Origami in Video Games

A friend of mine is currently playing a Japanese video game called Persona 4. The basic premise of the Persona games is a little beyond my grasp, as half of it seems to be micromanaging the schedule and social life of a Japanese teen while the other half is fighting ridiculous monsters in alternate realities. In Persona 4, the alternate reality is accessed by entering a big screen TV in the shopping mall....

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that in micromanaging the schedule, you get to choose activities for your teen to do. Some are jobs and some are not. While going about the game, my friend ran into this:

If your character has Diligence, they can use it to earn Understanding. By folding origami cranes! I immediately remembered about the Cranestorm project that is still ongoing. For that project, you can donate cranes and have it counted as volunteer hours. Origami Minnesota has been helping out with that for a few months now. If you want to be a part of it, definitely check it out!

11:7 Rectangles

When I made the Valentine's Day heart last week, I stumbled into a rectangle of paper that was 11:7. That size rectangle works perfectly for the model. It was unintentional, not a simple matter of altering an 8.5 x 11inch sheet of paper. What I actually came up with was a sheet that was 9 x 5+13/16 inch and scaled it up so that one side would be 11 inches and it could be nicely made from an 8.5x11 sheet without too much hassle. After scaling, I realized the ratio would be 11:7. I know how to make a lot of rectangles from any given sheet, but 11:7 is an odd one. So I have been searching for a shortcut so that I don't have to measure it with a ruler.

I have two shortcuts. The first is from a sheet that is 8.5 inches by 11 inches. The second is from a square.

==( 1 )==

This shortcut works only because I already know the dimensions of the starting sheet (8.5x11). If you're using A4 or some other such paper, this wont be much of a help.

To get 7 inches from 8.5 we must subtract 1.5 inches (duh). The diagonal crease from the corner and the vertical crease from the center intersect at the corner of a 5.5x5.5 inch square. Which means it's 3 inches from the bottom and half of that is 1.5 inches. 

You do not necessarily need to remove the bottom section, but just know that it is superfluous and will need to be hidden inside the model.


==( 2 )==

 This shortcut is more complicated. Also, it is not as easy to memorize as the one above. Also, it does not arrive at a perfect 11:7, but instead arrives at a 11:7.046875. I suspect, though, that is plenty close enough for most models.

The diagram below indicates the creases that need to be made, the first ones on the left and then moving to the right. The first five creases are just to find the point on the sheet that is roughly 3/11ths from the bottom. The top section will be 8/11ths, so fold that in half and you get 4/11ths. cut off the 4/11ths and you get a rectangle that is 11:7.

I don't know what other projects require an 11:7 rectangle, but if you know of any, let me know!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

When I was folding at the library one student was piecing together a box in which he could hold valentine cards at school If it's like when I was in elementary school, then I assume he's going to get a bunch of those little cardboard things with famous cartoon characters saying nice things. And candy.

Anyway, he asked me if I knew how to make a heart shaped box. At the time I did not, but I had felt bad that I could not help him out, so I sat down and figured out how to make one! It took seven prototypes, but number eight looks great. And number nine is slightly smaller so that the two combined make a box and a lid!

I don't know how original my design is. I am sure that others have made a heart box and probably thought much like I did (we folded a different one at Origami MN, actually). I'm proud of it just the same.

Like I said, there were prototypes, one of which I took pictures of as I folded it so that I might remember what I did! I'd like to draw up some diagrams, but it would be the most complicated thing I've diagrammed yet.

It took a while to figure out the correct dimensions. This rectangle is what I finally settled on: 7x11. I'm not really sure how to get a 7x11 rectangle without a ruler, but it works perfectly for this model.

I really like the shape of this. It reminds me of the traditional heart-with-wings model I'm fond of. Or giant fighting robots.

This is the first one of the perfect shape. Of course, it's got lines all over it...

I hope you're having a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Origami Yoda

Last year I bought a book called The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger and wrote a short blog post about it. I checked the website recently and found a short blurb about a school right here in Minnesota that used the book in their curriculum! They also did a project that takes the place of a book report, allowing the students to reflect on the story.

I also think this is an appropriate time to mention that the sequel has been announced, along with some new folding instructions! It will be titled Origami Yoda II: Darth Paper Strikes Back. I'm not sure what to expect, but it should be pretty good if the first book is any indication. I haven't read any excerpts, but there is a chance to get a copy of the book before it is published. Angleberger is hosting a photo contest. To enter you must fold a Darth Paper from the instructions provided on his site and then take a photo of the guy out and about in the world or in some sort of scene, then send it to him via email. 

For more details, you can go here.

Darth Paper, designed by Tom Angleberger, folded by me. 
I'll have to find a more interesting background before entering the contest....