Читать книгу Origami Architecture (144 pages) - (Artist) Yee - Страница 7

INTRODUCTION

This book is filled with paper sculpture designs that will let you create paper replicas of some of the world’s most beautiful and most famous buildings. The facade designs I’ve recreated are based on the real architecture of these buildings. Eight of sixteen buildings in this book use a uniquely designed interlocking system in which no glue is needed (except to glue the structure onto the baseboards). The other eight buildings are made with different folding mechanisms that need some glue to assemble them. I recommend using acid-free heavy paper for these projects, if you do, your building will last for many years and will resist turning brittle and yellow or fade with age. If you follow the provided instructions and cut each piece and assemble as directed, you’ll see that making these sculptures is not really that difficult.

I’m particularly proud of the way these sculptures can be folded flat and opened again. This in itself is a fascinating part of the construct; if you tried to draw a diagram or analyze it, you would see the complexity that goes into this mechanism.

When the buildings are erected they are an amazing sight. I prefer to use white paper because the play of light and shade over a plain surface looks gorgeous, and more clearly reflects the structure of the piece. By contrast, a colored surface may be confusing because your eyes will focus on the two dimensional part of the structure and less on the three dimensional part of it. So leaving it plain and not coloring or decorating it is the best way to display your art work.

Although each of these structures is designed to fold, frequent opening and folding is not recommended due to the complexity and fragility of these paper structures. Keep it in an open position as much as you can and it will retain its beauty for years to come.

MY DESIGN PROCEDURE

1 After studying pictures of a building, I sketch a basic outline.

2 Then I use my computer to redraw the sketch.

3 Next, I design a feasible mechanism that makes the structure capable to stand and be folded.

4 I then select the artistic details of the structure that can be cut out of paper and add those.

5 Then I add other details to the drawings unless it might reduce the strength of the structure.

6 I go on to design a logical assembly procedure to make assembling easier.

7 Finally, I create a prototype. If it needs any adjustment, I go back and modify the drawings. I’ll repeat this step again and again if necessary.

SUITABLE MATERIALS:

I use acid-free card stock, which can last for many years and will not turn brittle and yellow or fade with age. Card stock size is 8.5” x 11” (21.59 x 27.94 cm). Paperweight is between 60 lb to 220 lb (130 gsm to 480 gsm).

For the baseboards I recommend stiff cardboard of 220 lb (480 gsm) or more.

TOOLS:

1 A sharp hobby knife: the sharper the better. Either learn to sharpen the blades, or change blades whenever it begins to drag and catch.

2 A burnishing tool: This is handy for creasing a neat fold line. If you don’t have a burnishing tool, an inkless ballpoint pen can work as well.

3 A ruler: It can be either a metal or plastic ruler. You can use it with a burnishing tool to crease a neat fold line.

4 Cutting mat: get the “self-healing” mats available in office and art supply stores. It is effective for protecting your table and your knife, more importantly, it makes cutting easier.

5 Toothpicks: For spreading glue.

6 Tweezers: For handling small parts.

7 White glue: This is perfect for gluing parts of the building because when it dries it’s invisible and it holds paper very well. Be careful though, because once it’s dried you won’t be able to change anything without tearing the paper.

8 Ultimately, your head and hands are your most important tools—let them do as much of the work as possible.

GUIDELINES AND HINTS:

1 Please read through all the instructions for a building before you attempt to build it.

2 You must understand completely what you are trying to do before you do it.

3 Follow the step-by-step instructions as closely as you can.

4 Do not skip any steps, they are all important.

5 Always work on a flat, firm, and clean surface.

6 Crease with a burnishing tool and a ruler to make a neat fold line.

7 Be careful when you glue one piece to another. Once it dries there’s no going back.

8 _____________ Black solid lines on the templates represent cutting lines.

9 ------------------ Black dashed lines or _____________blue lines represents folding lines or gluing lines. The folding direction or gluing position is called out in the caption for the images.

10 Eight of sixteen buildings use an interlocking system, so no glue is applied (except gluing the building to the baseboards).

11 If you don’t want the building to stick out from the baseboard when it is folded, you can increase the size of the baseboards.

12 Should your project not come out quite right or if you make a mistake, please don’t give up. Remember that failure is always the best teacher.

TIPS FOR CUTTING

1 Always keep the blade sharp to reduce the need for pressure when cutting.

2 Keep your eyes on the cutting blade tip and cut slowly. With decent lighting and some practice anyone can make a nice clean cut.

3 Try to cut along the lines freehand. Don’t rely on a steel ruler, over time steel rulers will sharpen and become dangerous to use.

4 Cut all the small shapes before cutting the big shapes.

5 If possible, cut the shape next to the shape you just cut.

6 Carefully use your fingers to press closely to the cutting area. But be careful.

BIOGRAPHY

My name is Yee (full name Sheung Yee Shing). I was born to a poor family in Hong Kong, where I didn’t have toys as a child. Therefore, at a young age, I started to fold and cut old newspapers as a way to occupy myself. Later, I taught myself paper-cutting (silhouette) and started to design and handcraft toys with paper. Since then (around 36 years) I have been doing various papercrafts.

Creating and designing papercraft is both my hobby and job. Paper (one of the great inventions of Chinese) is one of the most interesting material, it has millions of possibilities. I am trying to discover as many of them as I can. I do paper-cutting, origami, pop up cards, origami architecture, paper toy, paper costume, paper lamp, and paper model, etc. Most of my designs and methods come entirely from my imagination. Once you have built a few of these buildings you will see why I love papercraft so much.