subject: How to Get Started in Origami fold? [print this page] How to Get Started in Origami fold? How to Get Started in Origami fold?
Making an origami design, whether simple or complex, generally requires concentration and accurate folding. In order to achieve these desirable aims, you need to create the proper environment in which to fold, as well as observing a few basic guidelines about how to fold.
So where and when should you fold? When to make an origami model depends on your individual circumstances, but it's generally not a good idea to tackle a new project at 3 o'clock in the morning after a 12-hour shift. Try to find a gap in your schedule where you can devote at least half an hour to folding without having to take breaks to wash the dishes or stroke the cat.
Consider where you're going to fold. Ideally you want a large flat table with plenty of elbow-room, somewhere to spread out the instructions or book, and good lighting. Don't forget to have a wastepaper basket handy in case your first efforts get a bit mangled, and keep on hand some stress-relieving devices such as hot drinks or chocolate. Just don't keep food or drink too near your paper!
You may have seen folders holding the paper in the air and making all the creases without resting on anything. These individuals are very experienced in origami and fold in this way so that others can see what they're doing. In general though, it's best to fold on a flat surface, such as a table because neat, accurate creasing is a lot easier to achieve on a table.
This may seem like obvious advice, but remember to use both hands when folding. Your hands are a partnership in origami, with one holding the paper so it doesn't move, the other creasing it.
Try to alternate the hands that you hold and crease with so that it feels natural to make a crease with either hand. Readers blessed with three or more hands will have a distinct advantage when tackling modular origami.
