Newbie here

notefolds · Post by **notefolds** » June 19th, 2008, 3:14 pm

Sorry to hear that about your libraries AngryDemon and MrsRiggins. My local library has several Lang and Montroll books (including Origami Design Secrets and Origami Sculptures) in addition to dozens of simple books.

Stinlin, the six inch paper will be fine for starting out, but you'll find it gets incredibly small and difficult to work with the more complex the model is.

zxop9 · Post by **zxop9** » June 19th, 2008, 3:30 pm

my library has langs design secretes book
lol it's way over due now, but i'm the only one that ever takes it out, hope they don't mind ;p

Post by **origami_8** » June 19th, 2008, 3:35 pm

The Vienna public libraries just bought a couple of new Origami books. Unbelievable enough the newest version of Origami Design Secrets is one of them and Origami Safari another! In total they now have 62 Origami books most of them are very simple stuff for children. And you can bet that every Origami book is just been borrowed and pre-ordered so it is near to impossible to get your hands on it.

angrydemon · Post by **angrydemon** » June 19th, 2008, 3:39 pm

origami_8 wrote: And you can bet that every Origami book is just been borrowed and pre-ordered so it is near to impossible to get your hands on it.

HAHAHAHAHA!!! Another funny joke!

Post by **TheRealChris** » June 19th, 2008, 5:35 pm

HAHAHAHAHA!!! Another funny joke!

watch your behaviour, things are getting handled different in different countries. be sure that your little world is only a little part of the real world

angrydemon · Post by **angrydemon** » June 19th, 2008, 5:41 pm

Sorry, I was just pointing out how very few people actually like origami. EDIT: Compared with the rest of the human population.

Post by **origami_8** » June 19th, 2008, 5:54 pm

Vienna is a city with 2000000 people, with every more interesting book being in the libraries only once it is no wonder if they get away immediately.

mrsriggins · Post by **mrsriggins** » June 19th, 2008, 6:34 pm

More people are into origami than you may know. Most are closet folders though and don't necessarily get into it as much as say people on the forum.

stinlin · Post by **stinlin** » June 19th, 2008, 7:14 pm

Speaking of hard to obtain books...I was looking at one of Lang's books on that book review site someone gave me (giladorigami.com I think), and it was $60 used and appeared as though no more new ones were do.

Also, about the paper - I've been reading the paper thread and had a question about using something like wrapping paper? Yay or nay? And if that IS a good plan, is there a certain type I should get?

notefolds · Post by **notefolds** » June 19th, 2008, 8:15 pm

mrsriggins wrote:More people are into origami than you may know. Most are closet folders though and don't necessarily get into it as much as say people on the forum.

That is absolutely true. Those that post regularly on this site represent a tiny fraction of all the folders out there. While it may be difficult to find folders in your area, they are out there! Maybe stake out the library or book store and wait for them

stinlin · Post by **stinlin** » June 19th, 2008, 8:45 pm

In addition to my previous posts question (about what kind of paper to grab from either the craft store or the local Target or Wal-Mart), is there any good reading material available on the web?

I printed out Robert Lang’s discussion on papers and such, and it’s actually a lot of fun and a very interesting read. At work here in the office, I don’t like to be on non-work related websites all day (despite posting from the office a majority of the time, haha), so I like to be able to print stuff out for reading.

I look busy if I have papers in front of me.

HankSimon · Post by **HankSimon** » June 19th, 2008, 11:52 pm

Books:
I do recommend Origami Design Secrets by Lang and Peter Engel's Folding Universe (AKA Origami from Angelfish to Zen), but buy these for reading not for folding. Then, later, you can go back and fold as your skills improve. But they helped my technical knowledge.

I also like some of the much older, out of print books for learning:
The Art of Origami by Samuel Randlett
THe Best of Origami by Samuel Randlett
Origami: A Step-by-Step Guide by Robert Harbin
(make sure you get this author)
The Art of Paper Folding - Origami 4 by Robert Harbin
The Art of Paper Folding - Origami 3 by Robert Harbin
The Art of Paper Folding - Origami 2 by Robert Harbin
The Art of Paper Folding - Origami 1 by Robert Harbin
(These are different collections, not a progressive series)

These book may not be easy to find, but Amazon (try the various international sites) and eBay have these books on occasion.

If you have the time, there is an international Origami convention in NYC, where you can meet many of the world Origami Masters.

http://www.origami-usa.org/
http://www.origami-usa.org/convention2008

Paper:
I recommend sticking with simple origami paper from Michaels and Hobby Lobby. You can also experiment with large sheets of "butcher" paper from a meat market or from a nursery. And, I think that the larger Dollar General stores had some Mulberry paper in the Gift box section.

Mileage may vary with budget ....

- Hank Simon

angrydemon · Post by **angrydemon** » June 20th, 2008, 2:52 am

I guess origami is only unpopular only where I live

stinlin · Post by **stinlin** » June 20th, 2008, 8:11 pm

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m going to have to start using something other than traditional kami. I folded Montroll’s traditional frog out of the Teach Yourself Origami book, and by the end of it all, things were getting VERY tight. I can only imagine how hard it is for some of you guys to fold more difficult models, let alone using a 6” square of that stuff! I’ll probably just end up using wrapping paper for now…The only real challenge is going to be getting it cut into perfectly square pieces.

Also, I’m going to try and leave work early and stop by the Border’s in Chicago. I put a copy of Lang’s Origami Design Secrets on hold – they only had the one! It’s the only store near me that had a copy, and my train picks up only about 10 minutes from there.

How would one get a copy of Montroll’s Mythical Creatures in Origami – the one with the zodiac folds? I see it on Amazon for upwards of $100. That’s a LOOOT of money! Is it really worth it? Any idea if they plan to reprint it anytime soon?

One other question – there are a lot of English origami books, but there’s also a lot of Japanese ones.

Is there a good website to order the Japanese ones that a non-Japanese speaker could use? Eventually, I’ll want to grab a copy of Works of Satoshi KAMIYA 1995-2003, and maybe some others (will I have trouble folding the models without being able to read the language?).

Post by **origami_8** » June 20th, 2008, 8:32 pm

Cutting the paper square: Go to the next building centre, choose a thin cheap wood and let it cut into stencils of your desired sizes, the machine should cut them rather accurately. While you are still there also grab a long metal ruler (not aluminium) and a sharp knife. Also try to get your hands onto a self healing cutting mat. All those items aren't expensive and if you take care you will have them for a very long time.
Place the stencil on the paper and mark the edges with a pencil, then remove the stencil, place the ruler on the marks and cut along the ruler...

Ordering japanese books from within the USA: There are several possibilities. You can either take an order on Origami USA, Kims Crane, Sasuga Books or Nicolas Terry's shop. with a short Google search you should be able to find them all, compare their prices and shipping conditions. I've never ordered from Origami USA or Kim's Crane so far, but had only good experiences with Nicolas Terry's shop, it is very recommendable.

The language a book is written in shouldn't matter on Origami books since the diagrams are usually drawn in the Yoshizawa-Randlett system and therefore are international understandable.
I have many Origami books in different languages and never had any problems with the languages but only with poor drawn diagrams. On some books I would like to understand the written text between the diagrams as well, but that's another chapter and doesn't have anything to do with the diagrams itself. If you like the models in a book buy it, no matter what language it is written in.