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Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Folding Leaves, Leaflets and Flowers
III. Perspective of Leaflets
IV. Makigami (Roll‐Paper)
V. Basic Assemblies
VI. Painting Techniques
VII. Tapered Makigami Branches
VIII. Fiddleheads
IX. Makigami Assemblies
X. Paper Pots and Makigami Roots
XI. Inspirational Photographs
XII. Mastering Makigami
XIII. Subassemblies
XIV. Performing Makigami Conversions 182 pages with
XV. Depth Enhanced Flora photos,
Afterword
diagrams and
videos to
ensure success!
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
Folding the Rose Leaf
1. Start with a square of paper. If it has a leaf‐
colored or painted side, that side should face up.
2. Fold the square diagonally and unfold it Then flip it so the
colored side faces down.
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
3. Fold each corner to the center line folded in step 2.
3. Fold the bottom corners to the center line.
4. Your paper should look like this. Now flip it.
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
5. Fold the leaf diagonally on the fold you made in step 1.
6. Fold “veins” into the leaf by repeatedly folding and
unfolding as shown. Open the fold made in step 5 and then
flip the leaf.
7. Fold the bottom tip up to a point roughly halfway between the
unpainted areas of the bottom of the leaf.
Easy to follow step by step
instructions
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
8. Fold the tip back down, leaving a small gap.
9. Squeeze the bottom stem of the leaf together and then
“crimp” the stem of the leaf. See picture below:
The completed rose leaf.
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
XV. Depth Enhanced Flora
As discussed in the introduction of this book, depth
enhancement is obtained in the same manner as depth is
conveyed in a painting. Objects we want the viewer to
perceive as closer, are larger, and objects more distant are
smaller.
This sculpture is depth enhanced and has three leaf and
flower sizes. The leaves were made using the incremental
squares technique covered in chapter 1. I number the leaves
according to size, the smallest leaves have little “one”s
written on their reverse sides. Each of the largest have a
“three” on their reverse side.
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
I cut, painted and folded a set of six flowers in
three sizes and 48 leaves in three sizes.
I rolled, molded, dried and assembled a set of makigami stems to
accommodate my sculpture. I also made two “coils” for
branchlets.
I have 16 leaves per size, which will be assembled in pairs,
therefore I need eight branchlets per size. I attach the first
set of eight branchlets closest to the work surface. This
corresponds to the smallest size leaf (size 1).
I typically keep one pair of leaves in each size as a reserve (in
case of painting mistakes, etc.), therefore I will only use
seven branchlets in each size.
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
Next I attach eight branchlets for the second leaf size. These
are attached slightly further from the work surface within the
sculpture.
Now I attach branchlets for the largest leaf size.
These branchlets are furthest from the work surface.
Here is another view of the assembly.
Learn how
to make
branches
from
newspaper!
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
I paint and prepare the branch in accordance with the
instructions at the end of chapter 9, and then proceed
with final assembly.
I assemble the smallest leaves first. These leaves are attached
to the branchlets closest to the work surface.
And then I attach the second leaf size to the
branchlets.
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
And finally the third size. Notice how the sculpture has
seemed to come “alive.”
I perform the final assembly, attaching the
smallest flowers closest to the work
surface, second size flowers further, and
the third sized flower furthest from the
work surface. I then apply a final coat of
paint and glue in accordance with the
instructions in chapter 9.
Notice that even though this is a fairly
simple sculpture, it has obtained a visual
complexity due to its depth enhancement.
Paper pots,
pebbles, and
ROOTS!
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman
The materials
for this Origami
Bonsai cost 17
cents!
A photograph of the back side of the sculpture is quite revealing. The smallest leaves are now closest to
us, the largest furthest. This is the reverse of depth enhancement. Notice how flat the sculpture looks.
Advanced Origami Bonsai e‐book $4
Advanced Origami Bonsai DVD $10
www.OrigamiBonsai.org to order
Copyright 2009, Benjamin John Coleman