Nick Robinson's Blog, page 39

Fold your own neanderthal

Ross Kemp used to be famous as an "actor" in the soap Eastenders. Since then, he's done numerous lowly-rated bits of tosh, playing on his image as a "hard man". So, it was with great delight I found this website where you are encouraged to fold a photo of him in an imaginative way.

It's (kind of) related to the folded inside back covers of old MAD magazines – I used to *love* them as a teenager. A cartoon was drawn such that making vertical pleats revealed a radically different image.

I've been doing this to pictures of celebrities for years, it's great to see the fun is more widespread. There are several way you can distort the Queen using a banknote and at least one where you can make her perform an unspeakable act ;)

Those tricky 3D steps

Anyone who has tried making diagrams will at some stage have reached a point where the model is either 3D, or just too "different" to copy, paste and edit. These steps must be drawn from scratch. Various techniques are out there, but for many years I've taken photos of the steps and drawn around them in Illustrator.

This, of course, has meant a) taking the photo b) putting the memory card in the computer and c) dragging the image onto the workspace for tracing. Not a hugely onerous task, unless you have to do it often (as authors do!)

My latest brainwave is to open my webcam "capture" software, use the webcam to frame the photo, then I press "print screen" to copy the entire screen to memory. I can then choose "paste" within Illustrator and the image of the screen appears for tracing. Resolution is low, but it's perfectly adequate for my purposes. Much quicker and no faffing with either the camera or memory card.

Do it again (go back Jack)

There's nothing like that buzz of going into a bookshop (new or second-hand) and spotting something you haven't already got in your collection. However, as they say in court, caveat emptor, or buyer beware! For many years now there has been a trend by publishers to repackage origami books and to recycle their contents. Paul Jackson has suffered more than most – way back in the 90s I saw a book by him which had a photo from my first book of planes (by the same publisher) on the cover, although the model wasn't inside. I asked him about it and his response was "what book?" It was a salutory lesson to learn that a) publisher do this sort of thing and b) authors rarely even know about it, much less have a say in it.

I've since seen this happen over and over again – Rick Beech's excellent "Complete Guide" seems to be available in about 5 different editions, with all or a selection of the same models within. I've even suffered myself, thankfully to a lesser extent. The problem is that the authors reputation invariably takes a hit when you buy an apparently new book, only to find you already have it. Remember though, there's a good chance that not only did the author have no knowledge of it, but almost certainly didn't even get paid for the repackaged job.

A4 rhombic dodecawotsit

Of all the designs I've cobbled together, the A4 unit seems to have a longer life than most. The latest incarnation is a calendar, put together by Sok Song and his Creased team. They really are a professional group and the magazine is highly recommended. You can subscribe to either hard or electronic copies.

Several years ago, someone in Hong Kong put together a commercial version of this, but it was a one-off, so I guess didn't sell well. I still think there are commercial possibilities for this, must look into it again.

View and print the 2012 calendar here.

Halloween

I'm working hard on a book of Halloween projects. here are some creations in progress. I'm delighted to include Robert Neale's "Horrors" (in green) – 40 years old and still wonderful. If you've got any elegant designs, I'd love to see them! Especially looking for a spider that isn't too hard, plus a witches hat. I'll need permission for use, obviously.

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A poignant Christmas to you all

The death of David Petty continues to influence my mood, a feeling of lost friendship way out of proportion to how well I actually knew David.

My old school was pulled down recently and I'm seeing old friends and those I admire disappearing from the earth at an increasing rate.

So, in a completely off-topic present to you all, I humbly offer one of the most poignant musical performances I know of – less than two years before he died in a tragic accident. I just wish I could bequeath something as beautiful to the world…

Yours in reflection….

 

Just like buses

There's a local saying that you can wait an hour for a bus, then three come at once. I'm experiencing the origami version of this tale. Within a couple of days, my next three books have appeared online (pre-orders only) and I'm seeing the covers for the first time. Details of the individual books are on my list of titles, but there's an Alice In Wonderland collection, plus two beginners books of "Animals" and "Things that Go".

All small format and all with free folding paper, as seems to be the trend these days. I guess this means they will appear in a marvellous presentation box, 4 times the size of the book. Such fun!

It's always a double edged sword for me, seeing my books hit the streets. I'm delighted they have made it to the finishing line, but there's generally a feeling that I could have done better, given more time and more pages. Ah well. Cosmic serendipity has sent me offers to produce three more books in the new year, work that was badly needed.

www.bitsofsmith.co.uk

The work of John Smith should require little introduction from me – he has contributed hugely to the study of many aspects of origami, not least of which was the COET (Convention of Origami in Education and Therapy) event.

We have spoken frequently in the past on such esoteric topics as "pureland" and "origami beauty" and although getting on in life, he remains one of the foremost "origami thinkers" of our age.

His latest offering is a document on "Simplicity and realism in Origami". Fascinating and intriguing material! You should also browse around his amazing site.

Video killed the radio folder

I recently decided it was time to sort out a youtub "channel" to separate out my music and origami from the various other uploads. In doing so, I did a search for videos of my designs. Shocked to see there are over twenty out there, of varying quality (but then that's the charm!)

One guy teaches a bowl using black paper on a dark background under poor lights – almost impossible to follow. Others are professionally shot, some have my music and dull, set tones to enjoy. The comments on my "dummies man" are extensive, insulting and hugely entertaining ;)

My current favourite is by Sean19996, a young man who teaches "Ali's Dish 2″ with considerable skill, insight and a natural wit way beyond his years. Check out the channel.

Eee, them were t'days sithee

Another from the archives, taken at the first ever Sheffield convention that I organised in 1989.

Dave Brill, Nick, Tomoko Fuse, the late Michael Shall