Customer Reviews

Origami: Step by Step (Dover Origami Papercraft)

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

 

 

Well, the book is ..., contains interesting models that you will not find anywhere else, BUT: Title absolutly misleading. Even thought it contains several easy models, majority of interesting models are very complex. Even if you could handle it, be aware that: Diagrams are awful and I would like to emphasize it: every model contains a steps that are difficult to follow , from misleading to sometimes erroneous, imcomplete - some very complex steps are just sketched and you will not even see a result picture on next one, text description of steps is very pure. May be that is what autor wanted to say in the title: you will fight for every step to find out what is drawn here. I would recomend it to buy only for VERY expirienced folder who loves to solve puzzles.

Origami enthusiasts! This book has history. It is written by a great pioneer, Robert Harbin. It consists of models by Patricia Crawford. I love it very much when it was published over 20 years ago and the charm of it has not diminished over the years even after learning so many new models. Strongly recommended.

Good things with Origami Step-By-Step: 1) it's very inexpensive, and 2) it has a good number of fantastic models the likes of which would be very difficult to find in another anthology. Patricia Crawford's designs are innovative and original not only in form but also in content. A few of the more original models include a birdbath (with birds), a squirrel on a log, a mermaid swimming along seaweed, and Christ praying on the Mount of Olives(!). Her other models are perhaps slightly more characteristic of origami -- cat, kangaroo, unicorn, scorpion, three-masted sailing ship -- but are also very well-conceived.

A few caveats of Origami Step-By-Step: 1) the overutilization of foil-backed paper. The intro states that the tensile strength of foil is actually a necessity for many of the models. I have not tried folding all of these models yet, but I suspect you may be able to get similar results using wet-folding techniques. Still, I would have liked to have seen less models that depended on the malleability of the paper for its effects. Also 2) the instructions are anything but "step-by-step." In most of these models, many steps are combined into single steps, making a first-time fold very difficult if you don't already understand the mechanics of the folding. These models rely heavily on pre-creasing, and you can expect to see the first step of a given model to be a square with numerous dotted lines criss-crossing everywhere indicating the creases, but not the folds that lead to said creases. Needless to say, this book is not one for beginners, and even intermediate to advanced folders may be stymied by the lack of instruction.

Still, this book has some models you won't find anywhere else, so it's definitely worth a look. Just don't expect to go through it in a day.

This is one of the best. 30+ model in a thin and inexpensive volumn. It's really step-by-step if you fold the model page-by-page. I recommend beginners not to skip. It really like an exercise book. For advance folders, there are many great models to fold. Because of this step-by-step approach the number of diagrams are kept to the minimum. Beginner picking models (not from the start) will find this a difficult book to follow.

This book was originally published in the 70s under another title. My High School library had a copy.
I'd found the simpler models to be quite nice, as a beginner at the time. The more complex models were absolutely eye popping, and gave me something to aspire to.
Five years after grad., I'd tried to buy a copy, and found it out of print. I was glad to see it's come back.
The mermaid is very cool, and seems to be floating through a tuft of seaweed, and the fully rigged ship is a truly
majestic vessel. The unicorn in this book is one of my favorite models.
Don't pass up this book, especially at this price

Although I have started folding for about 3 months, I would consider myself as an advance folder having folded models such as Voyer's horse, pegasus, Brill's elephant, Ronald Koh's rocking horse, etc. The first time I came across this book, the cover say "step by step", so I skip it. During my last visit to the local book store I browsed through it by chance and was pleasantly suprised. 30+ models and mostly advance, for just US$4.95, what a great deal! The diagrams are not "step by step", but adequate for advance folder, it does save a lot of space.

Robert Harbin is known less for his own original designs than for his compilation of other artists works. This book is a classic which primarily showcases the work of the early creator Patricia Crawford. Possibly her most famous design, a square-rigged ship, graces the cover and is not especially hard to fold. What makes this book difficult to deal with is that the diagrams are hand-drawn and from a time when there was no standardization. nevertheless, I was able to blunder through this book with decent results as an untutored beginner. The models include a "Scorpion", "Unicorn", "Mermaid" and especially a "Swan" which, though primitive by today's standards, are nevertheless true classics of American origami innovation. Note: If you can fold a crane from memory, this book is probably perfect for you!