Byriah Loper - Mind-Blowing Modular Origami: The Art of Polyhedral Paper Folding

Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge the origamists who have inspired my own work: Daniel Kwan, who has provided constant inspiration, and without whom this book wouldnt have occurred; the other young wireframe modular designers who have encouraged me to continue with my own work, including Aaron P. and Alec Sherwin; Meenakshi Mukerji, for offering advice about publishing; Francis Ow and Tomoko Fuse for the discovery of the first edge unit techniques applied in wireframe design; Tom Hull and Robert Lang through the inspiration their own works in wireframes have produced; Ekaterina Lukasheva, for advice about photography and inspiration in Kusudama/ decorative modular design. Thanks to Jeri McDaniel, for giving me the paper airplane calendar that got me started in origami, and to my parents for their constant help and support. Thanks to God, for helping me to strive for ever better work to glorify Him. CONTENTS Published by Tuttle Publishing an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. www.tuttlepublishing.com Copyright 2016 by Byriah Loper All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Loper, Byriah, 1994- author.
Mind-blowing modular origami: the art of polyhedral paper folding / Byriah Loper.
pages cm
ISBN 978-44-88053-1309-1 (paperback); ISBN 978-1-4629-1771-6 (ebook)
1. Origami. I. Title.
TT872.5.L667 2015
736'.982--dc23
201501749944 ISBN 978-4--80053-1309-1 DISTRIBUTED BY NORTH AMERICA, LATIN AMERICA & EUROPE
Tuttle Publishing, 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436 U.S.A.
Tel: (802) 773-8930 | Fax: (802) 773-6993
info@tuttlepublishing.com | www.tuttlepublishhinng.com JAPAN
Tuttle Publishing, Yaekari Building, 3F, 5-4-12 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032
Tel: (81) 3 5437-0171 | Fax: (81) 3 5437-0755
sales@tuttle.co.jp | www.tuttle.co.jp ASIA PACIFIC
Berkeley Books Pte.

INTRODUCTION TO
D E C O R A T I V E M O D U L A R S WHILE THIS BOOK is indeed mostly devoted to the serious, mathematically complex, and often difficult Wire Frame modulars, it actually begins with a series of seven simpler decorative modulars. INTRODUCTION TO
D E C O R A T I V E M O D U L A R S WHILE THIS BOOK is indeed mostly devoted to the serious, mathematically complex, and often difficult Wire Frame modulars, it actually begins with a series of seven simpler decorative modulars.

I like designing and folding these simpler models, because I have always designed modulars from more of an artistic perspective. After all, although mathematics makes appearances in origami everywhere, it is still an art form first and foremost, and in modulars, that can be most obviously seen in the decorative modulars, also known as Kusudamas. It is commonly misunderstood that Kusudamas are not actually origami, but rather are paper craft creations that require the use of string or glue to hold together; compromises that purist origami artists would never allow. While it is true that Kusudamas were first realized in this manner, their definition has evolved over time to include embellished/decorative modular origami where artistic decoration is given a greater emphasis than geometric form. These models are an excellent place to begin if you are just getting started with modular origami as a whole, as they will introduce you into a number of techniques that will be used in the Wire Frame models, but require less time and patience to master. Generally, the ideal Kusudama is attractive, easy to assemble, and sturdy when completed.

I hope you will find the ones I have chosen for this book to match that description. In addition to having similar units, another thing that sets Wire Frames apart from most other modulars is that they have a fixed number of units. Kusudamas and regular geometric modulars can usually be assembled in several fashions, for instance, tetrahedral, octahedral, and icosahedral, and a different number of units are required for each. This is not the case with Wire Frames, where the underlying symmetry of a model can only be made to align with a single polyhedron, for instance, a dodecahedron. A Wire Frame with dodecahedral symmetry cannot be assembled in an octahedral fashion.