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BASEFOLD PICTURE DESCRIPTION PROCEDURE
Book The Book fold is a
traditional origami base
and it is so namedbecause, once the paper
is folded in half, it lookslike a book. It is thesimplest of folds and can
be used to make many
simple origami models.
This fold is also thefoundation of the
cupboard fold. Models of
the House, Windmill,Rose, Kusudama,
Napkins and Box from
practical lessons startwith the book fold.
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Valley fold
the square in half. You can actany way as you wish: from left
to right or from top to bottomor vice versa. After doing it just return the paper in the
shown position.
2. Press the paper flat, therebycompleting the book fold.
Here is the completed bookfold.
Cupboard The Cupboard fold is a
traditional origami base
developed from the bookform. It is so called
because once the paper is
folded, it looks like acupboard with two doors
that can be opened and
closed. The Cupboard
fold can be used to makemany simple origami
models.
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Begin with
a book fold. Valley fold thesquare in half. Press the paper
flat, thereby completing the
book fold. Unfold itcompletely.
2. Valley fold the left-hand
side over to meet the vertical
middle fold-line. Press the paper flat. Repeat the same
with the right-hand side.
Shawl or
Diaper or Triangle
It is a traditional origami
base. When a square of paper is folded in half
along its diagonal, it is
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Turn thesquare of paper around so it
looks like a diamond, and use
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called a shawl form or
diaper or triangle fold.The Shawl fold is used to
develop a whole range of
folds and bases and to
make many origamimodels.
its diagonal axis. Valley fold it
in half from top to bottom,thereby making a triangle.
2. To complete the shawl
form, press it flat along its topedge. Here is the completed
shawl fold.
Kite The Kite base is a
traditional origami base.
It is so named for its
shape. The Kite base can be used to make many
origami models.
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Begin with
a shawl fold. Turn the square
of paper around so it looks likea diamond, and use its
diagonal axis. Valley fold it inhalf from side to side, thereby
making a triangle. Unfold it
completely.
2. From the top corner, valley
fold the right-hand and left-
hand sloping edges to meet themiddle fold-line. Press them
flat.
Diamond This traditional origami
base is named as a
"diamond" base because
of its shape. Thediamond base uses the
kite base as its
foundation. The diamond
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side up. Begin with a
kite base. Valley fold it in half
from side to side, therebymaking a triangle. Unfold it
completely.
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base can be used to make
many origami models.
2. From the top corner, valleyfold the right-hand and left-
hand sloping edges to meet the
middle fold-line. Press them
flat, thereby making the kitebase.
3. From the bottom corner,valley fold the right-hand and
left-hand sloping edges to
meet the middle fold-line.
Press them flat.
Fish This is one of the best-know traditional origami
bases. It uses the kite
base as its foundation. It
is funny, that the fish base is really just a
double kite base. The
fish base can be used tomake many origami
models, and it makes avery good foundation todevelop your own
origami designs.
1. Use a square of paper,colored side down. Begin with
a shawl base. Valley fold it in
half from side to side, thereby
making a triangle. Unfold itcompletely. Repeat it, making
other diagonal.
2. Make a kite base. From thetop corner, valley fold the
right-hand and left-hand
sloping edges to meet the
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middle fold-line. Press them
flat.
3. Mountain fold the model in
half from top to bottom. Note
that the crease should passthrough the marked points.
W-boat or
Catamaran or
Pig
Each base is named after
the best-known model
for which it is used.
There is one the simplestof traditional origami
bases, the W-boat base.
This base is adevelopment of the
cupboard fold.
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Valley fold
the square in half from left to
right. Press it flat and unfoldit.
2. Valley fold the square inhalf from bottom to top. Press
it flat and unfold it.
3. Valley fold the top edgedown to meet the middle fold-
line. Press the paper flat.
Valley fold the bottom edge up
to meet the middle fold-line.Press the paper flat, thereby
making the cupboard fold.
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Windmill This base is named as a
"windmill" base because
of its shape. This base isvery popular when
making decorative forms
of origami. Once the
windmill base's fourtriangular flaps have
been squared into four
preliminary folds, it can
be used to make muchmore complex models of
origami, such as thekusudama models on the
practical lessons. The
windmill base is a
development of the w-boat base.
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Valley fold
the square in half from left toright. Press it flat and unfold
it.
2. Valley fold the square inhalf from bottom to top. Pressit flat and unfold
3. Valley fold the left-hand
side over to meet the vertical
middle fold-line. Repeat thesame with the right-hand side.
4. Valley fold the top and
bottom edges over to meet thehorizontal middle fold-line.
5. Valley fold the top edge
over to lie along the left-hand-side. Press it flat and unfold it.
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Then valley fold the top edge
over to lie along the right-hand-side. Press it flat and
unfold it.
6. Open up the flaps in thedirections shown by the
arrows.
7. Press the model in the
marked point, open out lateral
flaps in the directions shownby the arrows.
8. Open out bottom flaps in the
directions shown by the
arrows.
9. Valley fold the top right-
hand triangular point up andthe bottom left-hand triangular
point down, thereby making
the traditional windmill form.
Blintz or Cushion When the four corners ofa square of paper have
been folded into themiddle, it is called a
"blintz" base. This word
has its origins in the
Ukraine, and a blintz is athin pancake, which
1. Use a square of paper,colored side up. Begin with a
shawl or diaper fold. Valleyfold the paper in half on
diagonal, thereby making a
triangle. Unfold it completely.
Repeat for other diagonal.
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contains cottage cheese
or some other filling,with its corners folded
into the middle. This
base is also called the
cushion fold because inJapan such technique is
used in cushion making.
2. Valley fold one corner intothe middle. Then valley fold
the remaining corners into themiddle. Press the paper flat.
Balloon or
Waterbomb
The Balloon base is a
traditional origami base.This base is known also
as a "waterbomb" afterthe best-known
traditional model of the
waterbomb for whichthis base is used. The
balloon base can be used
to make many origami
models. There areseveral ways to fold this
base, try one of them.
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side up. Valley foldthe square in half from left to
right. Press it flat and unfoldit. Then valley fold the square
in half from bottom to top.
Press it flat and unfold it. Afterthat, turn the paper over.
2. Valley fold the top edge
over to lie along the left-hand-side, thereby making a
triangle. Press it flat and
unfold it. Then valley fold thetop edge over to lie along the
right-hand-side. Press it flat
and unfold it.
3. Press the middle of the fold-
lines, until the sides pop up.
Bring the sides together and
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down towards you. Press the
top down neatly into atriangle, thereby completing a
balloon base.
Square or
Basic Flower
orPreliminary
The square base is one of
the most popular
traditional origami bases.It is the foundation for
several bases and an
innumerable amount of
models. That's why thisbase is also called as the
preliminary fold. It isinteresting, that if the
square base is turned
inside out, it becomes the
balloon base. And on thecontrary the same
happens with the balloon
base. These classic formsdemonstrate one of the
miracles of origami. Trytwo ways to fold thisbase.
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Begin with
a shawl fold. Valley fold thesquare of paper in half from
top to bottom, thereby making
a triangle.
2. Valley fold it in half from
right to left.
3. Lift the top half up along
the middle fold-line. Open out
the paper and squash it down
neatly into a square.
4. This should be the result.Turn the paper over.
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5. Repeat the actions again: lift
the top half up along themiddle fold-line, then open out
the paper and squash it down
neatly into a square.
6. Here is the completed
square base. But there is a
shorer way of folding thesquare base as shown in the
following steps.
7. ALTERNATIVE WAY:Start with colored side up.
Valley fold the opposite
corners together, in turn, tomark the diagonal fold lines,
and open them up. Then, turnthe paper over.
8. Valley fold the opposite
sides together in both
directions, and open them up.
9. Bring the sides together and
down towards you. Press the
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paper down neatly, thereby
making the square base.
Bird This is one of the best-know classic origami
bases. It is named as a
"bird" base, because it is
a starting point for thetraditional crane,
flapping bird and many
others birds. This base is
known also as the cranebase. This base is used to
make a vast range oforigami models.
1. Use a square of paper,colored side up. Valley fold
the square in half on diagonal.
Press it flat and unfold it. Then
repeat it making otherdiagonal. After that, turn the
paper over.
2. Valley fold the square inhalf from the side to opposite
side. Press it flat and unfold it.
Repeat it for other pair ofsides.
3. Press the middle of the fold-
lines, until the sides pop up.Bring the sides together and
down towards you. Press the
top down neatly into a square,thereby completing the square
base.
4. Valley fold the front flap's
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lower sloping edges over, so
they lie along the middle fold-line. Valley fold the top point
down as shown. Press them
flat and unfold them. Repeat
behind.
5. Pinch and lift up the front
flap of paper, so that its edgesmeet in the middle.
6. Press the paper flat. Turn
the paper over.
7. Pinch and lift up the frontflap of paper, so that its edges
meet in the middle. Press the
paper flat.
Frog This is one of the best-
know classic origami bases. It is so named
after the well-known
model of the 'Frog' forwhich it is used. It uses
the square base and fruit
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Begin witha shawl fold. Valley fold the
square of paper in half from
top to bottom, thereby makinga triangle.
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base as its foundations.
The frog base can beused to make many
origami designs, and it
makes a very good
foundation to developyour own models. 2. Valley fold it in half fromright to left.
3. Lift the top half up along
the middle fold-line. Open out
the paper and squash it downneatly into a square.
4. This should be the result.Turn the paper over.
5. Repeat the actions again: lift
the top half up along themiddle fold-line, then open out
the paper and squash it down
neatly into a square.
6. The completed square base
should be the result.
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7. Valley fold the uppersloping edge over, so it lies
along the vertical middle line.
Unfold it. Then open out the
right-hand flap and squash itdown neatly into a triangle.
8. This should be the result.Repeat the same actions with
the remaining flaps.
9. The completed fruit baseshould be the result.
10. Valley fold the front flap's
lower sloping edges over, sothey lie along the vertical
middle fold-line. Press themflat and unfold them.
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11. Open out the top flap, then
pinch and lift up the flap'shorizontal edge. Continue to
lift up the flap so its edges
meet in the middle. Press the
paper neatly, making a smalltriangular flap as shown in the
next step.
12. Valley fold the triangular
flap down as far as it will go.
13. This should be the result.Repeat steps 10 to 12 with the
remaining flaps.
Fruit This base is rarely
enumerated in the line of
the origami bases. But itis very fruitful base for
creation of volumetric
berries, vegetables, fruitsand other plants.
Because of it theShumakovs named thisform as the fruit base. It
uses the square base as
its foundation. And, it is
the foundation for a frog base. In the practical
lessons you will meet the
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side down. Begin with
a shawl fold. Valley fold thesquare of paper in half from
top to bottom, thereby making
a triangle.
2. Valley fold it in half from
right to left.
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some models, which use
the fruit base as itsfoundation.
3. Lift the top half up alongthe middle fold-line. Open out
the paper and squash it down
neatly into a square.
4. This should be the result.Turn the paper over.
5. Repeat the actions again: liftthe top half up along the
middle fold-line, then open out
the paper and squash it downneatly into a square.
6. The completed square base
should be the result.
7. Valley fold the upper
sloping edge over, so it lies
along the vertical middle line.
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Unfold it. Then open out the
right-hand flap and squash itdown neatly into a triangle.
8. This should be the result.
Repeat the same actions withthe remaining flaps.
Snail The snail base is not the
traditional origami base.
The Shumakovs have
marked and named thisbase after the model of
the Snail that was
created by them. This base is used as a
foundation for many
their designs. There areseveral ways to fold this
base. Here is presented
one way, which uses the bird base as its
foundation, and this way
is shorter and more
optimized. Note: If youhave the CD "Oribana"
you can see how many
models have the snail
base as their foundation.
1. Use a square of paper,
colored side up. Valley fold
the square in half diagonally.
Press it flat and unfold it. Thenrepeat making the other
diagonal. After that, turn the
paper over.
2. Valley fold the square in
half from the side to opposite
side. Press it flat and unfold it.Repeat it for other pair of
sides.
3. Press the middle of the fold-lines, until the sides pop up.
Bring the sides together and
down towards you. Press the
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top down neatly into a square,
thereby completing a squarebase.
4. Valley fold the front flap's
lower sloping edges over, sothey lie along the middle fold-
line. Press them flat and
unfold them. Repeat it behind.
5. Valley fold the right-hand
flap over to the left, as though
turning the page of a book.Repeat it with the back side.
6. Inside reverse fold the right-and left-hand points into
model. Repeat it behind.
7. Here is the completed birdbase in its 'closed' form.
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8. Valley fold the uppersloping edge over, so it lies
along the vertical middle line.
Press it flat and unfold it.
9. Open out the left-hand flapof paper and squash it down
neatly. Press the paper flat.
10. This should be the result.
Repeat the actions with the
remaining flaps.
11. Here is the completed snail
base. Each base is named after
the best-known model forwhich it is used.
FOLD DIAGRAM DESCRIPTION
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Valley The valley fold is formed
by folding the papertoward oneself. An
arrow shows where to
fold the piece of paper
to.Mountain The mountain fold is
formed by folding the
paper away from oneself.
Petal The petal fold lifts a
point and brings it
upwards so that the twoedges of the point lie
together. It is best to
prefold both layers of
paper along the shownvalley and mountain
folds before making the
petal fold.
Rabbit Ear Prefold along the three
valley folds first. Thenfold the two sides down
to the baseline (see
arrows). Fold the toppoint to one side to make
the mountain fold. (Take
care that you fold the toppoint to the right side
where the mountain fold
is set.)
Squash Prefold both sheets of
paper along the valley
and mountain fold. Thenopen the model, fold one
layer of paper along the
valley fold and flattenthe model using the
mountain fold. The bigwhite arrow tells you to
open the model.
Inside Reverse Prefold both sheets of
paper in both directions(mountain and valley).
Then open the model a
little bit and bring the
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top point down so that
the mountain fold edgebecomes a valley fold
edge.
Outside Reverse It is similar to the inside
reverse fold except thelayers of the paper haveto be wrapped around
outside the point.
Crimp A crimp is used as a way
of incorporating two
reverse folds to change
the direction of a flap orpoint. In most cases it is
easiest just to make two
reverse folds one after
the other (precrease bothfolds before). The lines
next to the image shouldshow you how the layers
lie after folding.
Sink The sink fold is amethod of blunting a
point that has no open
edges. The fold shouldfirst be precreased. Then
carefully open the model
and tuck the point inside.Flatten the model
afterwards along existing
creases.
ORIGAMI ARROWS
1. The country where Origami was invented was in China.
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* Unknown but the art is said to have started approximately 2000 years ago. We can
neither say that it originated in China because of the invention of paper which is traced in theHan Dynasty having no traces; nor, in Japan during the Heian Era due to the stories of Abe-no
Seimei and Fujiwara-no Kiyosuke
2. The country to develop Origami into fine art is in Japan.
* Japan This country flourished in this art after the Buddhist Monks brought paper toJapan in sixth century. The first Japanese folds date from that period. The art was however,
restricted in Japan to only the ceremonial occasions because paper was scarce. The old origami
figures were mainly shaped as animals, costumed people, and ceremonial designs. Even though
the modern ethic forbids it, the Japanese people frequently used cuts in the paper. Japandeveloped origami to a very high art form. he oldest known written document about Japanese
origami, the Senbazuru Orikata ("How to Fold One Thousand Cranes"), surfaced in 1797.
3. The word Origami came from the words oru and kami
* Ori and Kami Orus translation is Nikki while Oris translation is Fold.
4. No Colored Paper is allowed is a rule in the traditional Origami.
* Yes however, many believed it originated in the West, not in Japan because the
West stick too much in the traditional rules while the Japanese books use all kinds of cutting,
pasting, odd paper shapes, etc.
5. There are three types of origami: ancient, medieval and contemporary.
* Two types: Ancient and Contemporary Ancient origami requires paper and hands.Contemporary origami requires the addition of scissors, glue etc.
Importance of Shapes in Origami
The shapes created by paper in origami had special meanings. The shapes added special
meaning to what the paper held on it or in it. It was also used for love notes, where it got all the
more important. Firstly, the shape itself could represent a message and the choice of color andshape helped convey the emotions of the writer. Secondly, as origami is an intricate art, if the
love note went in the wrong hands, it was unlikely that the reader could perfectly refold the
shape. So, the origami love notes were extremely safe as they could not be read by wrongpersons without the recipient knowing about it.
COLOR MEANINGS
Red
Red is the traditional color for roses and Valentine's Day. Red represents strong love, passion
and desire. Studies show that a woman in a red dress becomes a focal point in a room! This is a
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very powerful color.
Dark Crimson
Dark crimson stands for inner beauty and inner strength. It represents soul mates - a connection
without words.
Pink
Pink represents happiness, tenderness, best friends and sweethearts. Pink is the fresh blush on a
maiden's cheeks.
Orange
Orange is a rich color of enthusiasm and energy. Orange is the lush autumn foliage and the
warmth of a fire.
Yellow
Yellow stands for freedom and joy. Yellow is the perfect color to spur creativity - to celebrate
the beginning of a new project or the completion of a successful one. Yellow is the brightwelcome of sunshine.
Green
Green is the traditional color of healing - it represents living things growing healthily and with
strength. It is the color of harmony and finding balance. Green is the color of luck and wealth. Itis of course the modern color for St. Patrick's Day! It is the color of grassy meadows and lush
forests.
Blue
Blue represents honor and faith. A trustworthy friend or lover is "true blue". Blue is also the
color of meaningful spirituality. It represents a bond of the spirit. In traditional celtic times, blue
was the color of Ireland. It is the color of the sea and of the open sky.
Purple
Purple is the traditional color of nobility and courtly love. This is the color of knights andmaidens, of princes and princesses. It represents elegance and wine. Amethyst is the stone for
birthdays and anniversaries in February.
White
White represents the hope for the future, a fresh start, innocence and purity. White has been the
traditional color for brides since the Victorian era. In many cultures white represents a joyous
eternity.
White and Red
A combination of red and white represent unity, of two people who care for each other standingtogether. It combines together the red of love with the white of eternity.
Silver
Silver stands for elegance. Silver has been treasured by people for thousands of years. Silver is
the traditional color for the 25th anniversary.
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Gold
Gold represents a love and loyalty which is eternal. Wedding bands are made from gold, and ahigh compliment is to say someone has "a heart of gold". Gold is the traditional color for the
50th anniversary.
Ivory
Ivory stands for luxury and tradition. It represents a quiet, steady, warm caring.
Brown and Beige
Brown and beige colors represent grounding, being down to earth and dependable. This is the
trust and loyalty of a true friend.
Tea
Tea is a light brown color representing remembrance and fond memories.
BlackBlack is a classic formal color, the color of black tie dinners and tuxedos. It is the color of
strength and stability.
ANIMALS
Crane - Long life, happiness, peace
Fish - Happiness, well-being, freedom, strength, courage and determination
Butterfly - Young girls emerging into beauty and grace. Two butterflies dancing around
symbolize marital happiness.
Rabbit - Shy, mischievous, clownish, fertility, and rebirth, springtime.
Dragon - power, wisdom, success and mastery. Strength, luck and fortune.
Frog safe return in journeys; good fortune.
Turtle longevity, protection; heaven and earth
Cat Independence, balance, mystery, wisdom, self-assured protector
Llama endurance under difficult situations, responsibility and hard work