Basic Origami Birdbase

This is a very common base form for Origami and you can fold many models based on it.


Start with a Preliminary Base, the open end pointing to yourself.

1. Petal fold the top layer upwards.

2. Repeat step 1 on the other side.

3. The finished birdbase.


Starting from the birdbase you can create some great creation. And the most common is The Traditional Crane / Origami Bird.

Introduction To Basics Origami Preliminary Base

Here you are gonna learn how to fold the Preliminary Base. Many models use this base as a starting point.

1. Start with a square sheet of paper and valley fold it in halfes.

2. Precrease and squash fold. Turn model over side to side.

3. Precrease and squash fold.

4. The finished Preliminary Base

Introduction To Basics Folds Origami

On this page I will show you the basic technics for Origami. Don't worry if you don't manage or understand how to do one of the following folds at once. After having folded some models you will know them all by heart. It's all a question of practice.

Valley Fold

The valley fold is formed by folding the paper toward oneself. An arrow shows where to fold the piece of paper to.
Symbol: dashed line


Mountain Fold

The mountain fold is formed by folding the paper away from oneself.
Symbol: alternating dashed and dotted line

Introduction to Basics Origami Diagrams

In the many years that Origami diagrams have been in existance, some standards on how to draw them have been developed. The Yoshizawa-Randlett system, which is accepted as an international standard, was first created by Akira Yoshizawa and then refined by Samuel Randlett and Robert Harbin.

Even though these standards exist there are still many variations in each individual diagramming style. I will try to present the most common symbols and variations here. This should help you to find your way through most Origami diagrams you come across.
You will find most of the symbols shown here again in the section Basic Folds, where they will probably make more sense in context.

Often (but unfortunately not always) the "paper" shown in diagrams will have a white side and a coloured side, like standard Origami paper (Kami). If this is the case you sometimes find a symbol which shows whether you should start with the coloured side up or the white side up.

Coloured-Side-Up

White-Side-Up

Quilling Origami

Quilling is an easy paper craft that requires minimal tools. It produces amazing results which can be used for decorating birth announcements, wedding invitations, and other embellishments.

The art of twirling paper started during the Renaissance when nuns decorated bibles and religious texts with swirly strips of paper. Back then, they used feathers (quills) for writing and it is believed that they rolled the strips of paper around the quill - thus the term "quilling".

WHAT IS ORIGAMI ?

Origami is the Japanese word for paper folding. ORI means to fold and KAMI means paper. Together, they form the word, "origami." It is an art form that has been handed down from parent to child through many generations. Origami involves the creation of paper forms usually entirely by folding. Animals, birds, fish, geometric shapes, puppets, toys and masks are among the models that even very young children can learn to make in just one sitting.