The Origami Forum

Would it work for varnishing? After finishing the ancient dragon, my parents say 'ooh, make some more! Is there some way you can varnish them to make them stay in a solid position- you could give them as presents' .
It would need to be sprayable, would make the paper hold it's shape, not change the colour or appearance negatively and make i the model more long-lasting.

there could be several options. Wire is probably the best bet, but you could try wet folding, wet finish, methylcellulose aplied during shaping (forgot the fancy talk for that one), or maybe even laquer. on complicated insects, i use MC to shape it, it holds the shape forever

Spray paint or acrylic coating also works. I spray-painted my ancient dragon (from 19" tracing paper) and the paint dried incredibly rigid. The horns feel as though they could stab you!

Thank you for your suggestions! I will ask my parents to supply me with some spray acrylic and MC.

I usually fold with lined stationary It's relatively strong and easy to crease. I've also been folding with it for the past several years, being in school. Some of the things I fold turn out pretty small and stiff.

i like to do 16x16 box pleating on 6 inch kami. i use 14 inch for the more complex models (ancient dragon, Bahamut, Phoenix 3.5, etc)

My favourite paper is greaseproof baking paper, it's strong, thin, cheap and you can use mc with it. I folded my ryujin 2.1 with it and the paper performed really well considering the amount of layers. You can buy this paper at your local supermarket really cheap, so try it out! The paper comes in rolls about 38cm wide so you can use it four many complex models, or you can tape two 2 x 1 rectangles together. I really want to promote this great paper to you guys so please try it out! (you've not got much to lose, only about £1 - £2)

A local library was sent some origami from Japan. The Librarian let me look at it. They were so stiff, they could have been made from metal.
The paper looked like napkin from a distance, but felt like card-foil (if there is such a thing) although it could have only been about 40gsm. Has anyone any idea what this paper might be?

washi, probably.

I'm really starting to like double tissue + mc, i'm mass producing it in my basement now
Next up: Ermakov's mantis shrimp. Challenge accepted!

One of my personal favorites is foil-back hanji paper. It shapes well, and the paper looks way better than tissue paper. For an all- around paper, I like folding with handmade parchment paper- it is almost as tough as EH, but is more silky, and I have it in 16" squares, which is a nice size for most of the models I fold.

Washi. Hmmm. I'll give it a try.

I've seen a couple of mentions in this thread of "backing paper" or "display backing paper." Can anyone tell me more precisely what this is? Searching for those terms returns many, many different papers...

Hi,

just joined and was searching for the best type or Origami paper, this thread has helped out.. a lot.

I'm just attempting Satoshi Kamiyas wizard, I did it with wrapping paper but want a decent one I can show off. Also struggled on the fingers of this model.

Anyway, I've just ordered some tissue foil paper. I'll let you know how I get on once it arrives in 3 weeks...

Thanks again

Craig

I joined this forum a while back, years ago actually. I was really into origami, and folded stuff like the ancient dragon and robert langs frog ( i folded alot more but these are my favorite folds). But stuff got in the way (like girls, jobs and college) but now im getting back into origami and im in need of paper as all i have is printer paper :p. when i used to fold I always used paper that was either too thick, too thin, or too small, never the right kind. Im looking for paper thats; a, cheap, b, for super complex models like satoshi kamiya Nguyen coung and robert lang,and i need paper that doesnt come in the mail folded ( thats kinda stupid, origami paper thats already folded xp). I live in florida, but i dont think there are any shops who sell this kinda paper anywwhere. Anyone know where i can get some? Thank you!

Origami-Shop (France) Ships worldwide, big sheets can only be ordered folded though. Here you can buy many kinds of paper from simple kami to Origamido.
Modulor (Germany) A great source of Kraft, Elephant Hyde and Glassine.
Kim's Crane (USA) Never ordered from here but the paper selection looks good.
Paper Jade (USA)
Origami Paper Monster (Canada)
If you don't want to buy paper you can make tissue-foil or double tissue yourself.