First I folded a really simple tortoise that was in my Fold-a-Day calender out of cardstock.


A layer of flyers.


A layer of paper towels.


Some paint and glaze to make him shiny.


See the folds from the bottom.


And how he looks from the top.


Finished!


He's pretty basic but he turned out alright. I like the idea of making more papier mache from origami but it's difficult because the cardstock gets really flimsy from the glue. Unless I use simple designs like this guy, it will be very difficult to keep the origami look in the finished product.

I imagine they start with the finished result and go backwards (with a lot of experimenting). They probably tape a bunch of blank pieces of paper together and draw the object on it to map it out. After a few attempts, you'll get your starting point.

But they have a lot more experience with 3D modeling than me.

Looks awesome. I have a pattern that I plan to make into a lamp eventually but it's low on my priorities.

I'm worried about putting paper next to a hot light-bulb though. The instructions mention fire retardant spray but I'd still be nervous about burning down my building.

Actually I do have a scanner. I'd prefer to have hard copies so I guess I could scan them, print them, and compile them in a book.

I started with origami late last year and I have a bunch of books, web resources, and a stack of nice paper. The problem is that I don't want to use any of it. There isn't anywhere around here to buy origami paper by itself and it's too expensive online. It's so pretty and I don't want to waste it when I'm still an origami newbie.

Obviously, I can just use regular paper cut into a square to practice but I find that I don't try as hard using lined paper, plus I lose the effect of having one side coloured and one side white (although that's not a big deal). Wrapping paper is alright but it's really thin and flimsy and it's hard to cut it into a square since it comes in a big roll instead of in sheets.

Does anybody have any advice as to what I can use as a cheap/easy substitute for origami paper?

(Today I bought a fold-a-day origami calender. Every day you use the sheet from the previous day to fold something new. Again, I don't want to use the paper because it contains valuable instructions on the back.)