Customer Reviews

Unit Origami: Multidimensional Transformations

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have had this book for about 5-6 years now and IT'S A MESS! By that I mean, dog-eared, folded, written in, you get the idea. This is absolutely my favorite of the many origami books I have. It introduced me to modular origami back when I was just making boxes and cranes. The instructions are excellent and I have made so many models for gifts, decorations, you name it! Fuse's models decorate my bookshelf and have delighted many of my friends and family members. This book is definitely for more experienced folders, however I do have a friend that borrowed the book and had never done origami before, and he used some of Fuse's methods to build an amazing bridge of his own creation. You can use the methods to create models in the book as well as your own pieces of art. I HIGHLY recommend this book and any other written by Tomoko Fuse.

This book is absolutely fascinating. I am a graphic designer by profession and love all crafts. This book has transformed the way I look at paper. I would have never imagined that it is possible to make such objects. I have never done any folding before and still could do all the projects. The instructions are very clear and with a little patience one can be very satisfied with the results. This is a great book and would recommend it heartily. Nothing but Brilliant.

Elegance is the only word to use in describing Fuse's deft and sometimes beautifly simple modular designs. I routinely use it in teaching Geometry. It takes about 20 minutes to teach a high school or middle school class to fold a single unit. Mass production like this makes it easy to build a really impressive 30-unit stellated icosahedron. The photographs in the book are awesome, and frequently inspire the most unlikely kids to fold. Fuse's UNIT ORIGAMI is the most readable, best illustrated and most complete work I have on modular origami. Easily the best of my English language collection. (Kasahara's ORIGAMI OMNIBUS is also good and equally elegant, but not as extensive as Fuse's book.)

Tomoko Fuse is popular for her amazing origami figures that she creates with unique units (over 50 books in print). This book is no exeption. Possibly her best book ever, this book is a combination of all her most interesting items taken from her other books in Japanese and Korean. I own a few of the forgein language books and I find many things in the book that I enjoy folding, and many that I hate. This book has MOST of the cooler items from her most famous books. If you are a fan of unit origami or just like geometry, then buy this book.

Addictive is possibly the best way to describe this book by modern origami master, Tomoko Fuse. I'd never been all that keen on unit origami until I discovered her brilliantly structured folds. The individual units are clever and sometimes almost fractal. The process of folding multiple units is meditative, and the final puzzle of interlocking them to form a geometric unit is a delight, made moreso by the great solidity of the finished piece - all without adhesives! A book I'd recommend to folders of any level!

Fuse has written a book all about one of her favorite areas of origmami: modular creations. Modular origami is created when you fold multiple copies of the same unit and then work them together to create a larger model. It looks gorgeous, but can be very time consuming and frustrating if your model is made of 60 units. I like this book alot, but it is clear that Fuse's ability to fold is light years beyond mine. Still, she always gives clear directions and diagramms so that if you are patient you can make gorgeous models.

I am a teacher of students in 5th through 8th grade and I found this book to be a great addition to the geometry unit I teach. I had not created origami before this unit and I found this book to have excellent directions. The students were able to follow the great diagrams, made some beautiful pieces and had a concrete object of their learning. I would recommend this book to all.

I appreciate Tomoko Fuse's work because her designs are simple, yet elegant, and they are very clearly explained and diagrammed. She approaches her subject in such a manner than she manages to demystify it so that the reader isn't too intimidated to attempt a project. Hers is the first name I turn to when I'm ready to move on to other techniques, designs, or styles. This book was no different in that regard. It is, as the name implies, instruction on creating multiple UNITS that will then be assembled into different shapes and designs. For that reason, I would say it is defintely for a dedicated enthusiast, as it definitely takes some patience to connect some of these units in a way that will leave the final model smooth and unblemished. However, this is the case with any modular or unit style origami, and not specific to Tomoko's work. If anything, she manages to take some of the mystery out of it in the process and even include encouragement where necessary. I enjoyed her little snippets of insight into her method and approach, as well as her deep admiration and reverence for the craft in general, which comes through in these writings. I fold paper because it gives me a sense of peace and satisfaction through accomplishment. Each new project is a tiny little victory when completed, and works as well for me as meditation. These many different units and connecting them in fun and different ways is certainly fulfilling for those who have that constant inner urge to fold, and then not knowing what to do with tons of cranes, birds, and boxes, etc., that you've created. I just fold different kinds of units over and over, then when I'm ready, I can attempt to connect them later on. There are enough different units and ways to connect them that I am stimulated for hours on end with no end in sight yet. If you are just beginning to fold, I would hold off on this book until you get used to something simpler, like her book "Origami Boxes."

Beautiful colour photographs, endless complex pieces of unit origami and clear instructions put this book above many others in its category. PLEASE NOTE: I recently went to Japan and was surprised to find MANY more similar books in Japanese. So if you liked this book, there is much, much more to come. All of these other books are in Japanese and are more difficult to purchase, but it is definitely worth searching for them. (Tomoko Fuse also told me she IS soon to be producing her own web page).

This is an encylopedia of wonderful modular origami by the QUEEN of Unit Origami herself, Tomoko Fuse. While she has many wonderful origami books out, this is the one to start with and the one I most often go back to. The sheer number of models and amount of information in this book make a nearly unparalled unit origami value. There are far too models to have photographs of each one, but the color pictures are amazing - everytime I pick up this book I just want to take a stack of paper and fold non-stop for an entire weekend.

Two Folds Up!
-Doug