Lucky Star, designed by Ekaterina Lukasheva
This origami model was part of a pair that I folded at the same time. I posted a photo of the other one in 2018. Like the other model, this one also has four distinct colors. Three of the colors have 5 units each, and the fourth has 10 units.
Koi, by Robert Lang, with some adjustments by me.
This is a model from Origami Design Secrets–actually, it’s on the cover of the book. It is a demonstration of the technique of pattern grafting, where you fold a flat pattern into the paper before going on to fold the general shape.
Robert Lang’s design is well and good, but I have a tendency to work with 15 cm paper at largest. It’s not ideal for a lot of types of models, but it is my self-imposed constraint. So, in my version, I made the scales very large relative to the size of the paper. In Lang’s version, the scales are one quarter the size in both directions, meaning there are 16 times as many scales. Lang’s version is more realistic, while mine mostly just evokes the idea of scales.
So the funny story was, I was thinking about how I could adjust the model to work with 15 cm paper, and I woke up one night thinking, “Of course! I should just fold the paper into a 29×29 grid! Then the proportions can remain the same and all the math works out!” It turns out that my dream math isn’t very good, and 29×29 makes very little sense. But it worked out anyway.
Turtle, designer unknown. ETA: I have identified the model as Baby Sea Turtle by Neige A.
You know, I posted a sketch of this same model, but I don’t think I had ever posted a photo of the model itself? Well, here it is.
As I mentioned before, someone at the origami meetup taught me how to make this. If I recall correctly, he did not represent himself as the designer, which leaves the designer unknown to me. I could not find any similar models online. Nor do I remember quite how to make it. That said, I could probably reverse engineer it if needed.
Origami Turtle, a pencil sketch by me, of an origami model folded by me. Someone at an origami meetup taught me how to make this. I do not know who designed it, possibly he did. ETA: I have identified the model as Baby Sea Turtle by Neige A.
Since I’ve been writing about AI art, I want to talk about the implications on my own artistic medium of choice: origami. Since I do not draw (although I have the ability to make a sketch), I’m not directly impacted by AI. But there are some distinctive artistic values that emerge from origami, and I think it might help explain where I’m coming from.
Aperiodic Chevron Tessellation, designed by me
Did you hear? Someone discovered an aperiodic monotile! Obviously, these are origami life goals. And, I’m making it out like a joke, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only origamist who was thinking that.
Oh, but this origami isn’t the aperiodic monotile. Instead, I read their paper, and was inspired to create a different aperiodic tiling. And in the mean time, I learned how an aperiodic tile ticks.
Bacteriophage, designed (and taught) by Miguel Romero
Last month I went to the local origami convention, and this is one of the models that I learned. Later I folded a second one.
This origami uses a technique called box pleating. Box pleating typically starts by folding the paper into an NxN grid of squares. You then collapse into a base that has the right number of “points”. In this case, there are 6 points for the 6 legs, 2 points are internally hidden, and the head is the 9th point.
This model is simple as far as box pleating goes, but it’s still quite difficult to teach in a convention setting! When you’re familiar with box pleating, you don’t necessarily have explicit steps in your head, you just do it. But most people in the workshop won’t have experience with box pleating, and so the teacher needs to come up with step by step instructions. Even people who are familiar with box pleating may not fold very quickly. So when I say this model is simple, that’s to its benefit. Simplicity is a virtue in origami, especially origami that you teach to others.
Purple Graphite, Based on the “growing polyhedra” schemata in Tomoko Fuse’s Unit Origami
Today’s model is an example of what Tomoko Fuse called “growing polyhedra”. Fuse basically provides a construction kit–designs for triangular double-pyramids and connectors. These components can be put together in any number of ways. I decided to create three layers of hexagons following the crystal structure of graphite–specifically the “ABC” allotrope. This model is quite large, about 8 inches across–and very sturdy too.