Customer Reviews

Beautiful Origami

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The things that I liked about this book were the color pictures and the animals were neat. What I didn't like was the fact that on some of the animals they would skip a step or do it wrong and it would confuse you. I liked the book well enough to buy it and I have seen a lot of origami books that were not as good.

This is the worst origami book I have ever used (or in its case, attempted to use). The directions are horribly unclear; it seems that this author thinks that whatever she means, she can say "open it to the top". Four completely different folds she describes as opening it to the top. My, that's not helpful. Also, you just have to guess if valley or mountain folds are meant, because for both identical dashed lines are used and both are described as "fold". It's terribly confusing to have to make models just by looking at the pictures, when several folds can yield identical-looking results from the camera's angle, thus leaving the folder with all sorts of superfluous creases and frustration. In short, do not buy this book! I wouldn't even waste my time checking it out of the library.

Lots of beautiful animals in this book, as the title implies. However, often the written instructions were not clear, making it easier to look at the photographs to figure out the step. The photos were outstanding! If you get this book, write notes to yourself on each step so you remember the next time! I didn't like the fact that you had to cut and glue some of them, but they turned out so nice, I was willing to overlook this fact!

Although this origami book may be more expensive than some other origami books, the photographs which accompany each step of instruction make this book accessible to a beginner. Additionally, the book does not display the traditional symbols used to indicate various folds. This may make it easier for the novice paperfolder to learn the joys of origami.

While the pictures and projects are beautiful, this book is not good for visual learners. Some of the steps will ask you to make a certain fold and when you do, the example in the next picture looks nothing like the what you just made. I am not new to origami, and I have to say this is the most difficult to follow design book I have ever used. I will keep it, and keep working on the designs, and it is a joy to look at. I would love to see these works and pictures, in a book that is better designed for visual learners.

They are pretty figures, if you can figure out how to do them. The instructions are lacking to say the least. It is not unusual to find steps skipped, or to be unable to decipher what is happening in an illustration. Anytime that you're cutting and gluing, it isn't the real thing either, and shouldn't be passed off as such.

This is a difficult book to review. It was one of the first origami books I got, and I ended up getting frustrated by it. Some of the models only work if your paper is the same color front and back, and some of them don't work without futzing not indicated in the directons. However, the book is very attractive and also has some great models. It's a good book, but not an origami classic

It's really quite incredible how many contradictive meanings the author can apply to a single word in this book. Just because "open" or "fold" means one thing on one page does not mean that it will mean the same thing on the next. Indeed, oftentimes the meaning will be entirely different, even the exact opposite, although it is rarely that simple. Thus, the instructions are sketchy and confusing at best. The pictures accompanying the instructions often seem to mysteriously morph into an entirely different shape between different steps, with no explanation of exactly how they developed their new folds or creases. For example, one will read step one and complete it, move on to step two, and find that the picture indicating step two is much more folded-up and advanced than than yours, and the steps detailing how to get it into that shape and level mysteriously absent.

I picked up this book in a box set. The folded paper crane that came with it was nice enough, I suppose, and the origami paper was pretty. The book, however, has proven a total waste of money - nine dollars down the drain.

If Franz Kafka wrote an origami book, it would look a lot like this.

She uses paper that's the same color on both sides; has apparently never heard of "mountain" and "valley" folds; uses the terms "top", "bottom", "left" and "right" interchangeably, without ever defining them; and has the chutzpah to chide the reader that if you don't know exactly what she means by "left" or "right", you'll have to start over and pay more attention next time.

The instructions were so confusing I could not find myself creating an origami figure. Did not buy this book on Amazon, however, therefore, I have the luxury of returning it.