Customer Reviews

Origami for the Enthusiast: Step-By-Step Instructions in over 700 Diagrams

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was my first intermediate origami book, and at the time, some of the beautiful, intricate pieces- like the insect- seemed like herculean challenges. If you're tired of cranes and boxes, this book has the pieces to ease you into the more challenging models, as well as critters to amaze your friends, frustrate your fingers, or simply delight you with the joy of learning new techniques.

I had done only some tsuru birds when I got this book. I found it very useful for the begginer that, just like myself, is interested in getting acquainted with origami signaling. Its models vary from the simplest to the most challeging ones, like a pegasus or a bug. Really worthwhile

I was 14 when I bought this origami book and Iwas simply astonished with the variety and the complexity of the animals(well some of them)
but now iIam much more experient than other days and noticed that this is only an "average"complex book.
there are some jewels on this book and also some weird models
the elephant is my all-time favorite model,and the insects(except the bbeetle)are amazing
but geting back to the bad parts .. the pegasus looks like a winged dog,I think the rhino's head is very strange,the whale is very stylized and it's impressive how every toucan that john montroll designs don't look like a real one
but afterall this is a cool book if you are tired of those simple models they teach on TV

John Montroll is considered on of the premier folders of animal origami, certainly in the US, if not the world. I actually had the pleasure of folding some of his models he was still working on for one of his books, when a member of the local origami club. His newer books certainly have cleaner, crisper diagrams, but this book has a lot of my favorite models, and is still well worth the cost. I've always loved the Pegasus, the grasshopper and other insects, various birds, elephant, etc. Don't miss getting this classic origami book!

I still vividly recall the delight I found when a friend got this book for me. It was introduced with the notion that, since there were many more beginners than advanced folders, most of the books were for beginners, but NOT THIS ONE. Aha! At last! And it was true - some of the models are fairly straight-forward, but others are still challenging. And, to the best of my knowledge, this is the only origami vulture in existence - it looks so great on a Christmas tree!

I've since had the pleasure of meeting John and folding many of his newer creations, but I still hold this book in high esteem because it was The First.

This was one of the first origami books I purchased, it has a very wide range of designs, with a great section in the beginning outlining the basic folds. The animals are cute, and there's always more difficult ones as you progress! Recommended!

This book was very inspirational for me when I first read it (back in the 80's). I still have some of the models memorized. Some of the models are fairly complex, but not as difficult as some other books, and the diagrams are clear.

This was my first book too. However my 5 stars on this book is because Montroll's Stink Bug and the Grasshoper are, in my oppinion, pure origami and both a masterpiece.
There are other models on this book which will teach you basics to create your own models in the future. Like eg. how to make four legs and separate parts of the paper for wings etc.

Must have for sure. Enthusiasts ftw! ^^

This book is pretty old, you can tell because it has drawn diagrams instead of computer designed ones. Almost all of the models have been made better in Montroll's other books, like the Sea Life book, and the Birds in Origami book. If you want a book that has all sorts of models, get this one. Otherwise, get one of the newer books

The instructions for some of the models in this book work fine (like the vulture and sunfish), but many of the instructions are confusing or impossible to follow. I ended up buying larger origami paper to make these designs because it was so hard to make some of the tiny folds with standard size paper, and I have skinny, short fingers. I can't imagine how hard it would be for someone with large hands. Other times I would be three or four folds into the design, and the very next fold would be impossible to make. Whatever was supposed to be folded didn't exist. Now, it's possible to make a wrong fold and discover that ten or twelve steps later. But not within the first couple of folds, and not when they're easy things like rabbit ears and kite folds. Sometimes it also seemed like the diagrams skipped a few steps. He would write a direction like "rabbit ear" without explaining exactly what part was supposed to be rabbit eared, and the diagram was not sufficient enough to show where the fold should be. After staring at it and trying a few different folds, I could usually figure it out, but overall many of these directions are a little too general. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking to try origami, regardless of skill level. There are other books about animal origami out there. At least it wasn't very expensive.