The Origami Forum

In Robert J. Lang's book Origami Insects and Thier Kin, I need help with step #29 of the Scarab Beetle. It says "Squeeze the sides in and swing the excess paper to the right." It might help if you had the picture so if you have the book it's on page #48.

That's kind of like a petal-fold, except it ends partway through the flap. See the valley crease that goes off to the left? Start with that, then pinch the vertical mountain fold. That becomes a new flap, which swings to the right as described. All the creases have already been made except that center triangle, which will fall into place once you get the rest of them.

thanks, but now i cannot understand steps 32-34, they don't make sense, there is only one layer and it says to pull out the second layer or something i don't know what to do...

when I get back from vacation mid JUly I will try and upload some photos of how to do this.

not the best pictures, but hopefully they will help.

Hello,
I would like to ask you for help with step 35 where you should bring two layers in front of another layer. Could you please help me?
Thanks
Lucy

i waqs not impressed with the final result of this model. i guess i shouldnt have folded the bugs in origami insects 2 first because after folding them, these models just dont cut it for me. but i digress, when i folded the model yesterday i found only 1 layer to wrap around, then i had to fidget with some of the layers towards the end of the model. all in all i was not that impressed with the design. this surprises me because usually Dr. Lang's models fascinate me and are beautifully designed. oh well, i guess you cant win them all. good luck!

In general, the models from Origami Insects II are much better than Origami Insects and Their Kin-- Robert Lang had almost 10 years in between the two books to improve his designing skills

I do remember having a lot of fun with the grasshopper, long-necked seed bug, and paper wasp from Origami Insects and their Kin.

ahudson wrote:In general, the models from Origami Insects II are much better than Origami Insects and Their Kin--

better looking--yes. but the designs from OI2 all suffer from obviously being generated from treemaker.

only the scorpion is treemaker-d i believe. and why does it matter? it still takes amazing skill to turn a bunch of triangular flaps into a realistic scorpion.

slater, it is not a matter of skill. the bottom line is that most of the models in OI2 can be described by the following: 1) locate odd reference points, 2) precrease and collapse odd base, 3) sink in and out to thin limbs and shape.

there's nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but it has some undesirable side effects, mainly that almost all of the models have to be folded from thin, super strong paper that can be shaped at the end for a satisfactory result. it also makes the majority of the folding sequences dull and tedious.

to be clear, aesthetically, it's difficult to argue with the results, which have a stunning photo-realism.

however, it further contributes to the distressing trend amongst newer folders that the only origami worth folding is super-complex and super-realistic--which is unfortunate. many of the insects in OI1 have interesting sequences, and many of them look great with regular kami.

ok i agree with you

hes got a point, my favorite is the kabuto mushi from OI2 and ive folded it like 5 times, each time with success, but without really enjoying the folding sequence. while it is very mechanical, you cannot deny the skill required to design the model, treemaker or not. but this does raise the question? what are you searching for, or what result do you want from your folding. if you want to just fold something simple and enjoy the folding process, look elsewhere, but maybe you enjoy grueling sinks and tedious syymetry like i do....then you have found what you are looking for. thats the great thing about modern origami.....it can be very difficult or quite simple....its up to you. good luck!

bethnor wrote:
to be clear, aesthetically, it's difficult to argue with the results, which have a stunning photo-realism.

however, it further contributes to the distressing trend amongst newer folders that the only origami worth folding is super-complex and super-realistic--which is unfortunate. many of the insects in OI1 have interesting sequences, and many of them look great with regular kami.

I cannot help but agree. There is so much more to origami than just the super complex and super-realistic models. Heck, there are even models that are fun to fold as well as good looking,as anyone who owns a copy of Genuine Origami or Origami essence will know, models that are simple , can be folded in under one minute and are still extremely beautiful, like Yoshizawa's butterfly, and models that are 3-D with amazing locks and uncluttered appearances, as anyone who has folded a Joseph Wu model will know. Many complex models look lifeless to me, too. Just compare Giang Dinh's " dream dancer" to "Nuryev & Fonteyn" by Elias. Giang dinh's model has so much more life and expression, in so much less folds. In other words, simpler is almost always better.

ahudson wrote: do remember having a lot of fun with the grasshopper, long-necked seed bug, and paper wasp from Origami Insects and their Kin

I'd like to add the ant to that list,it is a truly enjoyable model for me, even though the layers in the thorax do get thick, the whole sequence just flows!

im gonna have to refold that ant cause it was great fun the first time i did it...thanks for reminding me!