Animated Origami
Created | Updated Aug 24, 2007
For hundreds of years in China and Japan, the art of origami passed from generation to generation with little need to record the models using diagrams. However if some models were particularly worthy or complicated, drawings and books were occasionally produced. One ancient book that survived: Hiden Senbazuru Orikata (The Secret of One Thousand Cranes Origami) dates from 1797 and is notable for its intricate and beautiful drawings. The drawings of the various crane models were marked with simple dotted lines indicating the parts of the paper that should be folded however the order and direction of the folds were explained separately.
This type of diagram seems to have remained the standard until the 1930’s when Akira Yoshizawa developed a system of arrows and dotted lines that described (without words) where and how the paper should fold from one stage to the next. This new diagramming convention was a breakthrough in that it transcended the written language, opening the doors for origami diagrams to be shared internationally as never before. Yoshizawa’s notation became so popular that it has been incorporated into the vast majority of origami diagrams and related publications ever since.
Origami diagrams generally only need to record the key folds in the development of a model and with a little experience, they can usually be followed with little difficulty. However as only key folds are recorded, beginners sometimes struggle to visualize how the paper should be folded ‘in between’ diagrams. If a beginner became stuck, traditionally there was little else to do but persevere or try and find someone else who could help. However with the advent of the internet, help is at hand in many places, including an increasing number of sites that provide animated instructions to fill in the missing steps.
In traditional animation techniques, cartoons were drawn on layers of acetate sheets with each bit of movement captured ‘frame by frame’ on film. This ‘frame-by-frame’ process is still used when animating origami diagrams, however the artist produces sequences of digital drawings (frame by frame) in computer software rather than using ink on acetate sheets and a camera. The software allows the animator to easily change the size, look and playback of the animation in a way that would have been impractical using traditional methods.
Since the early days of the world-wide-web, animation software has progressed in leaps and bounds. The earliest animations on the web used a format called the animated GIF which works just like the ‘flick-book’ style of animation. These were popular and indeed many examples (including origami animations) are still used today. Origami animations using the animated GIF format usually run in stages, e.g. on completion of the first step, a link can be followed to the animation for the second step and so on. This was the best way to work when small file sizes were of paramount importance as the file size of each animated step could be contained for easy download.
During the 1990’s, a computer program (‘Splash’) was developed that could animate and output graphics at incredibly small file sizes. The program was later developed into the better-known ‘Flash’ and today, the flash viewer and its associated animations have become virtually ubiquitous across the world-wide-web. Flash’s widespread presence and ability to produce smooth animations, small file sizes and interactivity (e.g. to stop, play, rewind the animation) provided a natural platform for the animation and production of origami diagrams. The small file sizes removed the need to have to download (say) 8 separate animations for 8 key stages of a model. Instead the entire animation can be downloaded and viewed in one go. Furthermore, the interactive nature of Flash lends itself to easy navigation through the animation and even to the development of origami games! An example of this type of animation can be seen at at http://www.origami.org.uk.
Numerous origami models have also been have filmed on video camera and uploaded to youtube (http://www.youtube.com) however these tend to be videos of people making models rather than animated diagrams as mentioned above. Origami is also coming to Korean television screens with the launch of a new cartoon series: Origami Warriors. The series is all about origami models that come to life.
The internet continues to change the way people learn, communicate and share ideas. Web-based animated origami diagrams help fuse the ancient art of origami with 21st Century technology and hopefully will help more people to discover the joy of this wonderful art.
This type of diagram seems to have remained the standard until the 1930’s when Akira Yoshizawa developed a system of arrows and dotted lines that described (without words) where and how the paper should fold from one stage to the next. This new diagramming convention was a breakthrough in that it transcended the written language, opening the doors for origami diagrams to be shared internationally as never before. Yoshizawa’s notation became so popular that it has been incorporated into the vast majority of origami diagrams and related publications ever since.
Origami diagrams generally only need to record the key folds in the development of a model and with a little experience, they can usually be followed with little difficulty. However as only key folds are recorded, beginners sometimes struggle to visualize how the paper should be folded ‘in between’ diagrams. If a beginner became stuck, traditionally there was little else to do but persevere or try and find someone else who could help. However with the advent of the internet, help is at hand in many places, including an increasing number of sites that provide animated instructions to fill in the missing steps.
In traditional animation techniques, cartoons were drawn on layers of acetate sheets with each bit of movement captured ‘frame by frame’ on film. This ‘frame-by-frame’ process is still used when animating origami diagrams, however the artist produces sequences of digital drawings (frame by frame) in computer software rather than using ink on acetate sheets and a camera. The software allows the animator to easily change the size, look and playback of the animation in a way that would have been impractical using traditional methods.
Since the early days of the world-wide-web, animation software has progressed in leaps and bounds. The earliest animations on the web used a format called the animated GIF which works just like the ‘flick-book’ style of animation. These were popular and indeed many examples (including origami animations) are still used today. Origami animations using the animated GIF format usually run in stages, e.g. on completion of the first step, a link can be followed to the animation for the second step and so on. This was the best way to work when small file sizes were of paramount importance as the file size of each animated step could be contained for easy download.
During the 1990’s, a computer program (‘Splash’) was developed that could animate and output graphics at incredibly small file sizes. The program was later developed into the better-known ‘Flash’ and today, the flash viewer and its associated animations have become virtually ubiquitous across the world-wide-web. Flash’s widespread presence and ability to produce smooth animations, small file sizes and interactivity (e.g. to stop, play, rewind the animation) provided a natural platform for the animation and production of origami diagrams. The small file sizes removed the need to have to download (say) 8 separate animations for 8 key stages of a model. Instead the entire animation can be downloaded and viewed in one go. Furthermore, the interactive nature of Flash lends itself to easy navigation through the animation and even to the development of origami games! An example of this type of animation can be seen at at http://www.origami.org.uk.
Numerous origami models have also been have filmed on video camera and uploaded to youtube (http://www.youtube.com) however these tend to be videos of people making models rather than animated diagrams as mentioned above. Origami is also coming to Korean television screens with the launch of a new cartoon series: Origami Warriors. The series is all about origami models that come to life.
The internet continues to change the way people learn, communicate and share ideas. Web-based animated origami diagrams help fuse the ancient art of origami with 21st Century technology and hopefully will help more people to discover the joy of this wonderful art.
