The Origami Forum

I know a bit or 2 about design, though I'm far from excellent at it. I'm wondering what you guys do when you want to make something? Do you sit down at a graph paper and pack squares? Pull up treemaker? Start folding?

For me, I want to enjoy folding, so I just start folding some random stuff and try to make it interesting(By that I mean really hard and rather illogical steps) and normally get somewhere. In fact, I did just that today and made a flying T-rex. I find it difficult to plan models ahead of time, and I don't ever know what to fold.

Also, I've noticed when I spread my axials when I box pleat design, I invariably get messed up and have to incorporate 1/2 axials, doubling my grid. How can I avoid this?

I just keep making it over and over and adjusting the proportions until it's right. Been working so far! I'm hopeless with circle packing and planning ahead, I usually just have the basic idea in mind and go at it.

kareshi wrote: keep making it over and over and adjusting the proportions until it's right.

That.

Some people that "designed" a lot of models used to be at this forums. But they failed at the advise given by kareshi. They ended with a ton of models that, more than folded they looked just like crumpled paper with parts out of proportion.

I start by making undulating folds on two or three sides to have more material to work with, at which point I fold as though it were a normal square / double square into the shape which gives me the number of points I need, then work with that.

My work relies mostly on techniques and bases i found in other models.

If I could compare my design strategies to any game it would be CLOP

I usually draw out the packing, draw in creases, then set the grid number. (I use boxpleating)

When I want to design something, I start off by considering how many flaps I want and of what length.
I draw out a little stick figure, to represent the design, as suggested in ODS.

After that, I fiddle around with simple base shapes, blintzing, grafts, etc. To see if I can form a base that gives a good enough approximation of the flap lengths I want and is simple enough to fold easily.

I've tried box pleating and circle packing but most times it doesn't turn out simple enough for my liking.

Once I've got a base with the right number and general proportions of flaps the rest is shaping.

I usually first choose the best technique for the particular subject I'm working on--box pleating for an arthropod, circle packing for a mammal, etc.

For box pleating, I set out a grid first and then change it depending on the flap lengths. Then I draw out the packing as I go, and sometimes it doesn't fit the way I want. So I start over, changing the grid a bit. The process continues, sometimes several times, until I have an efficient packing.

For circle packing, I use molecules and polygon packing, usually just squares and triangles, until I get the arrangement I want. I usually eyeball the reference points at first, guesstimating where certain flaps should be (actually how I designed a Cyclommatus imperator several years ago). Then I fudge the proportions--again, often several times--until the model turns out how I want.

Then, every once in a while, there are my astructural models, i.e., my rabbit design. For those, I choose a structure for part of it and then form the rest abstractly. It's really hard to explain without doing it yourself, so I'd recommend giving it a try.