Fold Till You Drop

There's an origami convention convention underway in Japan this weekend, with some truly impressive pieces on display. There's an AP story, but words don't do it justice. See the personal site of one of the professional paper-folders, or photos taken at a previous convention, or just discover the essence of origami.

Comments

From an artistic stance

[dj_cel]

This is simply awesome, I look at some of these peices and they resemble 3d models in the sense of polygon modeling. My hats off to those who can do this, because doing it even in the computer is quite a difficult task.

Re:Pepakura

[danamania]

While origami where no cuts happen (is that the only form that's truly 'origami'? I'm not sure) is more impressive, you reminded me of this site with paper cut out models of Apple gear.

Scrolling down to some of the constructed models shows how cool they can look :)

kinda off topic but try this

[Rooked_One]

try to fold a peice of paper over 7 times

It doesn't matter how thin the paper, or how big the sheet, you just can't do it. Have fun proving me wrong :)

Re:kinda off topic but try this

[WiseWeasel]

Hahaaaaaa, I folded a square of toilet paper eight times, though it looked somewhat like a ball after that last one...

How Timely

[l0ungeb0y]

Just got through watching my Blade Runner DVD again.
Remember the origami unicorn? Fold your own.

Robotic origami folding

[foobsr]

Robots can do it too!

CC.

More info...

[dmayle]

I'm a paper folder, and I've got to say, right now is a really exciting time for folders. I'm a member of Origami USA which is an organization that, despite it's name, is open to people from all over the world. Every year there's a convention held in New York at the end of June where about 1000 people come together to learn new models, to socialize. and to have fun.

I said it's an exciting time, and that's because for the first time, folders are really starting to explore the bounds of the craft. You've got people like Robert Lang who have been exploring the mathematics and geometry behind origami, and teaching the secrets of creation to others.

You've got people like my friend, Daniel Robinson, who take animals, insects, etc. of a particular species, and instead of trying to create a generic representation, try to get the model to be exact, right down to the length and number of feelers on a frilled longhorn beetle, for example.

And as much as you might not believe it, there are some really hot origami chicks [though they are for the most part drowned out by the rest... ;) ]

Moebius Strip With Ants

[antdude]

See here. :)

More Photos

[Ranger Rick]

My girlfriend went to the convention with a friend of hers (who was actually teaching there).

There's some more pictures of some of the models that were on display here, some of them are really quite amazing (I especially like the white dragon with all the pleats for scales, impressive...)

I'm suprised at how much press this has been getting, it's kind of nice, since I couldn't go with her I can at least hear about it some. :)

Re:Amazing folding

[infinite9]

Next time you're in Japan, go to a store and buy a gift for someone, then ask the store to wrap it for you, then watch in amazment. They place the box diagonally on a sheet of wrapping paper (one size fits all), then they simply roll up the box and seal it with one piece of tape. It takes about three or four seconds. I watched it dozens of times and I still can't do it.