semi-beginner returning to origami help

[muglyhacker]

Not sure where to post this....

My Father recently gifted me his entire collection of Origami materials; (just books and magazines); I fondly remember many hours crafting entire airports with him and loads of models from Harbin's books which are the only ones I remember from my child hood.

The stuff I see in his books are mostly way over my head with talk of CPs and model design....where do I start; I'd love to create some of the stuff that I see on websites - some of it is astonishing. I am familiar with nearly all the major folds although a closed sink still defeats me.

In your collective opinions which book should I start with?

He gave me:

Brilliant Origami - David Brill
Origami Design Secrets - Robert J Lang
Origami and Geometric constructions - Robert J Lang
A plethora of Polyhedra in Origam - Montroll
Works of Satoshi Kamiya 1995-2003 - Satoshi Kamiya
Secrets of Origami - Robert Harbin
Origami the Art of Paper Folding - Robert Harbin
How to Make Origami Airplanes that Fly - Gery Hsu
and a book by Paul Jackson whose cover has been ripped off I think Complete Origami Course

plus a whole bunch of Japanese magazines chock full of seriously good looking origami - where to start???

I have done some research and I understand that some of these books are pretty advanced I have also ordered Origami Omnibus - Kunihiko Kasaharar and Toshie Takah from Waterstones.com but it probably wont arrive for at least 2 weeks, this is to start my own collection off.

[origamibrent814]

your lucky, haha, i cant give much advice on where to start tho

[Fanatic]

Hmmmmmm...

For a beginner, the only books I would recommend are the ones by Harbin, Paul Jackson, and maybe the airplane book. The rest are quite complex.

[juston]

I agree that you should definitely start with the Harbin books to get back into origami... but don't be afraid to crack open Origami Design Secrets. The first four chapters are all about the fundamentals and shouldn't be too daunting to someone that's already done some origami. You'll want to read that book sooner or later anyway.

[!]

Brilliant Origami also has some simple, elegant models in it.

[legionzilla]

ODS and Works of SK are my recommendations for you!

[origamimasterjared]

Those Japanese magazines sound like they might be Tanteidan magazines. In this case, you should put them all in a box and send them to me.

[WhisperPuffin]

Actually, those tanteidan magazines would fit well in my collection. I'm a much better choice than Jared...

[Sara]

No no no no no - they need to be sent to *my* address. I'll try to make some videos on the models, promise! Pretty please? Pretty pretty please?!?

Your father seems to have loved the super complex stuff. I'm not sure I agree that starting with the Robert Harbin stuff is the way to go, though. The early diagramming style isn't the easiest to read. Brilliant Origami has some easier models in it, but Dave often doesn't give clear reference points (esp. for his animals). The objects and modulars should be a good way to get started again, though.
Origami Design Secrets is - in my opinion - not just a book for advanced folders. The diagrams are clear, and several models are really very doable for someone who knows the basics. I've done a video on his Valentine from that book (http://www.happyfolding.com/instructions-lang-valentine) if you'd want to give one of the slightly more advanced models in the book a try. Of course, some models presented in the book are complex, but the diagrams quickly give away how hard the models are t fold.
Also, there's a really good explanation of the basic folds (including the closed sink ) at the beginning of the book.

I'd recommend you keep your hands away from the Works of Satoshi Kamiya for a bit. There are less complex models in the book (e.g. Splash Swan, Chocobo, Pegasus - in that order), but you should feel confident with closed sinks and in general folding quite precisely.

Overall you got a really good selection of books, even though I don't know all of them. And the Tanteidan magazines (or whatever magazines they are) are probably the gems among the selection - simply because it's really hard to come by them, and they often feature absolutely fantastic designs.

Hope this helps a bit, even if it mostly repeats what others have already said,

-- Sara

[foldymole]

I'd recommend Origami for Dummies by Nick Robinson. No harm in going back to basics, and the diagrams and instructions are good.

Although Origami Design Secrets does have some very difficult folds, I'd check out the Koi Carp. The version without the scales is not too difficult, and looks fantastic.

[HankSimon]

I had to go back to take a look at these books. I'm guessing that you're an intermediate folder, so you'll want a little practice to stretch your skills.

My suggested order:
Paul Jackson Complete Origami Course
Origami the Art of Paper Folding - Robert Harbin
Secrets of Origami - Robert Harbin

Origami Design Secrets (ODS) - Robert J Lang

Brilliant Origami - David Brill
Origami and Geometric constructions - Robert J Lang
A plethora of Polyhedra in Origami - Montroll

Works of Satoshi Kamiya 1995-2003 - Satoshi Kamiya

How to Make Origami Airplanes that Fly - Gery Hsu

I recommend going through the Jackson and Harbin books and folding the models that are interesting and not frustrating. It you attempt a few per week, that could take you to the end of the year, but you will have developed some good technique.

Start reading Lang now, as a reference book. Just accept that you may have to read this amazing book 3 - 4 times to start getting it.

The Brill, Lang, and Montroll books have terrific models, but they take more shaping or technique, which can be very frustrating, initially. I'm still trying to finish some satisfactory models from these...

Satoshi Kamiya is advanced with extraordinary models that really show off the power of origami (and box pleating, I believe). I have found that his models require patience - a muscle that takes more development -
But, when your Origami skills progress, his models are worth the time. However, if you fold his models before you're ready, you may find yourself stuck, somewhere in the middle.

I put Hsu last, only based on personal taste and experience (what were the previous paragraph - nevermind...) He has some good techniques in his models, but I never could really get interested in the folding or the result... I'm sure other folks like his planes.

- Hank Simon

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

And about the closed sink. Here is the piece of advice i wish someone had given me: when performing a closed sink, you aren't really folding anything. You are just pushing paper in. It WILL feel unnatural, as it is unlike any basic fold of origami.

[muglyhacker]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

@ HankSimon; you've obviously done some research into my 'library' and I'll follow your advice. I really like the look of ODS as it looks like its got a lot of theory in there.

I have only ever folded with standard A4 printer (max square 21cmx21cm) but I see I'm going need some other paper...is standard British broadsheet newspaper worth a crack? as I can almost get a 60cmx60cm piece out of it.

[ahudson]

I feel like I should mention-- "Origami and Geometric Constructions" by Robert J. Lang isn't a book of the usual sort. It's more like a really long essay about some aspects of mathematical origami. Very useful if you design things, but a folder on your level wouldn't get much from it (unless you really enjoy mathematics, in which case go right ahead!)

Also, don't worry about buying special paper until you're a few months in, and have a better idea of what you want to do with origami. I fold almost everything with printer paper or regular kami, it's only when I need to make a piece for an exhibition that I use much else (for the really super-complex models there, like most of Satoshi Kamiya's work, you'll need something bigger though-- but you shouldn't start with that anyway)

It's also very good for your technique to start off with smaller paper and simpler models, because then you learn to work at any scale-- whereas if you're starting with really big paper, you'll have a much harder time moving to something smaller.

[Pop pop]

I would say the works of satoshii kamiya because some models are easy and the diagrams are clear