A Perfect Fold.

[Nesting Crane]

WOW!!! What a difference precreasing makes!

I did a precrease on the Nesting Crane, which is one I was tring to perfect. I couldn't do an entire precreasing because I didn't have a pattern to go on; however, some of the creases I did know by memory.

Now, I can make a perfect Nesting Crane. Before, I kept getting a Nesting Crane that tilted to one side, like it had a few drinks, and the neck and head were deformed. Now, I don't have that problem. I am just so stunned.

With my attempts in the past, it didn't matter how many times I folded that bird, it always came out looking the same. Like a liquored up bird with the Elephant Man disease. Which after about 12 birds or more, and they all look the same, with no signs of improvement, it starts to shatter your confidence.

Finally, the learning barrier has been broken.

[dani luddington]

i have just arrived back from convention and i apologize if i am giving advice that has already been given but.... i use an exacto blade to cut and metal rulers or quilting rulers (i.e hexagonal, equilateral triangles, etc if i need a specific shape but it works with squares also) also when you crease paper so many times you get paper shift, i try to continually reinforce my creases as i go along. sincerely, dani

[Nesting Crane]

dani luddington,

i try to continually reinforce my creases as i go along.

Can you explain this procedure further? How do you reinforce as you go along?

[dani luddington]

as i create the model i periodically go back over the previous folds and make sure they are still where they should be( make sure they havent shifted), as paper does creep the further into a model you go. if a crease ends up being folded the opposite way somewhere in the construction of the model make sure they are accurately folded from valley to mountain or vice versa. when taking a crease from mountain to valley or vice versa, run your fingernail down the crease to flatten it before changing the direction of the crease. and always you need a truely square sheet of paper to start out with. i hope i am making sense here if not email me. (smiles) sincerely, dani

[TheRealChris]

oh, I forgot something, that I teach to every newbie, I'm folding with:
use as much of your hands, as you can. I recognized, that people tend to fold only with their fingers. but in many cases (especially in the starting process of the folding) you can produce more accurate creases by using the complete surface of your hand, than only using your fingertips.


Christian

[wolf]

Don't forget the fingernails either; they'll give sharper creases than just fingertips alone. Or use a bone folder.

[Nesting Crane]

Well, I have always been good at perfecting the crease itself. However, were do I get this Bone Folder?

I will be giving the whole hand folding method a try. On occasion I have ran into problems with just the finger tip, so I will see if this method prevents this problem.

[MeadowMuffin]

A folding bone is basically any hard object that you use to apply pressure to a crease. There are various opinions as to their usefulness. Some people may insist that it's the only way to get a really sharp crease and others will say that you run the risk of stretching and distorting the paper. Besides, even the sharpest crease in the wrong place is not useful.

[TheRealChris]

However, were do I get this Bone Folder?

because this is an international board, you should probably check out the internet for a resource of a bone folder.
maybe at OUSA


greetings

Christian

[FunkeeFolder]

I hope I'm not giving info already given! Nesting Crane sometimes sharp creases are not for the best! Especially if you are wet folding a model. Also I found sharp creases at places such as where it makes a point seems to weaken the end of the point and create a hole that make the model in the end look slightly odd, also some paper wears out easily and is more likely to tear if creased to hard which ends in you being slightly un-happy . Don't worry so much about that now while your still learning the basics, but remember it later for the complex models! Just some tips, and happy folding to you!

Funkee Folder

[Nesting Crane]

FunkeeFolder,

Well, I am wondering if I should be concerned about that now? I am trying to completely perfect the Nesting Crane. I have one brand of thick paper that the super crease method works perfectly. However, when I use the Momi Paper with the Gold and Silver flecks in it; I noticed that it doesn't quite work the same. I pressed those creases hard and it still isn't coming out right. It doesn't look bad, it just isn't holding the shape in the neck area.

Tell me what circumstances would this rule you mention apply? Give me an example if you can.

[FunkeeFolder]

Well examples are not my strongest suit but I will try! Lets start at the beginning! Sharp creases are a good thing don't get me wrong, but the circumstances for a sharp crease has to be right. If you are folding a traditional model this would be a good model to sharp crease since there is not that many folds especially ones that are used multiple times.

Now a model of higher level such as a Lang model (there are others but Lang is more known for his hard models) it would be wiser to not crease so hard (not so light you can't see it or not so it's useless) because on these models the same crease is used more than once most of the time, and after so many sharp folds the paper starts to show it by creating tears and holes where multiple folds creat points. Also you should get used to doing this so when you do wet folding (a method that makes the paper look sculpted and 3-D) it will be easier for you.

I hope I answered you question!

Happy folding
Funkee Folder

[Nesting Crane]

Yes, that explained it perfectly.

I had also ordered Robert Lang's book Origami Design Secrets. From your reply I am left with the impression that I have placed the cart before the horse.

[Brimstone]

One thing I've found to be critical to the exactness of my folds is illumination. Make sure you have plenty of lighting at the place you fold

[wolf]

Make sure you have plenty of lighting at the place you fold.

Yep. It's so annoying that eyesight is one of the first things that go as you get older...

I found that a flexible, adjustable light works nicely, since you can conveniently change the angle from which the light comes. Normal table lamps don't usually have a good range of movement but work in a pinch. The fibre-optic versions are fairly pricey but are extremely flexible, powerful and robust. A cheaper alternative would be the snake flashlights, although you'll probably want to do a solder job so that it runs off the mains instead of batteries.