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Anonymous
Dear /po/. What kind of paper do you use for your origami? Up until now I've usually used whatever I had around the house. I don't think I want to use the small pieces of pre-cut origami paper you see at stores as they seem too small for some of the more complicated folds. I've noticed that many of the pieces seen on the board here don't seem to use the glossy origami paper but rather some sort of more moldable paper. Any advice would be appreciated. Also, does anybody know of a better scorpion model than the one at http://www.ganymeta.org/~darren/origamidiagrams.php?diagram=scorpion
>> Moony
depending on the complexity, I tend to use either colored printer paper or tissue paper ('cause I'm cheap) Or if I actually want it to look nice, the 6" square origami foil is awesome
>> Anonymous
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>>71991What kind of paper do you use for your origami?

It depends. If I'm just folding for practice I use regular origami paper or Japanese foil, usually the 6 inch size, or preferably 10 inches. I used to use tissue-foil for display folds, but after a while, you learn that there are better options. To make tissue-foil use spray-glue to attach a sheet of tissue paper to each side of a sheet of aluminum foil.

Depending on the type of origami piece you will want to use either really thin or really thick paper. Insects-thin, elephants-thick. Thick paper includes elephanthide/wyndstone marble, canson, canford, watercolor and parchment papers, etc. Thin paper includes lokta, hanji, unryu, mulberry, origamido, gampi, kozo, etc. All these papers are handmade and pretty expensive. (the last two can set you back $15 a sheet, and origamido is specially made for origami and must be purchased in person for $8 a 16"x20" sheet/ $500-1200 a batch. This is the stuff that the pros use, ie. Satoshi Kamiya and Robert Lang.) Unryu and lokta are about $3 a sheet, about 25"x37". Also invest in some methyl-cellulose to put sizing, aka the glue that holds the strands together, in the paper. You can also use it to help in folding.
>> Anonymous
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A good option that is nice and cheap is to make double MC tissue paper. To do this get a sheet of glass and lay a sheet of tissue paper on it. Using a paintbrush, coat the whole sheet in methyl-cellulose (MC) and then lay the second sheet on top. Coat this in MC too, and make sure to get all the wrinkles out. Let it dry (should take around an hour). Cut out a square and peel it off. You should have a crisp, super-thin sheet. I've folded Satoshi Kamiya's Sleipnir, Cerberus, and Bahamut with it, along with Jason Ku's Nazgul.

>>Also, does anybody know of a better scorpion model than the one at

Well, in books there's Robert Lang's Scorpion Varileg in Origami Insects II. There's not much online, except for crease patterns, but there are a bunch of those--Brian Chan's, for one.
>> Anonymous
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>>71997I tend to use either colored printer paper or tissue paper

Tissue paper looks terrible unless properly prepared. Seriously, try using methyl-cellulose to laminate two sheets together. The folding properties are surprising.
>> Anonymous
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>>72099
>>72097
>>72096

All pics (including this one) folded from double MC tissue paper.
>> Anonymous
>>72101
>>72099
>>72096
>>72097

Thanks for being crazy useful. Is MC something I can pick up at a good sized hobby store, or am I going to need to order it somwhere?
>> Anonymous
>>72099
Where can one obtain methyl-cellulose in Canada eh?
>> Anonymous
>>72107
>>72110

Well, I got mine in an art store, so you can check there. Also, check science supplies, and anywhere that would sell wallpaper paste. Wallpaper paste is a good substitute, from what I've heard, but I've never tried it. And of course there's always online. According to the container, MC is used for bookbinding, paper repair, and art framing. So maybe those types of shops too.

MC comes in powder form. The one I have is 1.5 oz, made by Lineco. http://www.lineco.com/item.cfm?itemnum=793-1001
>> Anonymous
>>72115
thanks
>> Anonymous
Use wrapping paper, it's large enough for pretty much anything, comes in any pattern you can think of, and it's super cheap compared to that other stuff that is a rip off.
>> Anonymous
>>72120

Yes and no. I overread and gave suggestions for display models, the papers and materials the pros use. I also discussed double MC tissue paper, which is a nice compromise between professional-quality display pieces and in-your-own-home hobby models. Wrapping paper is certainly large enough for most anything, but most kinds don't hold creases well or look good. They tend to crack or reflect, which does not look good. I've seen things folded from certain wrapping papers that did look great. But not many. Kraft paper is another one that is fairly cheap, comes in rolls, can even fold decently, but really doesn't look good usually. Again, there are different varieties. I bought a roll years ago after hearing good things about it. It can hardly hold a crease.

>>comes in any pattern you can think of

Why would you want it in patterns anyway? For origami you want smooth usually solid colors, soft for mammals and birds, hard for insects and technology.

There's more to making a good piece than simply being able to complete it. Paper choice is possibly THE most important aspect of a successful piece of origami. More important, even, than the folder's skill.
>> Anonymous
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Kraft paper is cheap and easy to find though. You just need to find which paper works. The huge rolls of paper schools use to cover bulletin boards work quite, and can usually be had for free if you ask. Plus it comes in 3 foot wide rolls, so you can actually fold the harder models.

Good sized hobby stores also sell larger sheets of handmade papers, which are expensive, but thiner and stronger than equivalent machine made papers. They also sell watercolor paper or elephant hide paper suitable for wetfolding
>> Anonymous
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>>72136
I like patterns for stuff like flowers or modulars, but simple patterns could help any model. It's not like insects/animals etc are solid colours. And you can get solid colour wrapping paper any way.

It did fail when I tried the preying mantis the first time; tore from excessive folding at one point.
>> Anonymous
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>>72152

Quite well, I meant to say. Both that and this pictured model were folded from random stuff used to cover bulletin boards. Paper could be better, but its free, so its hard to complain. Large sheets of tracing paper also work and are thicker than tissue paper.
>> Anonymous
>>72096
>>72097
>>72099
>>72101
I have a question about this MC paper: How well does it hold creses compared to, say, tissure foil? I have seen amazing things made from tissue foil, but have had trouble emulating those results, because the paper gets rather wrinkly when the model is finished. Also, do creases reverse easily? This was another downside to tissue foil. I noticed the models you made seem to hold curves well; does this occur naturally, or do you wet-fold the paper? And lastly, is it hard to achieve bicolor paper with this method, without changing the color of the original sheets?
>> Anonymous
>>72161
>>I have a question about this MC paper: How well does it hold creses compared to, say, tissure foil?

It holds creases very well. If it doesn't hold the creases well, you didn't put enough MC. Of course it doesn't hold creases like tissue foil--tissue foil is almost like working with clay or papier mache.

>>Also, do creases reverse easily? This was another downside to tissue foil.

Yep, it's like folding with paper. Creases will reverse very easily.

>>I noticed the models you made seem to hold curves well; does this occur naturally, or do you wet-fold the paper?

I forgot to mention that those pieces were entirely dry-folded. As long as you don't try to make the paper do something unrealistic and gravity-defying it should hold.

>>And lastly, is it hard to achieve bicolor paper with this method, without changing the color of the original sheets?

Ah, here's the downside. Most tissue paper uses unstable dyes that bleed. Because of this single-color pieces are best. The cerberus was actually made by putting a blue and a dark grey piece together. The colors combined to what I wanted. Non-bleeding tissue paper does exist, but it's harder to find. If you got that, then you could make duo papers.

Things made properly from handmade papers do come out best, (check out Robert Lang's, Satoshi Kamiya's, Brian Chan's foldings), BUT they take a lot of work.
>> Anonymous
Bump