Creativity can take many forms. I categorized the five entries into four categories.
The first category, I am calling “Emotive” creativity.
Lover Boy by Origami Plus
Pink Pussyhat by Sebastian Limit (Sebl)
These two entries gave me an emotional feeling and were somewhat more abstract rather than realistic. Sebastian Limit (Sebl) is I believe a master of this type of creativity. You must look over all the models he has created on Flickr. Even when Sibl’s creations are realistically portrayed, the contain an emotional content that is beyond visible reality. They are uniquely and artfully created like no one else can do. You should also take note of the names that he assigns to his models. I wish that Sibl would have included his “Perky Robin” model shown on Flickr on January 7th. For this challenge, the robin would have won my full praise especially as an example of being positive. I must say that the title “Pussyhat” might have been an attempt at a humorous pun but it left me feeling a little uncomfortable.
I Liked the emotive combination of the Lover Boy and Lady of Love. It is a great set to be sent to your favorite valentine. Unfortunately, Lady of Love was done before January and in my mind could not be included in my judging. Lover Boy by himself left me feeling half fulfilled.
The next category I call “Creative inclusion of materials”
Joy by LOLm4tt
A few years ago, Robert Lang responded to a question about whether a model that included more that included one sheet of paper could be called Origami. He gave a definition of Origami that was something like this “Origami is an art form that is predominantly achieved through folding – it can include cutting, multiple sheets, different types of materials and coloring but is based primarily on folding.”
There is a bias in the folding world towards achieving a model from a single folded uncut square. There is also a bias of including just two colors in a model – one color on the top side and one on the bottom.
I am rewarding LOLm4tt for having the courage to challenge this bias by awarding him 3rd place in this challenge. His results may not be as attractive so one as the rest of the models included in this challenge. However, anyone who knows the movie “Inside Out” can immediately recognize “Joy”. I really like the way the fold of the hair captured the essence of “Joy”. There are problem areas or this where the results do not quite fit Lang’s definition. The dress shape is achieved by folding but the “Straps of the dress” would be better represented by folding strips of paper (perhaps pulling paper from the back over the model) . An alternative would be to color the straps before the model is folded so that the color does not bleed into the arms. One final caveat, the Disney corporation rigorously defends original creations. I am aware of one lady who was selling needle point representations of Disney characters at local craft fairs and the corporation threatened legal action if selling these creations continued.
Now if you want to really step up with multicolor, multiunit models, take a look at the creative work of Hiroaki Kobayashi
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kobashi_san/
The next category I call the creativity of technical folding.
Shiba-Inu by Eamon
I assigned this model my second place award. His creation is up there with some of the “Top Dogs”. Whenever I have to judge others work, I look for comparable models. I
There are hundreds perhaps thousands of models based on Dogs and at least two that closely resemble this model. With some slight improvements, Eamon’s model could rival the best of these models.
Interestingly I found two models folded by the same person (one of his originals and a model designed by Kamiya) -
Hiroaki Kobayashi
Here are the two models I used for comparison:
Eamon has achieve the same degree of color patterns with a significantly different folding approach.
To make this a “Top Dog” I would suggest the following:
Make the nose a bit shorter
Narrow the body towards the hind legs
The raised section above the hind legs seems exaggerated. The American standard for this breed of dog state the this dog has a "straight back"
The final suggestion may take some doing. The white area on the belly of the dog lays on top of the other surface reverse this so that the white area come out from under the other color.
My final category and the one I chose as the winner is
Creatrivity of “Original Content”
I really like models that create something that is quite unique from what has been folded in the past. While I may not have searched far enough, I could not find any other model on line that was an origami representation of a pregnancy test.
My choice for the winner of this challenge is:
Pregnancy Test by Kensula (Marmalade)
This entry meets the definition of being positive in a number of ways.
First, there is a visible plus sign
Second, there is a positive test results
Third, it portends birth and renewal, hope and happiness
Kensula (Marlade) will judge the next challenge
The Challenge for February will be “folded cuts”.
Notice that I give you a great variety of ways to provide an entry for this challenge – see February’s Challenge
I hope that Kensula receives as great a variety of entries as I had to judge and the picking a winner is just as difficult.