Time Flies When You Are Folding Dragons!

My Ryujin Finished!

It is Wednesday already!  Where did the time go?   It is funny how time travels faster when you are folding Origami.  Sometimes this can be a good thing.  Waiting for your Wife to make up her mind?

The Inspiration model...

Fold something and the hours feel like seconds!    But if you are trying to origamify something special,  be prepared for your life to slip past you without your knowledge. 

With Scales!

And so it goes withe the Origami Ryujin.   Also known as the Ancient Oriental Dragon. I have spent the better part of a this week folding the various parts to make this model.  And this is not even the most difficult version! 

The Single Sheet of Paper Version!

The REAL version is folded out of a GIANT single piece of paper.   No cuts!   Having neither the paper nor the floor space to fold such a monstrosity,

The Single sheet of paper...

I have concluded that I would never fold this 30 hour dragon  by myself.  And I was fine with that!  But then, I discovered a different way to fold an almost identical version. 

The secret?   Fold  10 pieces individually and glue them all up.  Easy!  

Are the folds complicated?  Not really.   After years of folding koi and reptile scales, Box pleating frogs and moose antlers....  This method seemed far more doable. Like eating an Elephant...  One small bite at a time. 

The trouble is the time.  Folding all of those scales still required a LOT of time.   I not only had to fold the grids for the scales,  I also had to lock them into position.   Otherwise they look like junk.   This was optional, but I did not want to leave it looking like fish gills. 

This method was not even the difficult one!   I simply flip over the paper,  

Carefully  unlock the paper. 

Pinch the edges together and fold it down to the left of the right.   When you flip the model over, the scales are locked in place.  

Imagine doing that for ever scale!  Now imagine doing it with additional shaping to make the scales look like snake scales.    Now imagine doing that with a sheet of paper that covers your Living room floor!  That is what the Ryujin from Kamiya Satoshi requires.  

Being my first attempt,  I used foil paper.  Probably not the best choice.    But it worked out mostly.  I worked on a single body section each day, then the head and legs came together at once.  I did not time myself, but each body section took three hours of non-stop folding!   The 30 hour Ryujin now seems rather optimistic!     

Fearless Flourish,  a Scottish origami Artist takes 11+ hours to show you all of the steps along the way.   That is a Single 11+ hour video!   

( I skipped ahead on multiple occasions.)   He pauses several times during the process to fold off camera, so he could keep the video "short."   

Liên Quốc Đạt's model

In the end,  I completed Liên Quốc Đạt's model.   It is sloppy, I know.   But I think I may attempt a 2.0 version in the near future.   If I can find the time and better paper...

In the mean time,  Typing this post is its own challenge,  Not only do I have two cats on my keyboard.  ( They refuse to leave, no matter how I protest...)  But I also have a middle finger that is swollen after the neighbors dog jumped up right as I reached down to pet him.   He jammed my middle finger which now hurts and remains inflexible.  Every time I make a fist, I flip the bird instead.     Good times...

Cheryl races this weekend.   The Hot Dash in the Twin Cities.   I'm sure they will be colder than we are currently. ( A wonderful 73 degrees!) But Cheryl says she loves running in the colder temps.   ( But not 20's.....with wind,  right?)   I'll have more to post when we get the packet pickup.   

Until then,  thanks for stopping in.   This is what happens when you are totally engrossed in a single origami Project.    No wonder no one dedicates their life to such a ridiculous pursuit.  Ah well,  what else are you going to do with your life... Work at a job and make money or something?  ( Ummm.. Yeah,  that is probably the right answer...)  But what do I know?   Probably less than most people, apparently.