origami
Creased crane craft
Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes—animals, flowers, geometric forms—without cutting or gluing.
A single square of paper becomes a crane, a frog, a box.
The word comes from Japanese for "folding paper." Beyond craft, origami principles appear in engineering and mathematics, from solar panel deployment to medical stents.
Line from folding
- valleyLow ground between heights
- mountainTall natural landmass
- reverseTurn to opposite
- pleatSewn fabric fold
accordion · crimp · sink · petal · squash · swivel · waterbomb · preliminary
Created manually, not mechanically
- artisanSkilled manual tradesperson
- craftsmanshipSkill in making objects
- dexteritySkillful hand coordination
- intricacyState of elaborate complexity
precision · hobby · patience · meticulous · papercraft · kirigami · modular · tessellation
Japan's capital city
Japanese handmade fiber paper
duo · textured · weight · grain · square · rectangle · crisp · thin
Lifter or wader
- frogTailless leaping amphibian
- swanLarge graceful waterbird
- butterflyWinged insect from caterpillar
- roseStood up, or fragrant bloom
dragon · fish · boat · airplane · box · star · heart · lotus
Easily broken or damaged
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
- fineAcceptable in quality
- elegantGracefully refined, tasteful
graceful · precise · lightweight · detailed · miniature · complex · layered · sculptural
Invariance under transformation
- polygonMultisided plane figure
- angleGeometric measure of rotation
- vertexPoint where edges converge
- planeWinged flying vehicle
dimension · transformation · tessellation · modular · polyhedron · icosahedron · stellated · fractal
Capacity for original thought
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
- aestheticsTheory of beauty
- designPurposeful creative planning
- beautyAesthetic excellence
imagination · masterpiece · innovation · technique · style · visual · inspiration · skill
crease
Line from folding
pleat · accordion · crimp · sink · petal · squash · swivel · waterbomb · preliminary · blintz
handmade
Created manually, not mechanically
- artisanSkilled manual tradesperson
- craftsmanshipSkill in making objects
- dexteritySkillful hand coordination
intricacy · precision · hobby · patience · meticulous · papercraft · kirigami · modular · tessellation · corrugation
Tokyo
Japan's capital city
washi
Japanese handmade fiber paper
mulberry · duo · textured · weight · grain · square · rectangle · crisp · thin · patterned
crane
Lifter or wader
rose · dragon · fish · boat · airplane · box · star · heart · lotus · elephant
fragile
Easily broken or damaged
elegant · graceful · precise · lightweight · detailed · miniature · complex · layered · sculptural · lifelike
symmetry
Invariance under transformation
plane · dimension · transformation · tessellation · modular · polyhedron · icosahedron · stellated · fractal · bisect
creativity
Capacity for original thought
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
- aestheticsTheory of beauty
- designPurposeful creative planning
beauty · imagination · masterpiece · innovation · technique · style · visual · inspiration · skill · craftsmanship
- art formspainting, drawing, sculpture, photography, music
- cultural artsart, music, dance, theater, opera
- kids activitiesdrawing, board games, puzzles, dolls, craft kits
- applied artsapplied arts, decorative arts, industrial design, design, furniture design
- arts and craftspottery, collage, woodcarving, weaving, papier-mache
- craftssewing, knitting, painting, glue, scissors
origamipapier-mâché
Molded paper-paste sculpture material
kirigami · paper cutting · collage · paper shredding · quilling
origamipaper shredding
Cutting documents into pieces
crumpling · ripping · destruction · abstract expressionism · action painting
- origami paperSheets for decorative folding
- origami craneFolded paper bird
- money origamiCurrency folded into shapes
- origami kitPaper-crafting supply package