Origami Flower

Another Origami post. I got into making Origami diagrams in this other post, and I decided I should attempt to make the instruction diagrams for a flower I invented ages ago!

Making these origami diagrams has allowed me to gain a deeper appreciation for origami diagrams in general. Beautiful art! (Both the origami and the diagrams!)

I now realize that lots of thought goes into making these diagrams. Like for example,

• Deciding how many diagrams are needed (sort of thinking about paragraphs in a text). Too many makes them “boring”, too few makes them hard to follow.

• Deciding what little “3D details” to add to help the “readers” know they are on the right track. Too many details may make each figure hard to understand.

• Figuring out how to place arrows to indicate actions the reader has to do with the paper in a way that it understandable. Arrow placement is crucial and sometimes not that easy!

• Doing lots of “hidden” geometric reasoning that is not visible in the final product to figure out:

  • the right dimensions of diagram after a fold is made
  • the exact point on an edge which will end up over a corner after a fold
  • the correct placement of fold lines (which many times involves bisecting angles)
  • etc.

• Thinking about what line dash styles to add (keeping in mind their standard meaning in origami – the Yoshizawa–Randlett system) and thinking if it may be better to show one side of the other of the paper (which side determines which type of folds they are!). See steps 1 and 2 below, which involve flipping the paper over.

• Using different line widths to help the “readers”. I settled upon:

  • fat lines for the edges
  • very thin lines for existing creases that do not involve any actions in the given step, but which help the reader understand where they are
  • fat dashed lines for folds
  • semi-fat lines for arrows that indicate how a fold must be made

Here are the instructions for the flower. I think I need more practice doing these sorts of diagrams, but hopefully they can be followed. I do not have the skills to make a 3D diagram of the final flower (lots of curvy sides), so to see the final product you will have to follow the instructions! They follow the standard Yoshizawa–Randlett system.

I have not given the flower a name. As far as I know, it is my invention, but I have not tried to figure out if it exists in one of the many many origami books out there. So, I do not claim any originality on my part.

You can also download the instructions in pdf form. I created these folding instructions using IPE, an open source vector image editing software with LaTeX support which I enjoy using.

More thoughts and information on Origami diagramming can be found in a long blog entry by Origami master Robert Lang.