Introduction to 3d Origami and Basics

3d Origami Terminology

In live demonsrtations of how to fold 3d origami, it is also helpful to include text instructions as well. In this case, it is important to understand what different terms mean and how to use them in your designs.

Rows

A row in 3d origami is one piece tall. Usually, the term is used to describe how many pieces belong in each row, as well as which row they are referring to. For example, if rows 1 and 2 of a model each contain 15 pieces, then you would connect two rows, each consisting of 15 pieces, to form a circular base. The end result would be 2 rows tall. When folding 3d origami, the base of a model usually consists of two rows, each with the same amount of pieces.

Base

A 3d origami base is a ring shaped cluster of pieces that will serve as a foundation to build off of. A base usually will consist of two or three rows, two for simpler models, and three for larger bases. Larger bases form a bigger ring in the middle and therefore are more likely to fall apart, which is why it would be safer to use a 3 row base or even possibly a 4 row base. Larger models also do not necessarily need to start with a larger base. Many complex 3d origami models will start with a 4 piece per row base and gradually increase to be larger. There will be more about increasing below.

Increase

Increasing pieces is just increasing the amount of pieces in a row. This can be done most commonly in two different ways. First of all, you can slide only one pocket of a piece into a flap and leave the other pocket empty, and repeat this for the other piece, like so:

However, some might dislike the "empty" look of the unused pockets, and therefore opt for this increase method:

This method is basically the same, but a filler piece is added. Note that the filler piece has no flaps in its pockets and is there just to take up empty space.

Decrease

Decreasing pieces follows a similar concept to increasing, just reversed. To decrease the amount of pieces in a row, just stick more than one flap from a piece into the pocket. Most commonly, there will be two pieces that each hold two flaps in one pocket and one flap in the other, like so:

If you wanted to decrease even more, it is possible to put two flaps in each pocket, like so:

Summary

You'll definitely see these terms when browsing or folding 3d origami, which is why it is crucial to understand the meanings of these words. Even though this article did not go into too much detail surrounding these terms, now that you have a basic understanding of their meanings, after gaining experience from folding other 3d origami, it should become more clear on what these are.