UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ORIGAMI UNDER CONSTRUCTION
GILES TOWNING
OR GAMI M
Origami Under Construction Giles Towning
Models & diagrams © Giles Towning 2000-2007 BOS booklet 74 First published by British Origami Society, September 2008 Printed in the United Kingdom. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express written permission of the author and of the British Origami Society. The British Origami Society is a registered charity 293039
www.britishorigami.info
BOS booklet 74
Dedicated to my boys, Lewis and Michael.
Introduction One of the great things about origami is it that it has an international language. You can pick up an origami book from any country, and begin folding immediately. Or, you can fold with someone who does not have a clue what you are saying. (No remarks, thank you!) Origami is not always an easy thing to do, and I find that most people who practise origami are experts at puzzles and problem solving of one type or another. My inspiration comes from all corners, and from all folders at BOS conventions and in the BOS magazine. Together, the list is endless. An example is that I have used a variation of Max Hulme’s folds in my Light Bulb . In fact, you will kick yourself if you miss one of his folding sessions at a convention, because you will know that you have missed something substantial. Sometimes I have dreamed of an origami creation, and woken up knowing exactly how to fold it. Also, you can create by trial and error, stumbling upon something unexpected. Some of my creations are done with the attitude that while it seems that something can’t be done, I shall attempt it just to prove myself wrong. I hope that you enjoy these ideas, and appreciate the extreme sacrifice of my giving up Sudoku puzzles in favour of the hard discipline of working on these diagrams until the booklet was finished.
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Creasing Origami diagrams are a bit like examination papers, varying from easy to hard. Some of the more advanced folders enjoy folding from flat crease patterns. Some take more time to fold a clean model, which means that the final model has got only the necessary creases and no more. A model with no excess creases can dramatically change the finished shape as the paper has to curve and bend rather than buckle on an unwanted crease line. The Kawasaki Rose is a very good example of this, although I’m not too sure if this idea can apply to Joel Cooper’s Babylonian Head . Conversely, I thought that creasing in extra lines could add a little detail here and there. Like feathers on a wing, or doors and windows on a house. You could even go the whole hog and scrunch fold Vincent Floderer style to see the outcome. I usually scrunch fold when I’m half-way through a model, and I make a mistake, and after that it is slam dunked in the bin. Having had schooling on technical drawing, I appreciate the excess lines, which tell you how a model is put together: a bit like an artist’s preliminary sketch giving you a more analytical insight into the final result or enjoying the mathematical formula as well as the sum.
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Diagramming It is always best to keep up with your origami diagrams: that’s what I tell myself now when I have done no such thing. And now the task seems enormous. Ahhh! However, if you’re lucky enough to use your computer for diagramming, then it will save you lots of time and energy. Unfortunately I do not posses these skills and I have enquired upon the price of decent programming and it’s astronomical compared to my fibre-tipped pens and the retractable pencil I’ve, er, borrowed from work. So I’ll just have to stick with freehand sketching. Which is not too bad, considering that the majority of the origami books that I love most feature hand drawings. Good hand drawings I feel have something of the designer in them that computer diagrams need to catch up on. Sounds convincing! I feel better already. When diagramming it’s up to the artist to use a mix of either a flat plan, two-dimensional (2D) image, or an isometric threedimensional (3D) image. Both are good, and both have their disadvantages. (See Optical Illusion page 34.) A 2D image helps you concentrate on one particular part, but too much of this can make the drawings a bit dull. A 3D image takes a bit more skill and can impart much more information, but it takes up more room on the page. You can make a 2D image look more like a 3D one by adding lines to show what’s behind the outside edges. The angle at which we look at the model is also important. For example, it would be easier for the folder to look at the model from the same angle from start to finish with the minimum of turning over, to avoid confusion. Often it’s quicker to fold one way, and it may not be possible to diagram exactly the same sequence steps you have folded. I’ve made my preliminary drawings by placing a layout paper over the top of my rough notes and choosing the best lines, moving it around for spacing and sizing, tracing over the diagrams until I’m happy with the final result. The good thing about diagramming is obviously the end finish, but also sometimes you can see something extra that you didn’t see earlier, and so you end up enhancing the final outcome.
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Dalek template
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BOS publications 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
History of Origami Origami and Mathematics History of Origami in Britain Origami Instruction Language Teaching Origami Geometric Division Chess Sets of Wall, Hulme & Elias Napkin Folds Origami and Magic Neal Elias: Selected Works 1964 - 1973 Flexagons Martin Wall: Early Works 1970 - 1979 Orikata Pureland Origami 1 Max Hulme: Selected Works 1973 - 1978 18 Of My Paperfolds Origami Games Philip Shen: Selected Geometric Paperfolds Tony O’Hare: Selected Works 1973 - 1982 Origami Christmas Tree Decorations The Silver Rectangle In Praise of the Bird Base Index: BOS Magazines 1 - 100 Index: BOS Magazines 101 - 120 Envelope and Letter Folds Animal Origami Origami Structural Reconstruction Pureland Origami 2 Paper People and Other Pointers Mor’igami Patterns in Paper Animal Origami 2 Neal Elias: Miscellaneous Folds I Neal Elias: Miscellaneous Folds II Neal Elias: Faces and Busts Jeffori’ 3 Four ‘igami Animal Origami 3 Genius of Jan Willem Derksen Index: BOS Convention Packs Larry Hart: Selected Works (1971 - 1991) Pureland 3:Smith Multiplication The Origami of Stephen Palmer Modular Construction and Twists ABC of Origami Making Faces World of Fred Rohm I World of Fred Rohm II World of Fred Rohm III Origami Models Folded from Rectangles Origami Models Folded from Silver Rectangles More Origami Models from Silver Rectangles
John S. Smith John S. Smith David Lister John S. Smith John S. Smith Mick Guy Mick Guy & Dave Venables John Cunliffe Ray Bolt Dave Venables Paul Jackson Martin Wall Thoki Yenn John S. Smith Dave Venables Paul Jackson Mick Guy and Paul Jackson Paul Jackson Daniel Mason Paul Jackson John Cunliffe John S. Smith John Cunliffe John Cunliffe John Cunliffe Edwin Corrie Jeff Beynon Ricky Wong John S. Smith David Petty Jeff Beynon John S. Smith Edwin Corrie Dave Venables Dave Venables Dave Venables Jeff Beynon Jeff Beynon Edwin Corrie David Petty David Petty Larry Hart John S. Smith Jeff Beynon David Petty David Petty Eric Kenneway David Petty Pete Ford Pete Ford Pete Ford John Morgan John Morgan John Morgan
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55 Sink or Swim with Ted Norminton 56 Petal Folds and More 57 Pureland 4 58 Owrigami 59 10 Pop-Ups 60 A Medieval Court in Origami 61 Decorative Boxes from Single Squares 62 Animals and Birds 63 Ship-shape and Bristol Fashion 64 Faces’n’Fings 65 Planar Modulars (CD-rom) 66 The Nativity - An Origami Scene 67 Selected Works of Quentin Trollip 68 Which Came First? 69 3D Masks and Busts 70 Philip Shen: More Geometric Paperfolds 71 Origami Construction 72 Darwinism 73 Selected Works : A Second Selection 74 Origami Under Construction 92 My Fundamentals Occasional Booklets Paperplay Bibliography: Origami in Education and Therapy COET (Editor) Other Booklets Fold With Feeling Hearts 3D Origami Favourites For information about: Buying BOS publications Joining BOS Origami in general Submitting material for publication BOS website
Ted Norminton Ted Norminton John S. Smith Francis Ow John S. Smith Julia Pálffy Arnold Tubis and Leon Brown Tony O’Hare Tony O’Hare Tony O’Hare David Petty Lore Schirokauer Quentin Trollip Robert Neale Eric Joisel Boaz Shuval Giles Towning Ted Darwin Max Hulme Giles Towning Kuni Kasahara John S. Smith John S. Smith John S. Smith Nick Robinson David Petty Edwin Corrie
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Acknowledgements A very special thank you to Colin Rowe for sharing his great awareness of origami,and helping me in my origami drawing apprenticeship. An equal thank you to all on the BOS Council for unselfishly answering all the origami questions you can think of, and for making the conventions so enjoyable to attend. A particular thank you to all the creators, diagrammers and folders from home and abroad that attend the BOS conventions. Seeing everyone’s old and new origami makes my head buzz with ideas, which really helps with creativity, and this book would not be possible without it. Finally, a large salute to and in no particular order Erica Thompson, Colin Rowe, Alex Bateman, Nick Robinson, Joan Homewood and Ian Harrison for proof reading and seeing the job through.
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Origami or Paper Folding: it’s very much your choice. It is a much-debated subject. There are many styles, techniques and folding materials, as well as numerous interesting subjects and attitudes to apply it to. So far origami has eluded characterisation and for the time being is an unfolded frontier. Giles Towning is an electrician and, in between being electrocuted, his hobby is origami. Being in the right place at the right time, he managed to get an appearance on Richard and Judy then, later on, he got his name and diagrams on Greg Dyke’s Have I got News for You TV show. He has always tried to make his work original, and if his work inadvertently duplicates any others’ work then it is purely coincidence. (Great minds think alike!) Once you have mastered origami, you will no longer walk the streets in fear of leaflet distributors, as it turns them into automatic vending machines for your artistry.
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