I like it. It's from a 15-cm square, but how large is the actual piece? Just curious.

I need to get back into folding again. I haven't done anything since a simple sampan this summer for an autistic friend (he was amazed).

Thats a typo I need to fix. The paper I started with was 25-cm. My apologies!

The finished model is about 14-cm long and

--
Be not simply good, be good for something.
~Henry David Thoreau

Ah. (By the way, I'm ashamed to say I had to pull out a ruler to find out exactly how big 14 and 25 cm are. Damn you, American mindset!)

But yeah. I think it looks great. I'm trying to imagine it with a squared abdomen, and I don't think I like it as much. Keep working with it and you might find something better. Good luck!

I'm American myself, but picked up the metric system in high school because I took a lot of chemistry and physics classes. When you are dealing with the mathematical formulas in those classes its very easy to get used to a base 10 metric system.

25 cm is just under 10 inches. Japanese made origami paper is most commonly made into 15 cm or 25 cm squares. American made papers are measure into 6 inch and 12 inch sizes most often. You can also find american paper in the 5.75 inch sizes, which corresponds closely to the 15 cm, but I do not like that size paper. I prefer paper that is sized to a factor of 3, such as 15 cm and 6 inch sizes. The reason I prefer this is because there are many models that call for paper to be folded into thirds. when the paper size is a factor of 3 this become a much easier task than dealing with fractions and rulers to divide the paper.

I've even been known to cheat when models start by dividing a square into thirds. I'll divide a large square into fourths, then simply cut off a fourth at the top and one side to leave a square that is perfectly divided into thirds.

I think I got a little off topic here! lol

--
Be not simply good, be good for something.
~Henry David Thoreau

I see. I've taken quite a bit of chem (both high school and college), but we usually use volume and mass.

For my origami, I usually just use "high quality" American printer paper (or whatever I have on hand, such as a few drafts of a 15-page English paper, haha). It's not the best, but it gets the job done for most designs (most modular origami uses the thicker, stronger paper).

Oh noes! You hath broken the magical code of origami masters by cheating with thirds!! Shame on your family.

Actually, I got used to folding thirds in the medical billing business. It's just kind of stuck with me (along with all the useless numbers and codes I just happened to memorize, and my ability to 10-key).

I've had trouble with making 3rds or 5ths before too, but then another origami fan gave me a link to a useful diagram that shows how to divide a square into any number of equal portions. [link]

--
Well that's my 4c Australian.
~australia =dapride ~datrans ~pussypatrol *daac
~Timmerryn
To be old and wise you must first be young and stupid.

Good link! I've got a few books that show those methods, and they do work very well. I try to use the minimalist methods of precreasing though, and those methods tend to leave a few undesirable creases at times.

I did add the link to my library though! Thank you very much! I'm sure it will come in handy at some point!

--
Be not simply good, be good for something.
~Henry David Thoreau

I've found that this method can work quite well without leaving undesirable creases if you just pinch the ends of the construction folds and leave the middles smooth.

In the end I still favour folding a power of 2 and cutting off the excess.

--
Well that's my 4c Australian.
~australia =dapride ~datrans ~pussypatrol *daac
~Timmerryn
To be old and wise you must first be young and stupid.