My sincere apologies for the over-one-month gap between posts. Because of my exams, I haven't been able to fold much... Well, its the June Holidays, so I might be able to post a lot more often than usual from now on! Thank you so much for supporting this blog, even though my posts have been rather scarce! *bows* ^_^
Now, to business! Remember my last post which taught you how to fold a "Negative Building Block"? (suggestions for its name are very welcome... heheh) Well, these little sub-models are rather useless unless you can incorporate them into a new design. If you refer back to the model in "Pop-out Prosperity", you'll see that the negative building block is not used on its own in the model; instead, it is used in conjunction with the Building Block to create a "well" structure. One example of such a structure is the "口" radical in the Pop-out Prosperity model; This post will show you how to convert a negative building block into that structure.
Firstly, you have to create a negative building block.
For details on how to fold a negative buidling block, refer to my last post.
I used a 15 x 15 grid for this model instead of the 9 x 9 one used in my last post, because I needed more space to fold the "well structure" than the negative building block itself. This gives a little insight on how paper is sucked up two-dimensionally while we try to build "upwards"... I call it "The Law of Conservation of Paper" - In an isolated model, the amount of paper present is always constant. ^_^
Anyway, for the next step, treat the model at the current step as flat paper (i.e. disregard the presence of the little hole in the center of the model). This step seems to be crucial in the superimposing of certain sub-models in this form of origami. Form a 1 x 3 x 3 building block with the hole at its center.
Before we continue, I feel that we should set down a standard way of referring to the dimensions of a building block so it is easier to refer to.
(For problems in the direction of y and z, I will clarify in a future post.)
A view of the model in the current stage:
And you're done! My, that was fast, wasn't it? Let's take a closer look at the "well structure" in the middle:
Now, you can see that the center part of the model corresponds to the "口" radical in the Pop-out Prosperity model.
The superimposing of sub-models does give you interesting results; the important thing is to know which sub-models to use and how to merge them to form a new model.
Now for a view of the underside of the model:
Compare this to the flip-sides of the Pop-out Prosperity model and the Negative Building Block; curious folders may also want to fold a 1 x 3 x 3 building block on a separate piece of paper and compare its reverse side to the picture above.
We're done with the model, but there's one more technique to show you that will help in folding this form of origami. How do we measure how much space the model takes up? Remember that what makes this form of origami unique is that the paper around the model can be extended without bound without affecting the model (because the model itself "pops out" of the paper and does not require edges and corners) and the extended portion can be used to fit in more models so long as the models do not interfere with one another. Hence, it is important for a folder to measure the amount of space his or her model takes up so he or she knows whether another model can be fitted in, or what grid size he or she should use. The space the model takes up is measured in terms of the two-dimensional area on the paper which the model takes up, as opposed to the three-dimensional notation of a building block.
Because of the sucking up of paper inside the model, it is rather impossible to gauge the number of squares it takes up by counting from the inside. However, we can use another approach; counting from the outside! If you've folded the model already, measure the distance from any edge of the paper to one side of the model in terms of the number of squares (in this case, 4) . Do the same for the opposite side (4 again) , and add the distances together (4 + 4 = 8) . subtract that total distance from the grid size (in this case, 15, because a 15 x 15 grid was used) to get the number of squares the model takes up in that dimension (15 - 8 = 7). Repeat for the other dimension (7 again). Thus, in this case, the dimensions of the model is 7 x 7.
Theoretically, a 7 x 7 grid can be used to fold this model; yes, it can be done, all the features of the model will be inside, but the edges of the model will not be locked vertically, and the thickness of the paper will force it to open up a little, resulting in the model not looking very nice. The edges of the model depend on the flat paper surrounding it for locking, so it is best to give a bit of leeway, like a 10 x 10 grid or more ( a 9 x 9 grid would not give enough locking for stiffer paper) .
Ahhh... a long post! I hope that you have enjoyed this post, and thanks for the support!
The next post will be really cool, I'm smoothing out the details for it now, it won't be long!
I'll be cross if you don't come back for the next post! ^_^
Origami as Pure as Snow
shonen
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