Hello Joshua,
I'm not familiar with the two models, but I can take a stab at answering
your third question.
The answer is "yes", but the particular strategy depends on the
situation. To use your example, if I'm making a kite fold, I have to ask
"what am I going to do next?". If the kite fold will eventually lie
flat, then I will try to make it as accurate as possible, with the edges
lining up right next to each other along the center vertical crease. But
if I'm going to fold it back (the center crease becoming a mountain),
then I might want the edges to overlap a little, so the white crease
doesn't show in the final result. And if I'm going to fold it forward
(the center crease becoming a valley), then I'm going to want to leave a
gap between the edges so they don't bunch together when I fold. Whether
and how much depends on the thickness of the paper and what I'm folding;
some creases need to be made very accurately for a nice result, others
not so much.
A lot of this comes from experience and practice (I have been folding
seriously for over 40 (!) years); there are some general
rules/guidelines, but a there is a lot of room for personal preference.
I like doing unit origami, and I'll sometimes vary my folding pattern as
I go along just to avoid boredom.
Getting back to your first two questions, as I said I'm not familiar
with those models, but one trick I've used when I have difficulties on
one step is to take another sheet of paper and just make the creases
necessary for that step, to see if I can figure out what's going on.
That's not always possible, but it works pretty well when it is.
Hopefully, others will answer with their tips and tricks. I encourage
you to keep folding; if you do you'll come up with your own.
Good luck and happy folding,
Mike Naughton
On 6/19/2025 7:45 AM, Joshua Hopper via Origami wrote:
Good afternoon,
I am a beginner/progressing folder and I have some questions I would like to
ask the group. Robert Lang directed me here!
1). I’ve been attempting the King Tut model in Robert Lang’s Complete Book of
Origami and have been having considerable problems with the sink fold step.
I’ve used traditional origami paper and regular printer paper cut into a
square. The directions are not clear in how the model should look afterward,
and my paper gets very flimsy by the end of the step because I’ve been handling
it so much.
2). For John Montroll’s Batarang in his Batman origami book, he calls for a
spread-squash fold, and I have no idea how to accomplish that with the model
given.
3). Do you have any strategies or techniques for folding in general to help
make super accurate folds? For example, on kite folds, do you try to go halfway
into the crease or do you end slightly before the crease so the two flaps do
not overlap each other?
Any suggestions, images, or videos of this that I could use for reference for
these questions and issues would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for
your time and support!
Joshua
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