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Using Fine Quality Art Materials

When you want your butterflies to last for many generations without fading or becoming brittle, be sure to use only fine art-quality materials. Art papers are formed from stronger fibers and so they are more durable when wet-folding. These resiliant papers allow a more artistic shaping than do machine-made papers of highly processed wood pulp. High quality papers for fine art use cost more because they are made of more expensive raw materials (choice fibers and archival pigment colorants). The market for fine art materials is small, and so the machinery is smaller and less efficient. In fact, many fine art papers are still made by hand, so labor costs represent a larger fraction of the final price. Although many university arts programs have hand paper-making equipment, and although student labor is less expensive, fine art origami paper making is still a relatively new field. Few art students currently make thin, strong sheets suited to folding, and they are more likely to prepare pulp for cast paper sculptures, or to form thicker sheets from unusual plants, including unprocessed parts (seeds or twigs) that impede creasing.

Richly colored, densely patterned, often accented with gold, Yuzen papers make the most lovely of origami butterflies. The papers are durable and can be purchased from specialty paper suppliers. If you can’t get to one in person, shop online where you can see images of the patterns being offered for sale.

Paper or plastic? Many art and craft supply shops offer foldable sheets in a dazzling array of new materials. Pearlescent plastic sheets come textured and smooth, and in a rainbow of colors.

100% cotton rag-content drafting papers are thin, strong, and translucent—perfect for folding butterflies that reveal the pattern of hidden folds and layers. The paper comes in pads and rolls, and is widely available. Look for tinted tracing papers, too.