Origami models by paper type

Accademia

Accademia is a kind of sized drawing paper produced by Fabriano. My review contains additional details.

Anguru Color

A thick (100 gsm) type of Japanese paper which I bought from the CDO store.

Biogami

Biogami paper is thick and textured: you can read more about it in my review.

Biotope

Biotope (ビオトープ) paper is a type of thin paper suitable for a wide range of models. You can read two full reviews of this paper: Ilan Garibi’s and mine.

Canford Paper

This thick paper is made by Daler-Rowney and is available in many intense colors. The variant I have used is 150 gsm which makes just about foldable with a b...

Clairefontaine Maya

Clairefontaine Maya is a type of thick drawing paper with weights starting at 120 gsm.

Colorline

Canson Colorline is a thick paper, available in many colors.

Copy paper, including note blocks

Copy paper (also known as printer paper) is easily available and inexpensive. I don’t use it much for tessellations or figurative models since its folding pr...

Cordenons Astrosilver

Astrosilver, made by Cordenons, is a type of thick (110 and 220 gsm) paper with a glossy surface, available in a number of textures.

Crush

Favini Crush is a thick paper (I’ve mostly used the 120 gsm variety) whose ingredients include organic waste of different kinds.

Dragon Hide

Dragon Hide is a type of thick (110 gsm) paper with a texture that resembles scales.

Earth Treasure

I bought a single sheet of this paper at Outdoor Origami Meeting and never saw it again anywhere else. Nonetheless, I wrote a paper review in case someone st...

Edokosome

Edokosome is a kind of Japanese paper with good folding properties I first stumbled upon at the Italian CDO convention. You can read a more detailed descript...

Eko Lux

This is a type of paper I discovered at a local stationery store in Warsaw. It felt like uncoated Kraft paper with the exception of being subtly textured. Yo...

Elephant Hide paper

This paper, also known by its German name Elefantenhaut and the abbreviated name EH, is considered one of the best papers for tessellations. The sheets avail...

F-Color

This is a thick paper (120 gsm in the variant I have used), designed for bookbinding. It displays a linen texture and comes in a variety of colors.

Fabriano Colore

Fabriano Colore is a 200 gsm paperboard, available in a wide variety of colors.

Fabric-Based Folding Materials

Fabric can be used for origami, but it usually requires special treatment or sewing to keep the folds in place. Another way of making fabric suitable for fol...

Favini Lino Calligraphy

Another paper from Favini, with a linen texture, relatively thick (120 gsm; 200 gsm is also available but I haven’t tested that weight).

Favini Pergamena Calligraphy

I found this paper quite suitable for folding. It looks elegant and at 90 gsm, it is thick enough for many tessellations and modulars. Additionally, it is ea...

Foil paper

Foil paper (sometimes called simply foil) is a class of composite materials consisting of a sheet of paper glued together with a sheet of metal (usually alum...

Gampi paper

Paper whose main ingredient is fibers from the gampi plant. They may be used in other kinds of paper as well, so the boundary is somewhat blurry.

Gift Wrapping Paper

The term gift-wrapping paper describes the paper’s purpose more than it describes its type, so it’s not a very precise name, but in many cases it’s difficult...

Givande

Givande is a type of gift-wrapping paper sold by Ikea. You can read my paper review to find out how well it fares for folding origami.

Glassine

Glassine is a type of thin and mostly transparent paper, produced by many manufacturers. These properties cause it to be often selected for folding origami t...

Goat Skin Paper

The name goat-skin paper seems to be used as a generic term for parchment-like papers (not made from actual hides), but here I mean a specific type of paper ...

Golden River / Leather

Golden River (ゴールデンリバー) is a Japanese paper with an embossed leather texture. You can read a detailed review on OrigamiUSA page as well as my own review of t...

Grainy

A type of thick, textured paper, available from Origami Shop. Read my review for more details.

Hand-Made Paper

Handmade papers tend to have very different properties from type to type and even from batch to batch. Some kinds of papers which are already grouped under a...

Hanji

Hanji is a traditional type of paper originating from Korea. I reviewed one specific type in my paper review series.

Inakusa

Inakusa is type of thick paper with a glossy, metallic surface and a texture that consists of thin, slightly curving lines.

Ingres

Ingres paper was designed as a drawing paper, but it can also be used for origami. There are many manufacturers, and one brand was reviewed by Ilan Garibi.

Kaiser (Stark)

Kaiser, also known as Stark (Japanese name グレートカイゼル — Gure Tokaizeru) is a kind of thick paper whose texture resembles wood or animal fur. You can read two r...

Kami

Kami is the classic origami paper and the one most often recommended for simple models. Since one side is colored and the other white, this paper can be used...

Keyakolour

Keaykolour paper is manufactured by Arjowiggins Creative Papers. It comes in many colors, and a range of weights from 120 to 450 gsm.

Khepera

Khepera is a thick (130 gsm) paper with a subtle but complex single-color pattern. I reviewed it in detail in 2020.

Kinumomi (Rhinoceros Hide)

Kinumomi (きぬもみ), also called Rhinoceros Hide or Rhino Hide, is a thick, textured paper made by Takeo. You can read a detailed review by Ilan Garibi as well a...

Kirabiki

Kirabiki is a type of paper whose one side is covered with a layer of glittery mica dust giving it a shiny appearance.

Kraft

Kraft paper is produced in a special process which results in a strong but not necessarily beautiful paper. Papers belonging to this family may differ a lot ...

Lizard Hide

A type of thick paper with an easy to recognize texture. You can find out more in Ilan Garibi’s review.

Lokhu

This paper has a fibrous texture similar to animal fur. You can learn more about it from my paper review.

Lokta

Lokta is a durable, hand-made paper produced in Nepal. You can read two reviews of its suitability for origami, one by Ilan Garibi and the other one mine.

Metallic paper

Metallic papers (sometimes known by the generic trademark Stardream) are usually thick (100 gsm and more) and have a shiny finish. The thickness makes them w...

Mi-Teintes

Canson Mi-Teintes is a thick (160 gsm), acid-free paper suitable for wet-folding. An interesting feature is that its two sides have quite different textures.

Miyaginu

Miyaginu is a type of thick Japanese paper with a texture resembling cloth. The weight of the sheets I got (35 cm squares) is 110 gsm but it seems other weig...

Momigami

Momigami is a type of paper which is wrinkled and slightly glossy to give it a leather-like appearance.

Mulberry Paper

Mulberry paper is a name used for papers with different properties, though usually the name is used for rather thin kinds of paper (tissue). Since the fibers...

Murano

Murano is a thick (160 gsm), textured paper made by Daler-Rowney which comes in a broad choice of colors.

Murillo

Fabriano Murillo is a thick (190 gsm and more) kind of paper available in many vivid colors. Full review in this blog post.

Newsprint

Newsprint paper is used primarily for printing newspapers, and thus is cheap, thin, and usually of low quality. Its advantages are (or at least used to be wh...

Nicolas Terry Tissue Foil

This is special type of paper sold only by Origami Shop. It resembles standard tissue foil in that it contains a metallic layer, but this layer is sprayed on...

Nihonshi

This paper, which I found in CDO store, is described as “traditional paper from Edo period” and behaves like a type of medium-thick Washi.

OK Myusukaizeru

Thick (115 gsm) paper which I bought from CDO store. I was not able to find a single other source mentioning this name (at least in this romanized spelling).

Ogawa Washi

Ogawa Washi is a kind of Japanese Washi paper. I reviewed it in detail in a blog post.

Ogura

Ogura is a type of paper made from manila hemp (abaca), characterized by long, swirling fibers visible in the finished product. I tested this paper in one of...

Okta

Okta is a type of thick (100 gsm), crumpled paper with a slightly glossy finish.

Ordis

Thick Japanese paper I found in CDO online store.

Other kinds of paper

This page collects models folded from papers (and other material) which I was either unable to identify or which I used too little to merit a separate page.

Palatina

Fabriano Palatina paper is an archival quality paper I discovered at a local art supply store in Warsaw. You can read my review in this blog post.

Parchment Paper

Parchment paper, not to be confused with real parchment, made from animal hides, is a kind of thin paper often used for food storage and preparation, e.g. in...

Plastic foil

Plastic foil can be folded and used in place of origami paper. There are many different types, with different properties — I reviewed one specific type on my...

Pouncing Paper

Paper used for pouncing (Italian: spolvero), a technique for copying drawings from one surface onto another.

Rex Sadoch Thermoplast

Rex Sadoch Thermoplast is described as coated paper (carta rivesto) of 60-65 gsm and is marketed as washable.

Rouketsu

Leathac Rouketsu is a type of thick paper with a leather-like texture which I reviewed in this blog post.

Satogami

Satogami (also known as Sato Gami) is a paper of about 80 gsm weight with a nice natural texture, and available in several toned-town colors. Other weights a...

Shadow Fold (Karaperapisu)

This is a kind of thin, iridescent paper. It was reviewed by Ilan Garibi and by myself.

Sousakusenka

Sousakusenka is a type of dyed-through, medium-thick paper made in Japan that comes in a variety of textures.

Speckle Design

Speckle Design paper is sold by the BOS (British Origami Society) store. On first sight, I thought this paper was Khepera sold under a different name since t...

Splendorgel

Fedrigoni Splendorgel paper in an uncoated paper which comes in a variety of weights (moderate to thick). You can find out more in my review of this paper an...

Tant

Tant is one of my favorite papers and I use it probably more often than any other paper. It is strong enough for most tessellations, has a nice-looking surfa...

Textured Paper

Textured Paper is the name of a type of thick paper sold by the British Origami Society.

Thai Unryu

Despite the similarity in name, this paper’s properties can differ a lot from those of Unryu.

Tissue

Tissue paper is thin and often combined into multiple layers (double or triple tissue) or glued together with other materials.

Tracing paper

Tracing paper is mostly transparent and usually quite thin. However, it has the tendency to break when folded multiple times. Tracing paper is usually white ...

Tsumugi

This thick paper (140 gsm) features a cloth-like texture with thick “yarns” running in one direction. I have used it only a little, so I wrote just a mini-re...

Unryu

Unryu is a beautiful, but often hard-to-fold paper, easily recognized by its long, twirling kozo fibers. You can find out more in Ilan Garibi’s and my review.

Via

Mohawk Via is a line of thick papers with various textures and finishes.

Vintage

Vintage is a type of relatively thin paper sold by Origami Shop. You can learn more in my review.

Washi

Washi is a type of traditional Japanese paper. There are many varieties of different thickness and finish, hand- or machine-made.

Watercolor Paper

Watercolor paper is optimized for painting with watercolor paint, but its properties also make it one of the most popular choices for wet-folded origami.

Wibalin

Wibalin is a thick paper made by Winter & Company, originally designed for bookbinding and packaging. I wrote a review of this paper if you want to learn...

Woodstock

Fedrigoni Woodstock is a family of papers made to a large degree from recycled fibers.

Yohishi (Bear Hide)

This paper is thick and has the appearance of animal fur. I wrote a review in a blog post.