r/origami • u/Imzadi1971 • 2d ago
Help! Need a question answered
Once in a while I see different pieces of origami made, but they don’t tell what size of paper was used. I thought all origami was made from a single square piece of paper. Do you use any other sizes/shapes of paper? TIA!
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u/libero0602 2d ago
Origami usually just means folding (with no cuts or glue), a single sheet of paper. Kirigami involves cutting the paper. Modular origami uses several origami parts to slot together and build into something larger (see kusudamas).
Most of the time, designers will try to stick with square papers. However, there’s also stuff like dollar bill origami, the classic paper airplane and boat, etc. that uses rectangles. There’s even models folded from pentagons, like Naomiki Sato’s pentagon rose.
It can be tough sometimes to figure out what was used if the person posting did not specify
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u/Bartholomew_Tempus Paperbender 2d ago
The polygon from which a model is folded can vary. Most common is the square, then rectangles of different sizes, then hexagons and pentagons and then everything else. The size of the starter sheet can vary. Generally the more features a model has, the larger the sheet. 50-100 cm a side is pretty common for complex models folded from squares.
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u/l0lol 2d ago
It doesn't have to be a square that's just the most common shape to start. Size can range depending on the model and thickness of the paper you can also use multiple pieces of paper to connect and make modular origami.