stash of origami paper that a friend of mine gave me in Alaska. I have some small foil 1.5" square papers (500 sheets), a similar quantity of 2" square paper, and then about 50 sheets of 7" square paper.
Do you use the tiny paper to build your awesome multi-unit creations? Are there instructions on the internets for these, or should I just go to the library? I remember that you had highly recommended Tomoko Fuse, I may have to check out some of her books. I used to fold a lot of origami when I was a kid, so any advice you have would be great. Have any of you other party people got opinions on the art of Origami?
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I'll try to keep this somewhat short because otherwise you will get a ten page essay on origami.
The tiny paper is PERFECT for making modular origami, and the fact that you have five hundred sheets of 1.5" foil is even better. I won't get into the specifics, but basically it holds creases well, and for a beginner to modular, you want something that won't fall apart as you put it together. Then you can move on to the 2" paper. The 7" is good for modular stuff with less than 30 pieces or making boxes, especially if it has a nice pattern.
Don't get confused by the names. Actually, when you are starting, just ignore them and make up your own names like "giant spiky ball thing" or " square box thing." I can rattle off a ton of shape names now but I still secretly think of everything I make as a "round spiky thing"
There are a ton of online pages about modular origami because there are a lot of math nerds out there, and everyone knows that math nerds love origami. I found some that are good for beginners.
http://home.comcast.net/~meenaks/diagrams/index.html (http://home.comcast.net/~meenaks/diagrams/index.html) A Lady with some nice free designs that are easy to put together. Start with the cubes, then move one. She has a book now, so a lot of her old diagrams have been taken down.
http://www.math.lsu.edu/~verrill/origami/sonobe/instructions/ (http://www.math.lsu.edu/~verrill/origami/sonobe/instructions/) The sonobe unit is one of the most basic and most versatile units of the modular origami world. I actually linked to one of the most popular constructions using the Sonobe unit, but the page has links to various instructions. This should be the second or third shape you make. Once you can make this shape, you are ready to do anything because a lot of modular stuff is based off of that 3 unit connection deal.
http://www.merrimack.edu/~thull/phzig/phzig.html (http://www.merrimack.edu/~thull/phzig/phzig.html) You know the round thing with a billion pieces that I made? This guy has made things that are EVEN BIGGER. He explains the construction of the shapes very clearly, so I recommend this for something that is simple to fold, but can be insane to build if you like a challenge. Great for long airplane rides and driving your friends crazy.
My Favorite Tomoko Fuse Book. (http://www.amazon.com/Unit-Origami-Multidimensional-Tomoko-Fuse/dp/0870408526/ref=pd_sim_b_img_2) This has so many different modules, shapes, connections, transforming shapes, everything you want, in it that I recommend it for anyone interested in modular origami. It is also why I highly recommend Fuse. The content of this book is so varied and unique. She jumps from strange modules that are semi-woven together, to a lengthy section on sonobe units and their many variations, to methods of connecting smaller things together to form massive modular superstructures, to models that can be built on so you can create a cube that can be broken down to reveal five other shapes inside. This book is crazy. If you only buy one origami book ever, buy this one. Boxes? PSHAW. Who needs boxes when you can have a set of origami building blocks?
Okay, boxes. (http://www.amazon.com/Fabulous-Origami-Boxes-Tomoko-Fuse/dp/0870409786) Here are your boxes. All of my other Tomoko Fuse books are in Japanese, which I don't read (her name in Japanese is written in Chinese characters so I can recognize that) so all I know is that I own a ton of books titled "Bla bla bla bla bla BOX 2 bla."
Ummm if you also want paper advice, I'm willing to offer that too (if you like slogging through fifty pages on paper grain).