The Origami Forum

Hello,

I need to decide what Origami book to aim for next, and I was wondering what are peoples favourite Origami books.

Thanks,

Jerry

I would definitely get Lang's Origami Design Secrets if you do not have it. I also like folding from Yoshizawa's book, Creative Origami. It has tons of simple yet elegant looking works.

yes, It will depend on what are your plans; if you want theory, definetly Lang's ODS if you don't have it (but it's expensive), if you want nice and beautiful figures, could be Kamiya's Works, but a good option is Roman Diaz OFI, cheap and all kind of models, from simple but ellegants to complex and gorgeus.

It depends on what complexity level you're comfortable with. If you like supercomplex origami, then go for Origami Insects II or The works of Satoshi Kamiya or Origami Design Secrets for some theory.

For an introduction to complex folding, then go for Origami Insects and their Kin, Origami Sea Life, Passion Origami, or The Complete Book of Origami.

For intermediate to high intermediate folding, go for Origami Zoo.

And for an introduction to intermediate and high intermediate folding, go for Origami to Astonish and Amuse.

There are also those books that go beyond the traditional concepts of difficulty to teach you more of the artistic part of origami. Then, go for 3D Masks and Busts, Advanced Origami, or Origami for Interpreters.

i have insects and there kin and works of satoshi kamiya.
i need something a bit esier than insects and their kin.

is origami insects vol 1 esier?

I haven't yet seen a copy of Origami Insects I, but from looking at the gallery of models, http://www.origamihouse.jp/book/origina ... sects.html , I would imagine that it's a more difficult book than Origami Insects and their Kin.

Perhaps you might consider the Complete Book of Origami, or Origami from Angefish to Zen, two classics. A note on paper for these books: The CBO uses rectangles for some of the models, and a lot of the models in OAZ require sheets of paper larger than the standard "origami paper" sold in stores.

If you're just interested in insects, I would say that most insect books are fairly complex. Maybe practicing non-insect models will help you become more comfortable with complex insects.

do you know where i can find pics of all the models from Origami from Angelfish to Zen? cos i always like to know what models i am gettin in a book when i buy it

OAZ is a great choice I'm always amazed at the innovations Engel came up with in the late 80's. It's also perhaps a good time to become acquainted with his work, since he soon will be exhibiting new (I hope) work at the Four Masters of Origami exhibit in CA, http://www.rhythmix.org/origami.html . Engel appears to have disappeared from the public origami world since the publication of this book.

On Amazon, you can look at the table of contents of the book, which gives the list of models, as well as the back cover, which has a few model examples, here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0486281 ... eader-link

I also found a partial gallery of models here: http://kazufujiatuo.ld.infoseek.co.jp/0 ... Engel.html

I hope that helps!
Mike

Don't get Angelfish to Zen.

Widely available books to get to learn from are Origami Zoo, Origami in Action, Origami Sea Life, some of Montroll's books (such as Animal Origami for the Enthusiast, and Teach Yourself Origami), Kawahata's books besides Origami Fantasy, Origami for the Connoisseur, and so on. I think the English-language print of Seres de Ficcion by Jose Anibal Voyer Iniesta and Mario Adrados Netto is readily available--can't remember the name though.

Ones you won't be able to find in your local chain bookstore include Works of Seiji Nishikawa, Tanteidan convention books, Origami USA convention books, etc.

Angelfish to Zen is a very interesting book. The first half of the book is basically devoted to Peter Engel's research on the history of origami. It is a lot like a student's research paper. At least part of the information is inaccurate. But yes, it's interesting. It is not however a book to use for folding, despite the second half being diagrams. A few of the models are clever or interesting, but the complex ones are especially poorly designed and feature brutal fold sequences. (Scorpion especially. And the Knight on Horseback).

I also wouldn't go with Shafer's book. It's fun to read, but not to fold, with a huge emphasis on pleat-sinking. He did a great job at writing the book, but I'm not a huge fan of his folding style.

Haha, I agree with Jared on Jeremy. His 'man swatter' was funny but like most things in his book, it gets old quickly. Seeing him compete against Kamiya on TV Champions was entertaining though. You've got one of the most serious, shy folders up against a bizarre, outgoing, American. I like chuckling at how he wrote his book (invisible duck shows the folding sequence for a duck without any of the edges of the paper drawn in, only crease symbols are shown. Then there's the CP for a boulder, basically chaotic creases that substitute for the words 'wad up your kami into a ball') more than actually folding his models.

It's always difficult to know what to recommend. The best is for the person to be able to go to a bookstore or library to look through various books and decide on the level they're comfortable with. Most books have a range of difficulty levels, so you need to look at how quickly the difficulty levels progress and what the upper bound is for that book.

Origami Zoo takes its time progressing through various difficulty levels, with an upper bound around the high intermediate. Actually, I just looked through it, and there are also a few complex models in it. So, perhaps you might look at purchasing it in order to build up confidence in tackling complex models.

I wouldn't recommend Origami Sea Life since it progresses too quickly into complex models, I feel. Animal Origami for the Enthusiast has a lot of intermediate and high intermediate models, with maybe one complex model, so I also wouldn't recommend it for learning complex models.

Voyer and Andrado's American edition, Dragons, Witches, and Other Fantasy Creatures in Origami is perhaps also another good recommendation.

Concerning Engel's Origami from Angelfish to Zen, I consider it a classic that everyone should have. It is true that there are very tricky models in it, and that if you don't have proper paper, ie large enough, you won't be able to do some of the models. It's a little of a toss up whether to recommend it, but there is a progression in difficulty levels up to the more complex models in it, of which there are enough to keep you occupied learning through them. Perhaps it isn't the best recommendation, but there are some real gems in there, plus the essay in the beginning of the book.

I would disagree about Shafer's book. I don't think there's a huge emphasis on pleat-sinking, though a good number of models use it. I find it such a fun and enjoyable book, and a great way to be practice intermediate models and be introduced to high intermediate models. It also gives you a lot of insight and inspiration into creating your own models.


At the end of the day, recommendations are really subjective, so wait to hear from more people before deciding on a book to buy.

Montroll/Lang's Origami Sea Life has models across a wide range of difficulty levels that look great when finished, are fun to fold, and frequently use unique bases. It is my favorite so far.

I don't like "Origami from Angelfish to Zen", the models are rather bulky and the very long text is boring.

Jeremy Shafer's book is a very nice one to have. It's not only fun to read but also fun to fold and experiment with the models. The models range from simple to high intermediate.

Also a very nice book is "Step by Step Origami" by Robert Harbin with some very unique and nice models inside.

The books from the Passion Origami series ("Passion Origami" and "Origami for Interpreters") are a little bit more complex but well worth having.

If you want something more easy maybe a Montroll book would be the right thing to buy.

You can find Book Reviews including pictures for most (if not all) of the above mentioned books on Gilad Aharoni's homepage:
http://giladorigami.com/