Models with back-lit pictures

Many models, especially tessellations, look interesting when viewed against a strong light. Spots with many layers of paper are more opaque than those with few, revealing the internal structure of the model which is not visible in reflected light. Some papers are better for achieving such an effect of translucency than others.

Iso-Area Stars (CFW 291)

Iso-Area Stars (CFW 291)

This translucent design by Shuzo Fujimoto would be called an iso-area tessellation in modern parlance since both sides sport the same pattern (except for bei...

Tessellation (CFW 335)

Tessellation (CFW 335)

This tessellation (translucent design), designed by Shuzo Fujimoto, is not listed in any of his books or magazines (as far as I know). I discovered it among ...

Iso-Area Triangle Twists (CFW 68)

Iso-Area Triangle Twists (CFW 68)

This “translucent design” by Shuzo Fujimoto is an example of iso-area tessellations: both sides have the same pattern (except for rotation). The point below ...

Back-Twisted Square Twists (CFW 293)

Back-Twisted Square Twists (CFW 293)

This is a tessellation many origamists discover independently, though Fujimoto was probably among the first to do so. This tessellation is not featured as a ...

Electric Tessellation

Electric Tessellation

This tessellation is just slightly modified back-twisted square twists, but it looks quite nice anyway, especially in backlight.

Translucent Design (CFW 55)

Translucent Design (CFW 55)

This tessellation, designed by Shuzo Fujimoto, is almost identical to my John Lackland Tessellation except for using petal folds instead of simple valley fol...

Stars and Squares (CFW 53) big

Stars and Squares (CFW 53) big

After I designed this tessellation, I learned that Shuzo Fujimoto had designed the same thing about 40 years earlier. This was the first time such independen...

Chrysanthemum Medal (CFW 176)

Chrysanthemum Medal (CFW 176)

This star based on a hex twist and designed by Shuzo Fujimoto has double the normal number of rays. It can be fitted with an additional “ribbon” (made from a...

Translucent Design (CFW 58)

Translucent Design (CFW 58)

This is one of Fujimoto’s translucent designs, a name he used for many of his tessellations. Folded from rare blue Elephant Hide paper, this work is not very...

Stars and Triangles (CFW 56)

Stars and Triangles (CFW 56)

This is one of Shuzo Fujimoto’s translucent designs. For my personal use, I call it Stars and Triangles as an analogy to Stars and Squares which is the same ...

Walk of Fame

Walk of Fame

This tessellation is closely related to the 1:1 Pythagorean Tiling, but the twists are slightly different. Still, the design remains iso-area. The squares an...

3.6.3.6 Tessellation (CFW 61)

3.6.3.6 Tessellation (CFW 61)

One of the classic tessellations from a hex grid, first published by Shuzo Fujimoto. It uses molecules of two types, hex and triangle twists, and understandi...

Star Tessellation (CFW 59)

Star Tessellation (CFW 59)

This is one of Fujimoto’s famous translucent designs — tessellations designed to be viewed in back-light. Fujimoto folded them using thinner paper than the K...

Parallelograms (rotated, sparse)

Parallelograms (rotated, sparse)

The way pleats exit the Parallelograms molecule allows the molecules to be connected in more than one way. In the standard Parallelograms layout, individual ...

Parallelograms (clean fold)

Parallelograms (clean fold)

When I originally folded Parallelograms in 2020, I designed a clean pre-crease pattern, pre-creased the sheet, and then… was unable to collapse it cleanly. I...

Hexagons and Rhombi

Hexagons and Rhombi

This tessellation differs from most other designs by having lower rotational symmetry: only 180° rather than the 60° typical for tessellations based on a hex...

Double Spearhead Tessellation (24×24)

Double Spearhead Tessellation (24×24)

This fold of Double Spearhead Tessellation with 6×6 molecules (24×24 grid) looks most interesting in back-light due to the fibers of mulberry paper becoming ...

Double Spearhead Tessellation Variants

Double Spearhead Tessellation Variants

This is a model folded back in 2018 which I somehow forgot to post earlier. Each molecule of my Double Spearhead Tessellation can be modified by sinking any ...

Woven Triangles Tessellation VI

Woven Triangles Tessellation VI

Another pattern in the Woven Triangles Family. This particular work uses standard, flat shaping but a different, three-dimensional shaping is also possible. ...

Hydrangea

Hydrangea

This is, along with Clover Folding, one of the oldest pictures of a tessellation folded by me (taken in June 2015).

Hydrangea (Prägo Kristall paper)

Hydrangea (Prägo Kristall paper)

This is just a simple Hydrangea, designed by Shuzo Fujimoto, but I think it looks really nice in back light. Folded from Grünperga Kristall Prägo, a kind of ...

Woven Triangles Tessellation I (Asymmetric)

Woven Triangles Tessellation I (Asymmetric)

This model uses the same molecule as the symmetric version but all molecules have the same chirality. This causes each row and each column to be shifted by t...

Woven Triangles Tessellation I (Symmetric)

Woven Triangles Tessellation I (Symmetric)

This is the first model in my Woven Triangles series which you’ve already seen some examples of on boxes. This tessellation is derived from Rectangle and Squ...

White Collars

White Collars

Origami tessellation, single sheet of Satogami paper. Just folding: no cutting or glue.

Stars among Hexagons

Stars among Hexagons

This origami tessellation is based on a geometric pattern I spotted on a door in the Barcelona Cathedral during my trip back from CfC 2 convention. A design ...

Radioactive Tessellation II

Radioactive Tessellation II

This model is derived from my Radioactive Tessellation by adding a triangular frame around the radioactivity symbol. This change also makes it possible to sh...

Radioactive Tessellation I

Radioactive Tessellation I

A recent design of mine, this tessellation is relatively simple to fold, but the end result looks quite interesting. On the back side, I used some modified t...

Woven Parallelograms Tessellation

Woven Parallelograms Tessellation

I derived this design from my older Double Spearhead Tessellation. The name comes from the pattern on the front side.

Dodecagons

Dodecagons

In this tessellation, I used the same technique of doubling the number of a polygon’s sides as in Sad Octagons, this time making dodecagons from hexagons.

Twist Again Tessellation

Twist Again Tessellation

This origami tessellation combines elements from some of my other models. While reading Robert Lang’s tessellation book, I realized that many molecules can b...

Rhombus Fractal

Rhombus Fractal

Rhombus Fractal, an origami tessellation designed by Endre Somos (and independently also by Joel Cooper and by Wei Fu), folded by me. You may also find inter...

Dune Flower

Dune Flower

A different arrangement of the same molecule as in my Dune Tessellation. Some other arrangements are also possible with a bit of tweaking.

Clover Folding Lookalike

Clover Folding Lookalike

This is my design which at first glance looks very similar to Shuzo Fujimoto’s Clover Folding but has a completely different crease pattern and design.

Felix Culpa Tessellation

Felix Culpa Tessellation

Believe it or not, this tessellation is closely related to my Double Spearhead Tessellation.

Woven Spearheads Tessellation

Woven Spearheads Tessellation

This tessellation is just a slight modification of Double Spearhead Tessellation but it looks much more like Woven Rhombi Tessellation.

Stars and Squares (gift-wrapping paper)

Stars and Squares (gift-wrapping paper)

A back-lit picture of Stars and Squares Tessellation, invented independently by me and Shuzo Fujimoto. You can find a similar backlit picture of this model i...

Double Spearhead Tessellation

Double Spearhead Tessellation

This is an origami design derived from my Square Pixel Tessellation. It was featured in Robert Lang’s tessellation book.

Hydrangea Icosahedron

Hydrangea Icosahedron

After I made a Hydrangea Cube, Hydrangea Icosahedron was the next logical step. Just as in the cube, the Hydrangea Tessellation by Shuzo Fujimoto is used as ...