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A Beginner's Guide to Crease Patterns

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Starting Out

When starting on a CP, ask yourself the following questions:
  1. What is the symmetry of the model?

    Almost all models possess reflection symmetry. For a square, there are only two choices - along the main diagonal, or along the vertical/horizontal through the centre of the square.

  2. Are there any familiar sub-bases?

    Models are often composed of different bases grafted together. Identifying sub-bases allows you to fill in the major creases more easily.

  3. Where/what are the model details?

    Details like fingers and claws are often formed from heavily pleated regions with many short creases. Knowing where they are allows you to "tune them out" from the model, making the model collapse stage easier. Sometimes. Maybe.

It is rare that a CP can be folded successfully on your first attempt, so don't use your single sheet of expensive paper until you've worked out for sure how it's done. Don't use foil paper either - you often have to reverse creases several times, and foil is lousy for doing that. I recommend normal copy paper for CP attempts, it's cheap, strong and you can draw on it.

The CP folding procedure goes as follows:

  1. Locate major creases and points on the starting sheet of paper
  2. Fold the major creases
  3. Collapse the model into a base
  4. Add details
  5. Repeat 1-4 until you give up in frustration
Finally, practice, practice, practice. Do as many CPs as you can get your hands on, even if you don't like the subject matter. Don't skip the easy looking ones - they're good practice, and sometimes they're not as easy as they look. Do a CP every day and learn to recognise common structures and folding patterns.
Previous: Introduction Up: Table of Contents Next: Locating Creases