Starting back in the first century AD, the Chinese created the art of paper folding. Around the sixth century the secret of making paper was brought to Japan, this is where the word origami originated. When the word is split, we can understand its meaning. “Ori” is the first part of the word and means to fold and “gami” means paper. The Japanese turned origami into a part of their culture and it became a true art form. The trick is in folding the paper in such a way as to create either things well known like animals or to make interesting shapes or objects.

Traditional origami uses one sheet of paper, (usually colored) it is most often square in shape, but not always. People that do origami are called folders. Folders prefer the process of true folding and shy away from cutting any of their paper as it is not considered part of the art, but cutting and sometimes pasting is used to some extent in origami today. Over the years, origami has come in many forms; it is used for fun art projects, improving cognitive skills and in practical math development. Surely, its first and sixth century creators never imagined origami’s many future uses and forms.

Techniques and Materials

While just about any paper can be used in origami, for really effective folding it is best if one buys choice materials, doing so will assure the final look quality and makes the folding process much easier. Special origami paper, also called kami, can be purchased in prepackaged squares that come in a variety of sizes, but normal copy paper will suffice for projects with simple folds such as the crane. Once someone is proficient at folding they can also introduce foil-backed paper, which has a thin sheet of foil attached to one side.

Often folders discover they can use a variety of materials for their creations once they understand the texture and thickness needed for a project and will use everyday items to create them. It is often the amount of folds needed and the techniques used that determines what materials are best and of course, the talent of the folder themselves. A beginner can work their way up from small items to projects that are more intricate, once they have mastered the art of the folds and learned to choose the right materials.

Paper airplanes Includes step-by-step instructions on folding, trimming and flying a paper airplane.

Origami models Instructions on how to make simple origami folds to create a frog, drinking cup, turtle and other models.

Origami Crane Instructions on how to make a crane with photos to aid you through each step in the process.

Superfrog University of Wisconsin offers a page on how to make an origami Superfrog from one piece of paper.

Origami box A children’s site offering instructions on folding small, lidded boxes.

Wrappers A guide to what candy wrappers are best suited to origami.

Pokeman origami Create your own Pikachu character, with photo instructions.

Origami help for beginners Folding symbols and written instructions.

Wildlife origami Fold a coyote or a goose using provided instruction sheets.

Art of origami On this how to paper craft page: Paper craft resources, models, and how-to page links.

Types of Origami

It is said there are close to ninety different styles of origami used today. While many still use the classic methods of old, with simple folds and symmetry, others have moved on, deserting the basic folds of yesteryear. They have evolved their works into more creative arts, using more than one sheet of paper and sometimes cutting or pasting the paper to suit. More modern forms use wet folding, less symmetry and also geometric shapes. Foils and modules emerged, as well as highly complex models. Technology also played a part as people began to create designs on their computers, using 3-D and specially pre-treated papers. Today’s origami looks very different then it once did and possibly will continue to change in the future. The Internet is a great place to seek out information, as are books that can be purchased or checked out from your local library.

Modular origami Directions for making polyhedrons with the penultimate module and for making the compound of 5-tetrahedrons, as well as links to Polyhedrons and geometric origami.

Action Origami Videos on how to make seven fun origami crafts.

Wet Fold Origami instructions on what is needed to wet fold and a link to wet fold designs.

Artists Helping Children Folding origami bears using different styles including the Pureland method.

Origami Tessellations Make your own Tessellations using a photocopy pattern.

Mathematics and technical origami

The study of origami contains mathematical significance in that the folds create numerical patterns that can be used in diagramming and allows for the creation of complex models. Using the crease patterns can be a scientific resource for a designer who wishes to fold a given model. Origami allows students to learn by taking pieces of paper and making something three-dimensional, as well as using spatial reasoning and can also be used to teach symmetry. Creating a basic shape such as a rectangle or triangle teaches geometry. Other projects include DNA origami and uses in space and industry.

Geometry Junkyard Resource links for information about the relationship between origami and geometry.

Origami Mathematics Links to pages that provide information on the mathematics of paper folding, including science fair projects and rigid origami.

Geometric Folding Algorithms A collection of web pages supporting the monograph Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, Origami, and Polyhedra.

Curved origami Photos and history of the beautiful art of curved origami sculpture.

Origami Hyperbolic Parabola This page shows how to construct an origami hyperbolic parabola, which is also called a saddle surface.

Molecular origami Creating paper scale models of proteins - Molecular Origami refers to the detailed folding and arrangement of atoms in molecules and network solids.

Origami Galleries

British Origami Gallery See samples from general collections as well as those from past conventions of the British Origami Society.

Origami U.S.A. Gallery photos of origami originally used on appointment calendars in 2005/2006.

Origami Patterns Gallery Tessellations gallery of images from stars to weaving variations.

Origami Gallery Photo gallery of animal origami

Honkaku Creations Origami art including: animals, birds, aquatic life, ancient life, insects, human, imaginary life and other non-categorized images.

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