Origami from ori meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper") is the traditional Japanese folk art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD and was popularized in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of material into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami.
The number of basic origami folds is small, but they can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs. The most well known origami model is probably the Japanese paper crane. In general, these designs begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be different colors or prints. Traditional Japanese origami, which has been practiced since the Edo era (1603–1867), has often been less strict about these conventions, sometimes cutting the paper or using nonsquare shapes to start with.
Origami originates from Japan, and in Japanese, Ori means paper, and kami(gami) means folding. There are various types of Origami, respectively action, modular, wet-folding and pureland. Today, we are going to show you some of the best examples of these paper made wonders.
Here’s a showcase of 70 beautiful and creative origami created by fans all over the world. Full list after jump.
Grulla. Designed by Roman Diaz and Daniel Naranjo. Folded from 37*37cm MC treated tissue. (via Kekremsi)
Origami Jedi. Folded by Phillip West from a single uncut square. Modified from Satoshi Kamiya’s Wizard. (via PhillipWest)
Origami Tarantula. A really impressive model designed by Robert Lang, folded from a square of a tissue-foil paper. (via Rodrigo Zen)
Divine Dragon. Masterpieces of origami dragons, famous Bahamut – Divine Dragon by Satoshi Kamiya. Folded by Brian Chan. (via Chosetec)
Yoda Origami. Designed by Fumiaki Kawahata. Folded by Phillip West from Lokta sandpaper paper back coated to tissue paper. (via PhillipWest)
Ancient Dragon. Designed by Satoshi Kamiya. Wet folded from mulberry tissue 136×136cm. (via Mabona Origami)
Life Size Onitsuka Tiger. Created for Asics lounge in Berlin. This huge origami sculpture dimensions are: 270×110x60cm. (via Mabona Origami)
Praying Mantis (female). Designed and folded by Sipho Mabona. Wet folded form one uncut square of shikibu kizukishki kozo (handmade) colored with calligraphic ink. (via Mabona Origami)
Gryphon. Interesting and complex example of gryphon origami. Folded from two types of paper, which makes this a very furnace origami. (via Guspath)
Werewolf. Another great example of origami by Guspath. Folded from 50cm square golden foil paper. (via Guspath)
Little Bird. Sweet yellow bird. Designed by Kamiya Satoshi, folded by Sin cynic. (via Sin cynic)
Dedalus. Red statue of Daedalus. Designed and folded by Origamirizzo. (via Origamirizzo)
Mammoth. This model was folded from diagrams. Designed by Satoshi Kamiya. (via Finwych)
Ringed Tailed Lemur. Folded from MC treated black tissue. Designed and folded by Origami Roman. (via Origami Roman)
Vampire Bat. Vampire bat by Dao Cuong Quyet. Folded from 60cm square paper. (via Baldorigami)
Phoenix. Phoenix origami at the exhibition in Toronto Airport. Created by Chow Hin Chung, folded by Alex Yue (via Sftrajan)
Fox . Folded from CP in tanteidan magazine 119. (via KingOri)
Chimpance. Designed and folded by Tanaka Masashi, folded from CP. (via Alexori)
Water Buffalo. Designed by Nguyen Hung Cuong, folded by Sin cynic. (via Sin cynic)
Minotaur. Designed by Satoshi Kamiya, folded by Imperfekshun from 64×64 cm tissue foil. (via Imperfekshun)
Whale. Designed by Satoshi Kamiya, folded by Eric Madrigal from brown 40×40 cm paper with acrylic paints. (via Eric Madrigal)
Hermit Crab Origami. Folded by Brian Chan from a square of laminated Japanese mulberry paper. (via Chosetec)
Owl. Designed by Katsuta Kyohei. Origami size is 50×50 cm. (via Vetal Origami)
Reindeer. Designed by Katsuta Kyohei. Folded from brown paper. (via Vetal Origami)
Pig Nose. WilChua was refolding his pig and got a great result. (via WilChua)
Dollar Toilet Bowl. Folded from one 1 dollar bill. (via Orudorumagi11)
Iron Man. Designed by Brian Chan. Folded from an uncut square.
Angel fish. Few small angel fish origami folded from colored paper. (via Claudia M&M)
Origami Yoda. Yoda stands at 11.5cm tall and was folded from an A3 square- approximately 30×30cm. Designed and folded by Antzpantz. (via Antzpantz)
Bull. From Mythological Creatures and the Chinese Zodiac in Origami. (via Himanshu)
Origami Roses. Gorgeous very realistic, colored origami flower bouquet. (via Amandakay82)
Elephant . Origami Elephant folded from brown paper. Designed by Himanshu. (via Himanshu)
Origami highback chairs. Some of the elements for your work place – origami highback chairs. (via Jonmatthew Photography)
Origami Car. Small cute origami car folded from colored paper. Designed and folded by Midoriissa. (via Midoriissa)
Rat. Small rat origami folded from newspaper. Designed and folded by Eric Joisel. (via JuLi-Design)
Seated Cat. Seated Cat folded from brown paper. Designed and folded by David Brill. (via Himanshu)
Origami horse. Horse origami from the Origami Now exhibition at the Peabody/Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. (via Philocrites)
Rose and leaf folded. Kawasaki Rose and leaf folded by J.V. Page of Origami Mitra. (via Bkwebb)
Origami Lion. Origami Lion from Satoshi Kamiya’s exhibition at the 40th British Origami Society Convention. Folded by Satoshi Kamiya. (via Gaharoni)
High-Heel Shoes. Red stylish high-heel shoes. Designed and folded by Anthony. (via Antzpantz)
Frog. Origami Frog designed by Michael LaFosse. Folded from from cotton rags by Himanshu. (via Himanshu)
Penguins. All origami penguins are folded from one A4 paper. (via bh3o81)
Bottlenose Dolphin. Origami Bottlenose Dolphin designed by Syahmir from uncut square paper. (via Syahmir)
Squirrel. Origami in the Origami Exhibition in Mumbai, India. Folded by Himanshu. (via Himanshu)
Anciente Dragon. Designed by Kamiya Satoshi, folded by Hugoakitaya from papel manteiga. (via Hugoakitaya)
Banana. Designed and folded by Andrew Hudson from yellow paper. (via Origami Weekly)
Honeycomb. Created by John McKeever, folded from a hexagon of elephant hide. (via Melisande)
Peacock. Created by Jun Maekawa, folded from 15cm tissue foil. (via Origami_8)
Jucumari. Origami folded from a square of Lamali/Banana paper. Folded by Origoku. (via Origoku)
Phoenix . Origami folded from a 16″ piece of tissue foil. (via J0nB0n)
Origami Swan . Designed by Toshikazu Kawasaki. Folded by Himanshu. (via Himanshu)
The Dance . Designed and folded by H.T.Quyet from 1 uncut right triangle – half of a square size 34×34 cm. (via ORI_Q)
Shumakov Origami Kitten . Kitten origami design is created by Katrin and Yuri Shumakov. Origami size approximately 5 cm. (via Himanshu)
Shin Tanaka. Origami designed and folded by Usagirondo. (via Usagirondo)
Shrimp . Designed and folded by Yagorigamania from 60 x 60 cm tissue paper. (via Yagorigamania)
Shachihoko . Designed by Fumiaki Kawahata, folded from tissue foil made with white glue. (via Kekremsi)
Phalacrognathus muelleri. Designed and folded by Sipho Mabona. Wet folded form one uncut square of origamido paper. (via Mabona Origami)
Oriland Kitten. Cute kitten origami original design by Oriland. (via Mammaoca2008)
Origami Gundam . Complex creative Gundam origami, designed and folded by origami RXMAN. (via Origami RXMAN)
Miss Souris . Cute creative origami mouse, folded from bright colored paper. (via 5500km)
Lion . Designed and folded by H.T.Quyet, folded from 1 uncut square of double crumpled paper. (via ORI_Q)
Kabuto Mushi Origami . Folded by Brian Chan from an uncut square of origamido paper. (via Chosetec)
House. Prototype for a comisson by a advertising company. (via Mabona Origami)
Football . Created from a 19.5 inch square of chestnut lokta backed with rayon paper. (via Oriholic Jared)
Flying Katydid . Origami is designed and folded by Sipho Mabona, folded from aprox. 16 inch of shikibu gampi-shi then wet shaped with water. (via Mabona Origami)
Scorpion. Designed and folded by Nicolas Gajardo Henriquez for latinamerican origami congress in Bogota. (via [~Nic))
Donkey . Cute donkey origami folded from black paper. (via 5.i.u)
Bull Moose. Origami is designed by Robert Lang and folded by Phillip West. (via PhillipWest)
Lamb . Folded from hand-decorated elephant hide paper. (via Joseph Wu Origami)
St George and the Dragon . Origami scene designed and folded by Dave Brill. (via Happyfolding)
Llopio’s Moment of Truth . Origami scene – Llopio’s Moment of Truth. Designed and folded by Neal Elias. (via Happyfolding)
