Camel Spider II (December, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

When I began experimenting with methyl-cellulose treated tissue paper, I tried to re-fold my previous Camel Spider model with this material.  I quickly reached the conclusion that the design was flawed in the way that the flaps were layered - the two smaller flaps that create the fangs were wrapped inside the longer flaps that create the pedipalps (these look like the front pair of legs - a camel spider, like a tarantula, is an arachnid and has 8 actual legs along with 2 pedipalps which give it the appearance of possessing 10 legs).  With tissue-foil, I was able to "smoosh" things into place, but when I folded it more precisely out of methyl-cellulose tissue paper, the messiness was too obvious.  In addition, Robert Lang pointed out that they actually have 4 mouth-parts.  Because of this, I re-designed the base so that the flaps are layered correctly - this version is actually a little easier to fold, and is anatomically more correct, as well as producing a better end-result. 

Ghost Shrimp (September, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

When I first began designing original models, the mantis shrimp caught my attention as a potential subject.  Robert Lang directed me to Bryan Chan's version, and it was immediately obvious that I had a lot to learn.  After two years, I no longer wished to attempt designing a mantis shrimp (since Bryan Chan did a more than adequate job with his model), but instead I decided to design a ghost shrimp.  While in South Padre, I often wondered what made the bubbles I saw surface in the sand after a wave receded.  I never imagined the truth - several times, I saw people use a length of PVC pipe with a plunger on one end (think of a huge syringe without the needle) to suck these 3-4 inch, translucent white shrimp out of those holes (apparently, they make good bate for fishing).  The sight is indelibly stamped on my memory, and it seemed inevitable that I design one of these instead.  A single layer of white tissue paper treated with methyl cellulose was perfect for the ghostly transparency of the subject.  The complexity of this model prompted me to develop a variation of the construction  method I have previously described for my origami flowers.  I have written a follow-up article outlining this process.

Duck-Billed Platypus (August, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

After designing my Emperor Penguin for my oldest son (as previously mentioned, it was his first Webkinz pet), of course I had to design my younger son's first Webkinz (a platypus, obviously).  In fact, he has a family of platypi - a white one (the dad), a pink one (the mom) and a little white one that has now in truth become a brown platypus.  I found a picture (shown to the left) to base my design on, but it left a few unanswered questions.  Precisely how many toes are on each foot?  What is the precise location and orientation of the poison-spurs I had heard were somewhere on the back legs?  I found a picture of a platypus skeleton which indicated that the feet each have five toes and the spurs are on the "heels" of the back feet and curve upward.  I also have a picture of the spurs of my origami platypus.
 

Blue Passion Flower (August, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

I have folded and designed many types of origami models, but I consider the center-piece of my work to be my flower series.  Starting with my Hibiscus, I have developed a technique for creating flowers by arranging circles in concentric rings (see the Origami Flower Design article I wrote, which has been posted on the OrigamiUSA website).  The high point of this series was my Torch Ginger - after folding it, I began searching the internet for other interesting flowers to fold.  My Water Lily and Graptopetalum Rusbyi (requested by my wife) were created during this time.  At the beginning of my search, I found a picture of a Blue Passion Flower - the uniqueness and complexity of this flower immediately caught my attention.  It quickly became obvious, however, that a slightly different approach would be necessary for this design - this flower is arranged, for the most part, in rings of five with two exceptions.  The middle ring of many fine strands is not, but my model represents it with ten thin points (I chose ten since it is a multiple of five, helping to simplify what was obviously going to be an extremely complex model).  The top-most set, however, consists of three points - overcoming this mis-match with the rings of five made this the strangest crease pattern I have created. 

Greater Bird of Paradise II (July, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

While I have no doubt that the majority of my designs have at least some room for improvement, I am satisfied with the design and end result for all of them except one.  While the Manta Ray was my first original origami model, the Greater Bird of Paradise was the first for which I designed an original base using circle-packing techniques.  Since it was my first attempt it was, unsurprisingly, extremely simple.  More to the point, it does not match the painting I was attempting to re-create in several ways - the feet have no toes, two of the four parts of the tail appear to be wings, it has no actual wings, and the long tail strands join at the body instead of further down the tail.  I decided it would be interesting to see what I could come up with now that I have much more design experience under my belt.  I completely re-designed this model - it is not an alteration of the previous one.
 

Emperor Penguin (July, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

While in New York for the 2007 Origami USA Convention, one of my class choices was Marc Kirschenbaum's Penguin.  My son, Seth, loved it (he has recently been into Webkinz, and his first virtual pet was a penguin, which he ironically named "Fireball") and asked me if I could fold him one that was black and white since the first one was folded from one of the pieces of foil paper provided at the convention (not black).  I later decided to design one of my own with a more realistic body shape, complete with three stubby toes on the short, flat feet.  This is the first time I have used grafting in order to add features to a design (the toes) - after a little experimentation, I decided that the feet and toes could come from the center of the paper since they should be thick and stubby anyway.  This design started out as an afterthought, but I am extremely satisfied with the efficiency of the crease pattern and the realism of the end product.
 

Dragon Throne (July, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

This model is unique due to the fact that it was not inspired by any existing object or creature.  My brothers and I have a tradition of building sand sculptures in South Padre every summer (see my about the artist page), and each year we like to try to create something different.  My idea for our 2008 trip was to build a Dragon Throne sand sculpture big enough for my sons to actually sit in.  I made this origami model to show my brothers what I envisioned.  We ended up scaling down the size, and Steven added a broken, cap-sized boat, but the basic layout remained the same - the upper-half of a dragon flying up out of the sand .  This design is a modification of Charles Esseltine's Flying Dragon.  I re-proportioned the base so that the head is larger which also had the side-effect of shortening the wings and making them wider, which I thought was better suited for the throne-arms than the original wing proportions.  I also used the part of the paper that was the tail to create the box for the seat.
 

"Lightning Whelk" Seashell (June, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

Snail (April, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

Harvestman (March, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

The harvestman, like the camel spider, is an arachnid but is not actually a spider.  It is one of several species which are commonly referred to as "daddy long legs" (only one of which is actually a spider).  I chose this species because the body is a small lump (the spider's was more detailed), and I wanted to focus on making the legs as long and thin as I could instead of adding various body parts.  This model was wet-folded from a 20" by 20" square of tissue paper treated with methyl-cellulose.
 

Graptopetalum Rusbyi (March, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

More commonly known as the San Francisco leather petal, this flower is the first design I have created at the request of my wife.  This is also the first  model where I included a true color-change using the reverse side of the paper instead of just opening up the flap to show the inside (like my heliconia).  Creating all twelve thin filaments between a ring of six small points in the center and six large points on the outside was also particularly challenging.  The twelve thin points actually come from the outer-most part of the paper, even though they are in the middle of the model.
 

Water Lily (February, 2008)

Base Crease Pattern

This is the first model for which I calculated the base mathematically (rather than arranging free-hand) so that all of the circles are perfectly tangent to each other - I wrote an article outlining this process which has now been posted on the Origami USA website.  After designing this model, I began using trigonometry to precisely construct each of my crease patterns.  Even though this requires a little more time at the beginning of the design process, it actually saves time later - I can make small adjustments to flap proportions, and the calculations re-adjust themselves automatically.

Because the complexity of these models creates the need to "constrain" multiple layers of paper to hold their shape, they are all the product of either tissue-foil or wet-folding.  The former relies on the aluminum foil sandwiched between two layers of tissue (hence the name) to keep the layers compressed, while the latter makes use of water, dissolving the glue already present in the paper which dries and sets the model in the desired shape.  Tissue foil is a handmade paper (for instructions on how to make tissue-foil, visit the paper section of Robert Lang's website) which I have almost entirely stopped using due to two negative side effects - the end product almost always looks at least a little wrinkled, and the foil washes out the color of the thin tissue paper.  Even though I have abandoned using it, this material did serve its purpose at the time - through its use, I dramatically increased my manual folding abilities and created many of my favorite original models, most of which I have since re-done by wet-folding.  Wet-folding is the technique of choice for most (if not all) of the worlds best origamists (instructions can also be found on Robert's website), but I find a more accurate term to be wet-shaping, since I dislike folding wet paper and tend to dry-fold as long as possible and only apply water at the final shaping stages (painter's tape is a wonderful thing - it can constrain the paper without sticking to, and tearing, it).  Suitable paper can be difficult to come by, which is one reason why I originally avoided this method - one solution I have found is treating paper with Methyl Cellulose, a glue used in book-binding.  I purchase it at Paper Source, which also has an instructional video on preparing the MC.  A readily available paper for this method is standard tissue paper, which I originally learned from Bryan Chan's website, specifically from his Praying Mantis design.  Using a foam brush, I apply the Methyl Cellulose to the tissue paper on a mirror - a trick I learned from Robert Lang, which he, in turn, learned from Michael LaFosse.  The glue-soaked-paper does not stick to glass.  The trick is to apply it without wrinkling or tearing the tissue - I can offer no advice on this other than try it many times - there is no substitute for experience.  The resulting paper is extremely strong and durable, while staying remarkably thin.  The only major problem I have found with this material is that it has a tendency to wrinkle - this applies both to the final wet-shaping stages of a model (especially if the model has large, flat features) as well as the original application of the MC to the paper (especially if the application is to paper of more than 12" side length).  Using other types of paper can solve this problem - I have most recently become fond of mulberry paper, which can be found in many varieties at the Handmade Paper Superstore.

The other artistic skill represented here is photography.  My goal in this area is to enhance the folded model by using light and shadows - if the photograph looks better than the actual origami model, I feel that I have accomplished my goal.  I have no official training in this art, but my brother, Steven, does - some of the pictures have been taken by him but, more recently, I have been trying to learn the principles for myself (since he lives 5 hours away, it is not expedient to rely on his notable talents in this area).  My skills are improving, along with the quality of equipment I own, so most of the pictures are taken by me.  I have also provided pictures of the real thing I was trying to re-create, along with (when necessary) links to the websites where I found these pictures. 

I also have many more pictures of models designed by other artists, but still folded by me.