How to Learn the Origami Art

Do you want to learn one of the oldest and most exciting crafts? The origami art comes from China or Japan many centuries ago and still is very popular among children and adults. What makes it so great? Maybe the simplicity of the shapes, the elegance and the beauty of the created crafts. Maybe the fact that it's the most affordable and unpretentious craft for you or your kids.

If you want to learn how to make origami yourself, there are just few steps you need to take. The best way to start is buy buying a practical origami book containing cut out sheets for folding. Such books provide you with an easy way to start, because the dashed lines and arrows make it perfectly clear what to do on each step.

These books are most appropriate for beginners. Once been there, you can start with something more complex. Buy a book containing models and instructions but without pages with real size folds and dashed lines. Generally these books will be cheaper and will contain more complex models. You will need the experience you gained with the beginner books, because some folds can't be explained well on paper no matter how hard the book authors try. Knowing the basics however you should be able to read and understand even the not so clear parts of the instructions.

The only way to really learn origami is by practicing. Don't just read and look, but actually build the shapes that you see. For most of them all it takes is just a sheet of paper so you are not investing much. Just like when reading the books, start practicing with the simple models. If needed, learn the basic folds before doing any complete figure - knowing the folds will help you even for the most complex origami in the future.

One great way to learn building more complex origami is to watch live or video demonstration. Fortunately as the web grows, there are many videos appearing and showing how to make origami crafts. Of course, having a live person show you how to do the things is even better, because you can ask questions - that's why joining an origami club is always a good idea! On the other hand watching videos online is free and doesn't take much time, so it still may be the option you will prefer.

The frequent subjects of origami are birds, flowers, animals, airplanes, cars and houses. There is no special preference what subject to start with, as long as you enjoy it and feel interested in it.