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Home | Tips & Ideas | Origami | Improving Origami Results

How Can I Improve My Results?

Information on this page was supplied by paperfolding designer and author David Mitchell. More detailed information on specialist aspects of origami can be accessed at www.origamiheaven.com

There is no substitute for practice, but here are a few hints and tips:

Choose the right surface to fold on

To fold paper accurately you need something flat, smooth and reasonably solid to rest on. You also need to be comfortable. A table-top or breakfast-bar is ideal, or, if you prefer to relax in an arm-chair (or sit at your PC to work through this section) you can make do with a coffee-table style hard-back book laid on your knees.

Always fold on a surface. Folding in the air is a skill that comes with practice. It isn't the best way to start.

Do what comes naturally

Most origami diagrams are drawn for right-handed people. However, just because a diagram is drawn one way round doesn't mean that's the way you have to make the fold. After you understand how the fold is to be made you can turn the paper round to wherever it feels most comfortable. Just remember to turn it back afterwards so that you don't lose track of how the next fold should be made.

Rework your creases

When you're a few folds into a model you'll often find that the folds start working against each other, the edges start to get misaligned and the points are no longer quite sharp. If the model you are making is three-dimensional (like a box or a bowl) this isn't a particular problem, but if it's a fairly flat sort of model it's a good idea to gently rework the main creases to try and get everything back into reasonable shape.

If you watch an expert folder folding you'll see they do this quite unconsciously after almost every new fold. That's more habit than necessity, but try not to let things get too out of hand.

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