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The Zing-Man Origami Gallery |
Origami from Sky and Space . Animals, Beasts and Creatures . Insects and Flowers . Polyhedra
Welcome to my origami page. Here you will find photos and instructional diagrams of some original origami models I have designed.
The Foldinator Origami Modeler and Document Generator now has its own page, available here.
Origami from Sky and Space:
Hot Air Balloon 2007
Extending the Origami from Space approach to other curvy flying objects with polar symmetry, here is a Hot Air Balloon complete with basket.
Flying Saucer 2006
This model is a companion to the rocket ship, and is similar in technique as well as in theme.
Crease pattern for Flying Saucer
Rocket Ship 2005
This model represents a new design approach for me. It is in part a result of the to work I've been doing the last few years exploring polyhedra. I've been getting more and more into curved surfaces and approaches for modeling them, and at the same time looking for something more representational to explore as subject matter. This is one of the first successes in the direction. The rocket is fully three-dimensional and the surface is made up of a facets which approximate a curved surface.
Crease pattern for Rocket Ship
Animals, Beasts and Creatures:
Armadillo 2007
The newest addition to my hex base family, this model was inspired by a trip to Florida where a family of these cute critters were living in the yard of the place we were staying. I tried a couple designs based on 45 degree symmetry before I realized that my hex base is good for almost any animal with 4 equal length legs, and a head and a tail. The hardest part of this model was making the ears essentially without developing any new points, but it worked out quite well.
Snapping Turtle 2004
Made from the same hexagon base as its cousin the Lizard, my Snapping Turtle features a detailed head and claws, and a segmented domed shell.
Diagrams for Snapping Turtle
Crease pattern for Snapping Turtle
Lizard 2003
Features detailed head and claws, and a nice, posable body stance. This model is made from a base of my own invention that employs the geometry of a regular hexagon.
Crease pattern for Lizard
Diagrams for the Lizard
Asian Elephants 2004
After reading Robert J. Lang's Origami Design Secrets, I was inspired to design my own elephant. Here it is.
Crease pattern for Asian Elephant
Diagrams for Asian Elephant
Dragon 1986, 2001
A dragon in the Western (European) tradition rather then the Eastern (Oriental) style, this is the kind of dragon that breathes fire and has wings to fly. This model features detailed body stance, head, tail, wings, claws, and exploits the possibilities of using two-colored paper. I designed the original (Classic) version in the 1980's and it was one of my first successful designs. It's an old style-design so, using a variation on a blintzed frog base. The diagrams presented here are hand-drawn from the early 1990's. I submitted them to the Origami Society and apparently they were published in the annual collection in the mid-90's. I have looked for that year's collection but it is out of print. If anyone out there has a copy they'd like to sell me I'd be grateful.
A few years ago I redesigned the model, concentrating on improving the head and wings. I added a jaw with fangs and eyes on the head and three-fingered claws on the wings. This is accomplished by dividing the paper in the 9ths rather than 8ths at the first step, and folding over an extra layer on 2 edges. Then proceed as per the diagrams until the end, when you pull out the extra paper and make the new features.
Diagrams for the Classic Version of the Dragon
Octopi 2001
Spontaneously invented in response to a challenge at a party, this model is an early forerunner of the whole Origami From Space apprach.
Crease Pattern for Octopus Base
Fox 1989
One of my earliest successful designs, but a nice one that has stood the test of time. Takes advantage of two-colored paper and 3-D effects to produce a fluffy white tail and ears.
Insects and Flowers
Butterfly 2006
This butterfly captures the moment of spreading its wings and taking flight. I generally don't do a lot of insects but a butterfly seemed like a good subject because it's more lyrical than your average bug, and I had an idea for an approach. I've seen some really beautiful butterfly designs that have great wings but no legs and can't stand. I've seen others that have legs but are a highly technical given the subject. I wanted to something simple and sculptural, but just complex enough to have legs. My model uses a waterbomb base, with two of the flaps forming the wings and the other two forming the legs. It's easily doable from a 6? square, and only the only hard part is 2 closed sinks in a row.
Diagrams for the Butterfly
Crease Pattern for the Butterfly
Fivefold Rose 2002
Inspired by the classic Rose by Toshikazu Kawasaki, this model features fivefold rotational symmetry to emulate the natural symmetry of a rose.
Diagrams for the Fivefold Rose
Origami from Sky and Space . Animals, Beasts and Creatures . Insects and Flowers . Polyhedra
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