by Chris Channing

Origami is the ancient Japanese craft of paper folding. This art form actually began in the sixth century when paper was first introduced to Japan. This means that origami is actually around 1,600 years old.

The goal of origami, both today and a thousand years ago, is to use geometric folds to create some sort of shape or figure out of a piece of paper. It is also crucial that all this is done without cutting or gluing paper together. An example of a traditional Japanese origami piece is the origami crane. Today, the origami crane is still probably one of the most popular and well known origami pieces.

Today, Origami is usually used in two instances. One instance is as a fun craft for less experienced origami makers, and the second is for artists who develop amazing pieces of origami art work.

Children will commonly have experience with creating origami, whether it be from school studies to self curiosity at home. In each case, there can be a lot of frustration present for children who don’t know how to create complex types of origami. Instead, children should stick to simpler types of origami such as the origami ball, which is explained in greater detail at the links on the bottom of this article.

It is very easy for a beginner to learn how to make an origami ball, and this is why it is probably a good first origami experience. After one has learned the basic origami pieces, he / she can move on to make more difficult origami. The origami swan is a medium difficulty origami piece that is a good project for more experience origami makers or anyone who is up for a little bit of a challenge.

It’s interesting to see how origami has evolved over the years. Previously, it was a matter of luck or good education that an origami master could make a truly innovative design. Now, mathematics and science can create unique origami shapes and objects simply by using technology and mathematical formulas.

Final Thoughts

Using mathematics, origami pieces can be planned out before even starting to fold the origami paper. The new age technical origami, aka. origami sekkei, has truly turned into its own art form. Crease patterns, or CP, are used to make truly amazing pieces of origami artwork. While an origami swan will have much less than a hundred folds, a technical origami piece will usually have upwards of 1,000 folds!

About the Author:
Here is an informational resource with Origami instructions videos and for beginners, here is the previously promised guide for learning how to make origami balls.