Animals - Go Origami

Origami Butterfly

Maria — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:08:00 +0000

Name:	Origami Butterfly — 3D Variation
Designer:	Akira Yoshizawa
Paper ratio:	square
Paper size:	8.5 cm
Model size:	~ 6 cm
Paper:	washi paper, Japan

Today is the 101st birthday of Akira Yoshizawa, the great origami master and the father of modern origami. You have probably noticed that Google marked the occasion with a special origami doodle created by Robert Lang!

Why not celebrate the event by making your own origami butterfly?! Here is a step-by-step tutorial for a 3-d variation of a classic butterfly by Akira Yoshizawa (first spotted on Nick Robinson’s blog), enjoy!

UPD. A few people have asked me about the paper I used to fold those butterflies, so I thought I’d update the post with some photos. It was a set of traditional Japanese washi paper (brought to me from Japan). Try the producer’s web page — Awagami Factory to find out if it’s available in your country.

Origami Butterfly

Origami Tsuru Rose

Maria — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:34:26 +0000

I think for those who have already mastered both, the traditional origami crane and the famous Kawasaki’s Rose, it would be interesting to try this model by Satoshi Kamiya – which is basically a cross between those two.

It was quite a challenging model actually! The most difficult part for me was not the rose, as one might think, but the neck and tail because there are many layers of paper there and when it comes to folding them the model is 3D and not flat, which make things even trickier.

I would suggest using a rather large sheet of thin or medium-weight paper. Make a test fold to see how you can improve your final fold.

Name:	Tsuru Rose (Kawasaki Rose Crane)
Designer:	Satoshi Kamiya
Paper ratio:	square
Paper size:	15 cm
Model size:	~ 10 cm
Paper:	Harmony origami paper, Grimmhobby (Japan)
Diagram:	Origami Tsuru Rose – diagram by Vera Young page 1, page 2

Name:	Tsuru Rose (Kawasaki Rose Crane)
Designer:	Satoshi Kamiya
Paper ratio:	square
Paper size:	15 cm
Model size:	~ 10 cm
Paper:	Tant origami paper

Origami Tsuru Rose

Origami Dragon

Maria — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:51:38 +0000

A couple of days ago I suddenly realized that the coming 2012 year will be the Year of the Dragon! Yes, that’s how you end up with no TV around. But it’s better late than never, right? Thankfully, there is no shortage of origami dragons out there, and I just went for the simplest one I could find.

This origami dragon is made from the Bird Base and it’s not much more complicated than a traditional crane. Folded from one square sheet of thin foil.

I believe it’s not too late to make your own origami dragon as a symbol of coming year! Happy folding everyone and Happy New Year!

Name:	Origami Dragon
Designer:	?
Paper ratio:	square
Paper size:	15 cm
Model size:	~ 9 cm
Paper:	foil paper (Japan)
Diagram:	Origami Dragon

Origami Dragon

Origami Bat — Halloween Origami

Maria — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:17:54 +0000

I’ve been looking for a nice and simple origami bat to fold this Halloween and found plenty of various designs – from really simple to just way too much complicated (well, at least for me!). This one, designed by Nick Robinson, is my favorite so far. It looks great, doesn’t involve cutting or gluing and very easy to fold.
I made it from a square sheet of origami paper, black on both sides, but one-sided paper will do too!

Name:	Origami Bat
Designer:	Nick Robinson
Paper ratio:	square
Paper size:	7.5 cm
Model size:	~ 8 cm
Paper:	Kami (mono color), JONG IE NARA
Diagram:	Origami Bat by Nick Robinson

Origami Bat — Halloween Origami

Pre-Columbian Style Origami Frog

Maria — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:50:39 +0000

Name:	Pre-Columbian Style Origami Frog
Designer:	Leyla Torres
Paper ratio:	square
Paper size:	15 cm
Model size:	~9 cm
Paper:	one sheet of Tant origami paper
Diagram:	Creased Magazine, issue#4

Video tutorial, presented by the designer, Leyla Torres of OrigamiSpirit.com:

Pre-Columbian Style Origami Frog

Origami Twitter Bird

Maria — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:05:09 +0000

Name:	Origami Twitter Bird
Designer:	Maria Sinayskaya
Paper ratio:	square
Paper size:	12 cm
Model size:	~ 7 cm
Paper:	kami
Diagram:	not available

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a set of origami styled icons.

They are not real origami of course but look sort of origami-ish… So I tried to design the real origami twitter bird! I have the impression that Twitter has at least three different-looking birds as a logo, so I just chose this one as a model:

Origami Twitter Bird