What do you believe is the most impressive model?

[Drgn]

I was just thinking to myself, "what are some impressive models I should try to do over the summer?" And so I began thinking of all of Satoshi Kamiya's creations, and it hit me: "Why are his models good? What actually makes a model 'impressive'? "

And that's my question to you: In your opinion, what are some of the most impressive models you've folded or seen? And why?

Personally, I would have to say that all of Satoshi Kamiya's models in his book are truely masterpieces because of the amazing attention to detail and methods used in the construction of each one. At this point I can't really choose between any of them (since I've only folded a few so far so I would have to go by looks alone,) but if I had to, I suppose I would say the Ancient Dragon (although it has been folded easily by many, it is still one of my goals.) To be honest though, I find them all equally impressive. I also find many of Rober Lang's creations very stunning, such as the Mt. Diablo Tarantula.

So how about you? What model do you find impressive? Do you like a model because of it's detail, or because of how fun it is to fold, or because of the creativity? I'd like to hear all your opinions.

[origamimasterjared]

Pretty much anything of mine that I keep hidden in a box in my room.

[Ondrej.Cibulka]

Kawamura's Cosmosphere. If you are finding something for whole summer, fold this. This model is very impressive for non-origamists and if your just look on the diagram and just try, it is much more impressive.

So for me, it is Cosmosphere.

[Max]

One must be a bit insane to fold 1890 modules and assemble them, but the result looks rather impressive. I agree

I think there are serveral impressive models out there. Once i thougt Kamiyas are the most stunning ones but after having folded some of them i realized the outcome can look great but the folding sequence is not that elegant. He also needs a lot of steps to diagram his best models.

I like folding animals. To me the most impressive models are the life-like animals of Róman Diaz. I liked his secretario very much. Marc Kirschenbaum's African Elephant has a very nice folding sequence, though his diagrams are not always very clear. The outcome looks very organic. My last Recommendation is Yoshizawa's Gorilla. The simplest folding sequence of all the gorillas i know, but the greatest outcome. Especially when wet folded...


Greetings,
max

[gordigami]

I would have to agree with Max, that Roman Diaz's models are unique on many levels.
Personally, I am impressed by Robert Lang's Western Pond Turtle, as well as Romain Chevrier's Turtle .
In reality, there are an amazing assortment of really impressive models out there !

[bethnor]

though the appearance of kamiya's models are undoubtedly impressive, as others have stated, the folding process is not. the paper demands can be unreasonable; if you don't have a large sheet of strong, thin paper the ancient dragon will basically turn out hideous. the actual process is not so difficult as long-winded. you could use a smaller sheet, but this is a model that benefits from having stature, as a 2 inch dragon is none too threatening (for instance, the first one i folded successfully, i faked a large sheet by taping together four pieces of kami to make a 70 cm square. but the final model has less presence than a kawahata tyrannosaur folded from 35 cm square, 1/4 as much paper). lastly, now that i've finished it, i find that a lot of paper is wasted in the tail.

i would love to see final diagrams for the ryu-zin 3.5, but just looking at godzebu's breakdown, it seems evident that this model as well, though probably amongst the most innovative works out there, also wastes a huge amount of paper.

that's why i absolutely love hideo komatsu's work. nearly any of his models can be folded beautifully from any piece of paper. the sequence is always logical and fun. it doesn't take 2-3 hours before you reduce a large sheet into a manageable size/collapse the base. i also like the organic look of diaz's work, but his most elegant models also demand very thin paper.

[perrosaurio]

Can´t agree more

[araknoid]

cool report bethnor.

[sigla]

any of joisel's models
they make you use your creativity more than many other origamists, who merely tell you exactly what to, with joisel's you are the one giving it it's final shape, and details, unfortunately very few of his models are diagrammed, and only a couple have crease patterns. his book on masks is interesting
3D masks and busts if you want to check it out

[angrydemon]

Yes, I was kind of disappointed when I open my Kamiya book saw that the diagrams were so complicated even though the models lack details. It actually makes me lose the will to fold them. They waste SO MUCH paper. He could have easily added eyes to the Coelophysis, but he didn't. So I added them myself The most annoying one was the Tyrannosaurus. It has 128 frikkin steps and wasted two entire corners and it doesn't even have toes

[HankSimon]

Although they aren't elegant in efficiency, I like the impressiveness of Kawahata's Stegasaurus, and of Patricia Crawford's Full Masted Ship. I think that Jason Ku and Brian Chan have an improved version of the ship.
(I've not seen diagrams or CPs of the improvements.)

http://www.langorigami.com/art/challeng ... lenge.php4

[JeossMayhem]

I didn't really have a problem with Kamiya's designs (ok, except for the unicorn), though I can see what people mean. Even if he's not the most efficient with his paper, I consider his designs very impressive, most not requiring significant amounts of shaping because the form is already there.

[origamimasterjared]

Sorry, I must disagree with everything everyone has said about Kamiya's work. I find his pieces extremely elegant and incredibly efficient. Also his pieces almost always without fail reach a sort of perfection (as defined by me). All of his works come out enormous for what goes into them. While you need large paper in order to fold all the small details, look at how large the actual figure is compared to the paper used. For instance, his Ancient Dragon and Bahamut need to be made from huge paper, but you still get a huge piece. Check out the length on the Barosaurus. It's one of my less favorite works (along with the blue whale), but look at how long it is.

In terms of paper usage, Kamiya's work is only slightly less efficient than Robert Lang's, but is far nicer in form and foldability.

Also, his works have a very clean look, with all details achieved through regular, though often quite inventive, folding.

And I LOVE the Tyrannosaurus.

[JeossMayhem]

Ditto.

Good point about Lang though. I don't have much fun at all with his complex stuff, especially compared to Kamiya's, which I believe to have very smooth folding processes.

And since Komatasu was mentioned, I'm also very impressed by his work but how he designs anything totally baffles me. I just wish I had more of his diagrammed work to see how his folding processes compare to others'.

[marckrsh]

Things that impress me involve something that is not intuitively obvious. If I cannot easily mentally unfold a piece, that is really cool.

As for impressing people outside of the origami community, that is a whole different story. A huge percentage of people perceive really complex models to not be from a single square. I often have to do a lot of explaining if more than one color is visible. I believe models that are not too many layers thick (where the viewer can follow the contours of that material and see a single sheet is used) would be the most impressive. Many tessellations (esp. Joel Cooper's), or perhaps the works of Tomohiro Tachi would be easily comprehensive yet impressive. - Marc