Back in 2017, I designed the Cube Tessellation. It’s one that I have shown off here on multiple occasions. I have a crease pattern, step by step instructions, and it appeared in the Geometric Origami Convention in 2024.
Cube Tessellation, designed by me
I recently discovered that a professional origamist, known as D. Hinklay, has been making a model titled “Stone Board” which is identical in design, down to the crease pattern. There are several several youtube shorts from 2022 and 2023, totaling over 50M views. I also found an instagram post that explicitly claims it’s an original design. At time of writing, his website lists multiple Stone Boards, including one going for $3500.
To be clear, I can’t prove that this is plagiarism. If you wanted to make this particular shape, based on the Rhombille Tiling, and your goal is to maximize paper efficiency, there are only so many distinct solutions. As far as I can tell, D. Hinklay has other original designs in the vicinity, and likely has the capability to design it on his own. Independent inventions of the same design are known to happen in origami, particularly with simple geometric designs. In any case, there’s no copyright on origami design–at worst, it’s just a violation of origami norms to claim credit.
I reached out to D. Hinklay for comment, and have not gotten a response.
So, let’s assume that he came up with the design independently. I’ve seen multiple origamists wondering how he made “Stone Board”, and he does not provide any instructions. If you are here because you wanted to know how to fold it, good news! I independently created the same tessellation in 2017, and I have free diagrams! Here is a crease pattern, and step by step instructions. Happy folding, and please credit me by the name listed in the diagrams.
You may also be interested in other origami designs that bring the Rhombille Tiling into 3D. There’s “Optical Illusion Cubes XII IX MMVIII” by Andrea Russo, from 2008, which is the same shape but distinct design. I recently designed a Seamless Cube Tessellation, which removes the diagonal seams across the model. Jo Nakashima’s Pixelated Pyramid also has a similar shape, but it uses a modular approach.
awk-ward!
Your post reminded me of an news story you probably already heard about, if you are involved in the world of origami.
Apparently decades of Robert J. Lang’s work, including much of his professional origami work and his research notes were destroyed in the L.A. fires last winter. There was a short article about it in the January 27th, 2025, issue of the New Yorker in the Talk of the Town section.
I don’t have the knowledge or skills to create origami, but I admire those who do and hate to see a collection go up in smoke.
@Flex,
No, I hadn’t heard about that until now. That’s really sad.