Diagrams: Sand Dollar

Hello! I am Alphonsus Rouis B. Nonog, an origami enthusiast from the Philippines currently finishing high school and aspiring to study architecture in college. When I was six years old, I got interested in origami because of the geometric and transformative nature of this art form. The fact that an infinite number of new origami designs can be made by people around the world has inspired me to create some designs of my own.

The sand dollar originated when I was casually designing beach-related objects from pentagonal sheets of paper. These designs were a scallop shell, a starfish and a sand dollar. Since they were based on objects found at the beach, I decided to call the collection “Beach Things.”

“Beach Things” (early designs). Clockwise from top left: Starfish, Scallop Shell and Sand Dollar.

I was happy with the designs; however, as I was folding, I did not enjoy blunting the edges of the models as it felt like a chore and a waste of paper to hide the unnecessary parts. Additionally, having to blunt the edges of the paper meant having thicker edges, which was unappealing to me. So with this in mind, I decided to remake the “Beach Things” using a sheet of paper of a different shape.

I found that the circle was an excellent choice because I could take advantage of its already round edges. This shape was particularly helpful in designing a new sand dollar because both the circle and the sand dollar were round. The circular sheet of paper was also helpful in designing a new scallop shell and starfish for a similar reason.

At first, it might seem that a circular paper would be difficult to find. But if you look around, you will find numerous circular objects — including pots, pans, and saucers — that you could use for tracing and then cutting the outline of a circle. I hope that you enjoy folding this design and that you, too, can come up with original designs of your own.

Left: The new Sand Dollar design. Right: The same, folded from paper painted with watercolors. PDF Diagrams.