The Origami Forum

I've been working my way through a friends copy of the works of Satoshi Kamiya and i'm enchanted. not only are the models beautiful but they're also a total joy to fold. i'm new to modern origami with it's fancy paper and new techniques and have only folded a few things. i found them mostly frustrating and hard going. the end results usually looked okay but the fold itself was no fun at all.

this is not the case with these models. every fold seems to lead gently into the next, the diagrams look impossible but you bend and as if by magic the paper flips itself to where it's supposed to be. i guess a lot of this is down to the good pre-creasing but most of it must be the skill of the designer/diagrammer.

i think the most joyful one so far was the pegasus, i was doing a first fold while feeding the baby, chatting to my toddler and watching the telly and it just seemed to appear in my hands. lovely.

so is Satoshi Kamiya unique in this? are there other designers who's work is so beautiful to fold? who should i be looking for?

thanks

Hideo Komatsu.

Tons of origami artists have models like that, it's just Kamiya is the best known.

Yes, I would definitely recommend Hideo Komatsu, I think his folding processes flow even nicer than Kamiya's. The final results come out really nice too.

excellent, i'll check out Hideo Komatsu then.

any more names i should be looking out for?

Definitely check out Quentin Trollip. He's probably the best at fitting the most amazing models into the least amount of steps. Especially his White Rhino, a lot of friends say it's their favorite model I've made

While Quentin's models are brilliant I wouldn't put him in the same category as Kamiya, Komatsu and say Maekawa. Quentin's model's require a lot of artistic skill and flair to pull of well (not to mention some pretty demanding paper requirements). There are some exceptions, like his white rhino, but Quentin's works remind me more of Michael LaFosse's. Deceptively "simple" folding sequences that are very hard to pull off as well as Quentin does. Once you have mastered the like's of Kamiya and Komatsu by all means have a go at Quentin Trollip's models. If you can pull off a Bald Eagle it will be even more rewarding than Kamiya's Pegasus - you will know you have put in more that just following a sequence.

You may find obtaining Komatsu's diagrams (legally) challenging as they are published mostly in old Tanteidan magazines and Tanteiden convention books. Maewaka's Genuine Origami is a lot easier to find. I'd also suggest that Fumiaki Kawahata's models fit your description. I'm folding his Panda (Tanteidan 128) right now and it reminds me a lot of Komatsu's models.

yeah i am not having a lot of luck finding Komatsu's stuff, i was hoping there would be a collection in a book pity as i saw a hippo on his website that looked fab.

at the moment i'm a bit stressed out so it is the folding itself rather than the end result i'm chasing and you are right that the more interpretive works take more than i'm willing to give right now.

i'll have a look at Maewaka and Fumiaki and maybe leave Quentin for when i get a bit better.

thanks all

You might want to consider picking up a tanteidan convention book which will have models from all of those authors and more (Roman Diaz, Stefan Webberl, Robert Lang, Trollip, etc). 16 and 17 are good and still available from Origami House (i prefer 16):

http://www.origamihouse.jp/book/origina ... yu_16.html - they take paypal and it is about $45 which is a bit expensive for some, but i would say worth every penny

Genuine origami is a nice purchase from amazon, and if you need free shipping you can consider Origami Odyssey by Peter Engel

thank you for the suggestions, i am rather attracted to the tanteidan convention books but as a born collector i'm sure i would feel the need to own all of them so maybe i shouldn't start

i dont think you'll have to worry to much, usually takes a crowbar to pry the out of print copies out of someones hands. At 40 dollars a year it is easily my cheapest addiction.

Roman Diaz & Quentin Trollip.

The creators, passion , or love flows from the model, but Satoshi Kamiya, is a cut above the rest, haha imo any way , but every one of the artists are special, but my faviote is still John Montrol. for personal reasons.

i just folded scrat by fernando gilgado, that was a rather lovely fold. i've been looking into other names mentioned here too but gotta say that so far satoshi kamiya is still winning my paper heart

Well, if you ask me then there are no on who have only done awesome models.
But try Joisels rat, diaz´s horse, tuckers phoenix (photo guide on my flickr) and komatsu's wolf.
And kamiyas cocker spaniel, that one is cool. Doesn't feel like a kamiya model at all. More like the above mentioned wolf.