Simple Origami for Beginners - Cup
Have you ever wanted to learn origami but never had the time to? Or just thought it was fascinating how a simple piece of paper could be transformed into magnificent objects?Well that was me. And now I am finally able to what I have been interested in for years. Origami is the ancient art of paper folding. It has been around for centuries and over time they have gotten more and more complex. There are infinite possibilities to what a folded piece of paper can become.
There are many essential things when it comes to origami. From the book, Fun With Origami, by Harry C. Helfman, "Having sharp creases and folds are essential to origami. For a sharp crease will fall into place more easily" (Helfman 3). And that is 100% true. This crucial piece of information may seem obvious but there are types of circular lanterns that seem like they do not contain any folds. However, every piece of origami must have creases and folds. At first I tried to challenge this fact by trying to make an origami cup without folds. I did not get through the second step because it needed many sides to stay on top of each other, which is where folds are needed.
Since I haven't done origami for years, I decided to pursue one of the easiest origami objects. And that object is the cup. Luckily for me this text contains many objects for different skill levels. This book also goes from the easiest to hardest origami. It says, "Beginners will be able to master such simple shapes as a sail boat, jet plane and paper cup. Intermediate-level paper folders may find the bird, whale, fish and more..." (Helfman 3). Having the book written this way from beginner to intermediate to expert allows people to start out easy and work their way up. It also boosts selfconfidence by starting off easy. It also allows people to grow their skills steadily and not be overwhelmed by the difficulty. Having levels of origami that goes in order really boosts my self-confidence because the first origami object took little to no time. It has also allowed my passion for origami to grow and now I am interested in making different objects and animals.
My personal favorite origami is the crane because it is a classic and it works well for decorations.
Below are 5 simple steps to make your own origami cup.
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| Step 1 Fold origami paper in half |
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| Step 2 Corner B should now rest on corner D |
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| Step 3 Place so folded side is nearest you. Bring corners A and C to the white circles |
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| Step 4 Fold first flap over line F-E. Turn shape over and fold second flap over line F-E. Be sure to crease both folds. |
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| Step 5 Open cup by pushing both pointy sides inward. Finish |
Helfman, Harry Carmozin. Fun with Origami: Easy-to-Do Projects and 24 Sheets of Origami Paper. Dover, 1991.
What could you use the cup for? Here's an idea for the cup, you could probably put a flower inside the cup, but you'll have to tape the cup together. Which makes no sense for origami. Or could there be other ideas?
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good question James. However, I do not think that putting flowers inside the origami cup would be appropriate because you would need water for the flowers to survive. And the water would just ruin the paper cup. You could use the cup as decorations when you have a party or an event. Or you could hand them out as party favors. Or you could decorate tables and shelves with it. The paper cup could also be used as a discussion piece when you have friends over.
DeleteIt doesn't necessarily have to be real flowers, you could put fake flowers, like the plastic ones inside of the cup. But the dirt made be replaced with a substitute.
DeleteI agree James the dirt must be replaced because it would be too heavy for the paper cup. However, you could put fake flowers in the cup just as long as the flowers are small enough. Then you could use the cup and flowers as a house decoration.
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ReplyDeleteHi Jonathan! Great job, my favorite origami piece to complete is the lotus flower, because how beautiful the outcome turns out. I like how you listed your steps out in a simple way, with dots to mark where you fold. Do you have any recommendations of other simple origami folds to complete?
ReplyDeleteThank you Victoria. The lotus flower is also one of my favorites because it looks very realistic. I also like it because it works very well for decorations. I have many recommendations of other simple origami folds. I recommend folding a very simple sail boat or a seagull. I personally like the seagull because it looks 3-D.
Deletethank you for helping me learn how to make a origami cup! and to answer your question i have made origami, my favorite is the jumping fog because it was something i used to play around with a lot when i was younger.
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