The Origami Forum

Does anyone know the proper techniques on how to make tessellation masks like Joel cooper? Could someone show me how to do it?

The only description available online is with this CP:
http://origamiweekly.blogspot.com/2009/ ... ooper.html

The few people who have folded masks based off of Joel's method have either learned it from him directly (like Christine Edison) or have worked it out themselves (Andrew Hudson above).

Christine has some general suggestions about making tessellations 3D here:
http://cedison.wordpress.com/2009/02/22 ... her-stuff/

Yes there is!

Andrew Hudson reverse-engineered one of them over a few weeks, and we posted the crease pattern at Origami Weekly: http://www.flickr.com/photos/origamiweekly/3386875100/

ryuzin_origami wrote:Does anyone know the proper techniques on how to make tessellation masks like Joel cooper? Could someone show me how to do it?

Well, I'll put it this way-- even after two years of folding tessellations, I still barely managed to reverse-engineer it. I haven't managed to invent one of my own, yet-- at least, not one that was good enough to keep!

As with most tessellations, it's possible to reverse-engineer the model from photos; it just takes a good deal of time and patience. Unfortunately, there's a really big gap in folding level between Eric Gjerde's book and Joel's tessellation masks; so until more tessellation books come out the only way to bridge that gap will be reverse-engineering.

I think it's safe to say that unless a specialist publisher like Origami House decides to subsidize a book on the topic, there will never be any books on how to make masks like Joel's. His technique is seriously complex - having watched him make numerous of these masks, I can attest that it is the sum of years of his experimentation and personal effort. I feel that there is so much to explain and it is complex enough that it will remain very much a specialty of his. I'm actually OK with that, too - I like it that there's this guy with super-high-level skills that makes these unreal works of art that can't be reproduced. I think that's a good thing.

I know that Lang's book on geometric folding and tessellation will cover a lot of the nuts and bolts about tessellation constructions, but I think using the techniques to create artistic models (as Joel does) will remain a personal endeavour which few will accomplish successfully.

I am planning on folding this, but I am not sure on how to divide the whole hexagon into thirds! can anyone that have folded this help?

Thanks in advance!

Before folding in half (or after, it's just easier before) fold into thirds by making an 'S' shape with the hexagon and squashing it. This is one of the most accurate methods of dividing into thirds and leaves no extraneous creases.

I am not quite sure what you mean for the "S' shape! maybe you can have a picture to show me?

Thanks in advance!

Here you be, some nice tiny pictures




You'll have to be careful you're lined up and not angled very much, a ruler or protractor might help.

There's this very easy way:

Thanks heaps M Deutsch and origamimasterjared! I'll get started!!!

how 'bout sevenths?

or fifths?

Eleventy-Sevenths?

FrumiousBandersnatch wrote:Eleventy-Sevenths?

huh?