origami crane tutorial

So I was looking at artsy tutorials today... And... Yeah, one thing sort of leads to another, and I spend six hours, on and off, drawing out instructions for origami.

I know there are a lot of origami tutorials out there (especially for a crane) but if you're anything like me, the moment they start ordering you to do a 'valley fold' or a 'mountain fold' your brain sort of disconnects and you see red. It was my hope to make a tutorial that 'illustrated' 'every' step, without applying names that mean nothing to people looking to casually fold post its.

(I don't recommend you start with post its, unless you're prepared to deal with paper sticking... I use them because they're colorful and square.)

I had a friend try to make a crane using just the tutorial, yesterday. Even with my occasional help, she accused me of trying to give her an aneurism. So the tutorial still needs work, and I'll eventually get around to making editions.

A few quick tips... Keep the paper in front of you like it is in the tutorial. If the open end points down and to the right, in the drawing, make sure your paper is the same.

Also, set the paper down flat on a desk/table/whatever as often as you can. It's a lot easier to fold nice smooth lines without having to hold it up in the air.


~*~*~*~ Other Origami Tips ~*~*~*~

Once you feel confident that you have the process down, go over each step in your head, several times. Start (in your mind) with a clean square piece of paper, and picture the process step by step.

If you get frustrated, take a short break. Folding origami is supposed to be calming. If you try to keep pressing on, as your frustration builds, you'll only have a mini-meltdown. (Maybe that just applies to me. But why take chances?) The calming influence of folding origami comes 'after' you have all the steps memorized. (They never mention that, do they? First stress; then peace.)

And good luck to ya'll!

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Bonus: To give you an idea of something you might do with your new skill, check out my latest crane endeavor here: [link]