Folding an Origami Crane

    The objective of this lesson is to hone people's skills through practice and clear and concise instructions.

    Hello people and welcome to the last lesson that I will present you, which are instructions on making your first origami crane! But before we start, I'd like to add a little bit of information about why the Crane is so special.

    In Japan, the crane is said to live for 1,000 years, which is why people fold 1,000 of them in hopes of one of their wishes being granted. Cool right? And with this lesson, you can start with your first out of a thousand!

    Continuing from our last lesson, we will be starting off with the Bird Base that we have done before.

Step 1) The completed petal fold. At this point you also have a completed bird base. Next we’re going to fold the neck and the tail. Fold the top flap on the right to the centre along the dotted line.

Step 2) Fold the top flap on the left to the centre along the dotted line as well.

Step 3) Turn the model over, we’re going to repeat the last two steps on the other side.

Step 4) Fold the long thin section of paper on the right up along the dotted line. Crease well and unfold.

Step 5) Fold the long thin section of paper on the left up just like you did on the other side. Crease well and unfold.

Step 6) Flip the model and do the last few steps on the other side.

Step 7) Now we’re going to make an inside reverse fold along the creases you just made on the right side of the model.

Step 8) Lift the paper up inside the model along the creases you already made and flatten everything.

Step 9) Make another inside reverse fold along the creases you already made along the left side of the model and do the last few steps on this side.

Step 10) Now we’re going to fold the head. Fold the long thin section of paper on the right down along the dotted line. Fold it both ways. Crease well and unfold. Then make an inside reverse fold. The head is then folded inside the neck. 

Step 11) Fold down the wings on both sides along the dotted line.

The completed origami crane

Congratulations, you've made your first origami crane!

I hope this was a fun experience for you, because it was for me. If ever, for some reason, you haven't read the two previous lessons, then let me provide these links for you. Thank you for following along the lessons until now!

                 First Lesson                                                                         Second Lesson

Origami Lesson 2: Folds

 

    The objective of this lesson is to educate those new to the art of origami about the different kinds of folds that are involved in origami along with instructions on how to do them.

    Welcome back for another lesson viewers! Today we’re going to be learning about the different kinds of folds that are used in origami, they’re fairly easy to do and remember, from basic folds to base forms that are widely used in many origamis so make sure to fold along with me!

    The 2 basic folds are called Mountain fold and Valley fold. The Mountain fold is where you fold the crease downwards, making the paper look like a mountain. While in the Valley fold, you make the crease upwards, making the paper look like a valley.

Mountain Fold

Valley Fold

    Seems easy enough right? Now let’s try some more folds, and this time these are called Base folds.

 This fold is called the Square Base.

Step 1) Start with a square sheet of paper with the white side up. Fold it in half along the dotted line.

Step 2) Fold the paper in half again along the dotted line.

Step 3) Bring the top flap of paper up.

Step 4) Squash fold this flap of paper down. Make sure you keep both sides symmetrical. You should end up with a diamond shape.

Step 5) Turn the model over and do the same thing to the other side.

The completed Square or Preliminary Base.

    The next base we'll be doing is called the Bird base, which starts off from the Square or Preliminary Base.

Step 1) Fold the top right flap of paper to the centre along the dotted line. Crease well and unfold.

Step 2) Fold the top left flap of paper to the centre along the dotted line. Crease well and unfold.

Step 3) Fold the top of the model down along the dotted horizontal line. The end points of this horizontal line will line up with the tops of the creases on either side.

Step 4) Petal Fold the top flap of paper up along the dotted line. There is already a crease here from the previous step.

Step 5) Continue lifting up the top flap of paper while folding in the sides along the existing creases.

Step 6) Push everything flat along the existing creases.

Step 7) The completed Petal Fold. Turn the model over and do steps 1 to 7 all over on the other side.

The completed Bird Base.

    Now that you know these things, I think it's time for you to make your first origami on the next lesson! Click the link to your right to fold your first model, the Crane! But if you haven't read the first lesson yet, click the left link!

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Introduction to Origami

The objective of this lesson is to educate newcomers to the art of origami about its history and its several forms.

A page from Akisato Rito’s 
Sembazuru Orikata

    Origami is called the art of folding, using just one piece of paper to make different forms and shapes, from entirely aesthetic and display purposes to being useful in your everyday life. Ori means to fold in the Japanese language, while Kami means paper, hence, it is called Origami. Contrary to popular belief, origami actually originated from China in the 105 A.D., and was brought to Japan by monks on the sixth century. Before, since handmade paper was expensive, it can only be acquired by a select few. Its purpose was also mainly for religious and carnival purposes, but in the Edo period, paper had become easier to acquire as it had become cheaper, and it's purpose had shifted from entirely religious and ceremonial purposes, to also entertainment. Written instructions for paper folding first appeared in 1797, with Akisato Rito’s Sembazuru Orikata.

    Surely you were also somehow dumbfounded when you found out that origami actually originated from China, not Japan, but that doesn’t make the art form any less special. It’s still the same art of folding that we know and love, ranging from simple shapes and form to complicated forms. There are also different kinds of origamis. They’re all just folding paper, what could be so special about folding paper that it had to evolve into different types? Well first off, origami has changed so much over the years, much like everything, since people had taken liberties to add new techniques and new perspectives that are very much welcome.

    The types of origamis are: Traditional origami, Modular origami, Action origami, Golden Venture origami, Pureland origami, Strip folding, Origami tessellation, and Wet folding. I’ll only explain Traditional, Modular, and Action for now. 

    Traditional origami only consists of folding one piece of paper to achieve a desired design. There are no cutting, gluing, or any form of adhesive in the picture for this particular origami.

    Modular origami is similar to traditional origami, the only catch is that modular origami consists of many pieces of paper that interlock in the forms of tabs and pockets. If you are an experienced person in origami, this type of origami is surely able to challenge you. In this form also, there is no gluing to be done.

Last but not least, Action origami might be a favorite of children, as it involves somewhat moving pieces that is surely able to entertain them. Popular forms of action origami are birds that flap their wings with a simple tug from their tails, and frogs that jump.

 

    

Hopefully, you have been inspired to also take part in the art of paper folding, and if you want to find out more, click this link for the next lesson where we will discuss more about the types of folding involved in origami!

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Finals Project Requirement

 

Captions:

PART 1 - AN INTRODUCTION TO MAKING CHARACTERS

Hey there and welcome to Artist's Haven where we can talk about anything as long as it's about developing as an artist. Now, you must have already read the title, and yes! We are going to be trying to create a character of your own.

Now, first let's look at these beautiful examples of people creating their own characters. Pretty cool huh?

Now this is just beginning, aight? I know some of you are skeptical, thinking, "Oh I don't need my own character I'll just draw characters of other people no need to spend time on those kinds of things, there are already countless original characters out there right?" WRONG. Having a character of your own, at least in my opinion, makes you grow further as an artist. You know why? Because being an artist is about creating and expressing yourself through different ways, different mediums, and if you can express yourself through a character then good for you! Dare I say it might even help you develop as a person and not just an artist, because then you'll discover more about yourself and most characters that you'll make will be, one way or another, someone that reflects something about you! And not just through appearance, but also through personality. Now see that? See her hair? It mirrors the artist's appearance, and through some ways, also their personality, as how you look will be a reflection of what you are.

Now that you've gotten a crash course on what characters are and why these characters are, then let's try out the how these characters are made with a simple exercise. Using the following pose as a reference, try and create your own character along with these guidelines.

You can go and pause the video here while you're still working on the activity, and when you're done, just play the video.


PART 2 - CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

With the previous  exercise done, let's start with another one! You're going to be filling up this basic information sheet of your character. This is the basic of the basics, and obviously you'll need these information if you're soon going to be creating a complex character right? It might seem tedious, but this is necessary. Much like how your parents have a birth certificate of you, this also signifies the characters birth.

Now if you're done with the information sheet it's time to think, yes, THINK, again. But this time, it's about who your character is, and I'm not talking about what their name is, or what their sign is, but their CORE. Their personality, in other words. Using the information sheet as a reference, you must already have something in mind right? Are they joyful? Constantly sad? Haughty? Kind? Evil? Righteous? All of these things will soon come together in the next step, which is...

Sketching your character. You are an artist, you create, whether it's through verbal means like spoken poetry or singing, through illustrative means like graphic designing or painting, or even through literature through stories or calligraphy. So if you're here, you should have some basic techniques already learned, like creating a face. We all know that we start with a circle, then some lines, then some basic sketches of facial features, then you just fill in the blanks! Just keep in mind that the appearance of the character will reflect their personality. Here are some examples. A smile basically signifies happiness. Now what about some other complex features? Ah yes the typical snobby rich girl. A crazed madman. The mysterious cloaked character. A hip hop dancer. And many more.

4. The clothes maketh the man. I don't really need to add anything more, but to tell you to appropriately clothe your character or characters according to who they are. Obviously you wouldn't give a snobby rich girl a simple dress right? Unless it's Gucci, but that's besides the point. Knights wear armor, magicians wear robes, samurai wear hakamas etc etc, it's just about matching. It's also the same with their accessories.


PART 3 - FLESHING OUT YOUR CHARACTER

Backstories, most of the time, start with your characters childhood. Now if your character is a child, I guess there's no need for this, but obviously they'll still have past experiences, however few. It's not as if they're a newly born infant right? Unless your character is in a fantasy setting, and they have actually been reincarnated into an infant, in which case they have many many experiences. For a tragical story setting, most childhoods of the characters are traumatic, which will then mold the character into what they are now. It's like evolution, but not as epic as most would think. Here's an example, you know Pokemon right? Now how about eevee?  We know about their various evolutions, and most of them you won't get through ordinary means like simply leveling up. There must be various factors to be taken into account before eevee evolves. Most of them are about exposing eevee to various items, which we can substitute for experiences, which will then make her evolve. See how these different things made eevee change into different forms? It's the same with your characters. See how everything all interconnects and give new meaning to present experiences? If they were exposed to something bad then they might be traumatized, if they were exposed to something good, then in the future they'll still like it.  All of these things, childhoods, environments, genetics, experiences, circumstances, they all mold and dictate what your character is. And with that, you now have a fully fleshed out character.


PART 4 - GROWTH OF YOUR CHARACTER

Growth is something everyone does, even fictional people. For now, let me give you an example, how about Monkey D. Luffy from the famous shonen anime, One Piece. Now I'm not going to specifics and technical jargons that only the fandom can understand, but if you still haven't watched One Piece then be warned for there will be spoilers ahead. Here's Luffy in hid fight against a Pacifista, unable to fight back and can only keep dodging until soon the enemies have overwhelmed them to the point where he had fallen in despair. Sometime later then he had realized just how important his crew was to him, and in the timeskip, he's now a little bit more serious, though still an idiot, because he can't risk losing his beloved crew. An obvious observation would be that he had gotten stronger, ever more so than before. Garnering new skills and a newly found strength, he goes to beat up enemies that he couldn't before. And even if he's already stronger than before, he still trains to new heights so that he can protect his crew and beat up those who oppose him.

See that change even though he's just a fictional character? Crazy right? So the same thing can also be said for you and your character! You can grow more by going out of your little artist bubble and talk to other artists! Interact with them and talk to them, make artist friends! Commission them, collaborate with them, be involved in the community and you and your character will be growing in no time.

So that's all folks! Hopefully this video helped you in creating, understanding, and developing your character. Bye.