Magic Rose Cube challenge
The Magic Rose Cube has been around for some time and is a stone-cold classic. There are several unauthorised videos and a superb official DVD produced by Michael & Richard at Origamido, but it has yet to be published outside of Japan. The challenge for me wasn’t folding it, but diagramming it! I had previously […]
I got a new style o-ee-o
I’m working on a project with the British Museum and we decided to try a new, simpler Illustrator style, without borders. Still a work in progress, but I like it. Adding the drop shadows to internal edges would be impractical for complex models though. Here’s part of a simple version of my crab…. As ever, […]
A Labour of Love
Today’s task, Nick, should you choose to accept it, is to produce 3D assembly instructions for this delightful design by Denver Lawson. This diagrammer will self-destruct after 3 units….
Going Dotty
Origami diagrams are a means of communication, using symbols rather than words. The symbol set used these days is largely the same, based on the set developed by Yoshizawa and Randlett in the 50’s. Like any language, variations (dialects?) have developed and new symbols have entered the set from time to time. Since I am […]
Repeat behind?
For some years I’ve been using a symbol for “repeat behind” which has been pointed out to me is non-standard! It’s a fold behind arrow with a dash through it (and optionally, as shown right) which steps to repeat). I’m not sure where my use of this symbol it came from, but I’d be very […]
Learning Skills?
I was chatting with my mate Yawn Beworn the other day about the best way to learn origami. One to one teaching came out top, but that’s not always possible or practical for would-be folders. We’ve used diagrams for many years and the trend has been that they get better and better (check out Rikki […]
Those tricky 3D steps
Anyone who has tried making diagrams will at some stage have reached a point where the model is either 3D, or just too “different” to copy, paste and edit. These steps must be drawn from scratch. Various techniques are out there, but for many years I’ve taken photos of the steps and drawn around them […]
diagramming 3D steps
People often ask me; “Nick, how come your 3D steps are so magnificently rendered?”. The answer is simple – I take a photo and trace over it within my drawing package, Illustrator. The beauty is that it doesn’t matter how out of focus your image is 😉 It’s fascinating how, having done this, I frequently […]
diagrams : create an "A" rectangle
Here’s the first of an ongoing series of diagramming tips, assuming you’re using a computer to produce them. They will all be specific to Adobe Illustrator, but the principles should apply to any drawing package. In the UK & Europe, we do a lot of folding from A4. Rather than creating a rectangle of the […]