Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Yet Another Frog

Once again, I've folded a frog. Although the name of the model is Frog 2, I have also designed a pureland frog. After trying Peterpaul Forcher's Fox (Link to PDF diagram), I've wanted to try the head again elsewhere. I was originally thinking that it would end up as a dragon or something along those lines, but instead I ended up with a from after I squashed the ears and ended up with froggy eyes. I had seen eyes a lot like this before, on Tanaka Masashi's frog. However, his model turned out a lot better and the eyes came from a different part of the paper. Here is the CP that I used:
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The body ends up a bit long after folding the CP, but it can be shortened up with some crimps. Some detail needs to go into the legs to make them frog-like, and the head needs to be made 3D in the same way as the fox.
Frog 2, Ryan MacDonell
Frog 2, Ryan MacDonell

Thursday, June 19, 2008

"Ice Age"'s Best Character

My favorite character on the movie "Ice Age" would have to be the little saber-toothed squirrel named Scrat, and when I decided to fold a character with cartoon eyes, I decided that he would be best. I folded this model for the challenge on the english forum, "Movies". It took a draft or two to get the right idea, but in the end it came out fairly simple. I decided to use the same cartoon eye approach as the Yip Yip, and went from there. I also managed to achieve a bigger tail than the first draft, but also ended up with shorter front legs. Here is the CP, which I made with Inkscape instead of CadStd just because I like the look, and it makes 22.5° angles a lot better.
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I then made color changed teeth, use the paper by the legs to make a tail and shaped the entire model. I didn't exactly achieve everything that I wanted to, such as toes and a lower jaw, but I am happy with the result.
Scrat, Ryan MacDonell
Scrat, Ryan MacDonell

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Banana

I had some ideas for fruit to submit to the Fruits and Vegetables challenge on the french origami forum, and I decided that its probably best to fold one more thing before exams begin (two days!). I decided to try folding a banana, and to base it on other origami bananas that I've seen, such as this one by Francisco Javier Caboblanco. I start off with excessive and complicated model, and eventually gave up and used a simple kite base. Even when the model is folded flat, it still has the "curve" of a banana.
Banana CP

The only real details needed are mountain folds behind on either and and by the peeled part, as well as rounding for the whole model. Good luck!
Banana, Ryan MacDonell
Banana, Ryan MacDonell

Because I just had to change the CP, and it may have been confusing some people, here are some diagrams.

Friday, June 13, 2008

What are Yip Yips?

Seeing as this months challenge on the english origami forum is Movies, I've decided on folding a certain animal from a children's movie, and I'm not going to say what just yet. I decided to start off small, so I tried making the cartoon eyes that I want for the model, and then decided to test them out on something else. My decision came when I noticed this picture of Yip Yips from the children's show Sesame Street while looking through origami cat models. Although the eyes are a bit big, I'm still happy with the result. Here is my CP.
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The top 1/16th and the four 1/16ths on either side are all used to make the eyes. Only a little shaping has to be put into the body and the eyes, and the mouth can be made from a simple pleat.
Yip Yips, Ryan MacDonell
Yip Yips, Ryan MacDonell

Friday, June 6, 2008

More Cartoonish Than Ferocious

Yesterday, I surprised myself by actually getting what I wanted on the first try. I had finished my test on Shakespeare, and had a piece of looseleaf left, so I decided to try folding a Saber-Toothed Tiger, because of this years OUSA Design Challenge (I only just found out that it's "Toothed" not "Tooth". I can't really pronounce Toothed, anyway). The body of the original model didn't satisfy me, so I refolded it at home using a much simpler approach using less shaping. I ended up with a nice tiger, but the back legs were too long and made it slouch forward, so I had to add a pleat to make them shorter.
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This CP doesn't even include the back legs, because they aren't really made using any reference. They are actually made from a double crimp to fold the tail end forward. With the right folding, and a squash to make the nose, the model even has eyes.
Saber-Toothed Tiger, Ryan MacDonell
Saber-Toothed Tiger, Ryan MacDonell

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Ammonite

I had been thinking of folding something for the OUSA design challenge this year, even though I won't be attending, but I only just got around to trying out models. Seeing as it is a limit of one model per person, what I would do (if I were exhibiting) would be to fold however many ideas I have, and then choose the best for the challenge. The rest could go on my personal exhibit, if I had one. I've decided that I won't bother sending models from now on, and that I'll only exhibit if I'm able to be there, mainly because of bad experiences with wrinkles and shipping.
I decided to base the model on 5ths, so that there would be 10 tentacles. I mainly just added 22.5° angles and squashed some parts from there, to get the following CP.
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Then I figured out a way to make a color changed shell, and used the extra tentacle flap to make the eyes. The shell doesn't really stay together well unless you're using some way of making it stay, such as foil or glue.
Ammonite, Ryan MacDonell
Ammonite, Ryan MacDonell