Last year I decided that I absolutely had to go to the OrigamiUSA convention in New York this summer (2013) and needed money for it. I got a job at a little gift shop and on my first day I gave the owners a dollar koi designed by Won Park. They LOVED it! They liked it so much they taped it to the top of a cash register for everyone to see. Customers started requesting different animals, so I started messing around with dollar bills to see if I could create what they wanted. As it turns out – I could! I started fulfilling the requests, and that’s how I got started designing money models.
When I create a new model I can usually see its basic structure in my head. I decide what details I want it to have, and then I try and fold it until I get what I want. For example, in this bulldog I knew I wanted to include eyes, a big lip, tiny ears, and short stubby legs. I started by getting the eyes in the correct spot and then doodled with the bill until I got the ears and lip. I added legs and a tail and then the bulldog was created!
Click picture for diagrams.
I've recently challenged myself to "doodle" a new model every day and I've been posting the results on my blog.
-Janessa Munt