Have you ever wondered how creators begin designing their own origami models?
Origami offers many ways to be creative. These include interpreting and folding someone else’s figure, finding different ways to showcase our figures, or teaching origami in new ways.
But many people who love origami at some point puzzled over how origami figures are created.
During a recent Origamigos interview with origami designer and author Robert Lang, in addition to many other topics of interest, we asked Robert to share with us some tips on how to begin designing our own origami models.
In this five-minute video, Robert Lang offers helpful tips on how to approach origami design.
The full interview is featured in Origamigos, the Origami Spirit Membership.
In addition to these tips, in the interview, Robert shared about many other topics, which include:
- Robert Lang’s definition of origami.
- His academic background in engineering and physics
- The pivotal moment when Robert Lang decided to stop working in Silicon Valley and turning origami into a full-time profession.
- What origami creators he admires and why.
- His collaboration with sculptor Kevin Box to interpret Robert’s origami work in metal.
- Robert Lang’s family life.
- Robert books.
Robert Lang has published several instructional origami books, and instructions for his origami pieces appear in several publications. The following are some of the titles Robert has published and are what I consider essential references in an origami library. Give yourself, or someone else, the gift of any–or all–of these wonderfully inspiring books.
- Origami Design Secrets* Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art, Second Edition (Robert J. Lang)
- Origami in Action* (Robert J. Lang)
- The Complete Book of Origami: Step-by-Step Instructions in Over 1000 Diagrams (Robert J. Lang and Robin Macey)
- Origami Insects* (Robert J. Lang)
- Origami Zoo: An Amazing Collection of Folded Paper Animals* (Robert J. Lang and Stephen Weiss)
- Twists, Tilings, and Tessellations: Mathematical Methods for Geometric Origami* (Robert J. Lang)
- Origami Sea Life* (Robert J. Lang and John Montroll)
- Sea Creatures in Origami* (Robert J. Lang and John Montroll)
*Affiliate links
Robert Lang
Robert Lang is considered one of the world’s masters of the art of origami, with over 800 designs cataloged and diagrammed. His design techniques are used by origami artists around the world, and he lectures widely on the connections between origami art, science, mathematics, and technology. He is noted for designs of great detail and realism and includes in his repertoire some of the most complex origami designs ever created.
His origami creations combine aspects of the Western school of mathematical origami design with the Eastern emphasis upon line and form to yield models that are at once distinctive, elegant, and challenging to fold. He has exhibited his work in New York (Museum of Modern Art), Paris (Carrousel du Louvre), Salem (Peabody Essex Museum), San Diego (Mingei Museum of World Folk Art), and Kaga, Japan (Nippon Museum Of Origami), among others.
Dr. Lang was a featured artist in the Peabody-Award-winning documentary, Between The Folds from Green Fuse Films.