How to fold Box Pleated CPs
Part 1II - Collapsing 1
Guide by Gerwin Sturm (2007/01)
Porcupine 1.2 designed by Gerwin Sturm (2007/01/23)
Before we start the collapsing, were going to take another look at the structure of the CP which still
holds some information that can help us a lot in the collapsing process.
The first thing to note is the symmetrie line of the
CP.
Since most box pleated CPs are symmetric this will
be the centre line of the square in most cases.
If the CP is not symmetric you will have to find a
line that separates the CP logically in two halves.
You will want to choose a line that goes through the
centre of a lot of flaps because that makes the folding
process easier.
The other thing to note are lines in the square packing
perpendicular to the symmetry line that go all the
way from one side to the other side of the square.
Those lines separate the CP into parts that can be
collapsed more or less independent from the other
parts of the CP.
For each of the steps that will come now I will display a partial CP that shows all the creases necessary
for getting a collapsed stage at this point, as well as the full CP greyed out as comparison to see the
progress. The new or changed creases for each step will be displayed thicker.
For now we will focus on the top part of the CP that will become head and fore legs.
We start by folding the model in half along the symmetrie line, so that the coloured side is outside.
Next we form a series of structures that are similar to small waterbomb bases.
Those will be the tips of the first
flaps we are forming.
Perform some open sinks to thin the flaps. If at that point you have flaps that are longer than 2 units,
you will have to open sink in and out accordingly.
Before we continue we will make a small excursus about Elias stretches, with some simpler examples
before we perform a rather extensive Elias stretch on the model at hand.
The Elias stretch is a very important technique in box pleating, which generally is used for separating
two flaps from each other.
Lets start with an
8 x 8 grid...
...and add some
diagonals to it.
Now pleat
vertically...
...to get something
like this.
We now want to perform an Elias stretch to
separate the bottom two corners. In the CP the
finished Elias stretch would look like this.
Note that all folds we are going to make are on
already existing creases (as is the case for most
steps in collapsing a box pleated base).
First we have to
stretch the layers
apart, which is easy
in this example.
Then we start by
forming the shown
mountain folds.
Next we form the
shown valley folds and
pinch the corners.
Pinch the corners further
while forming the shown
mountain folds.
Finish the Elias stretch by
closing the model.
The shown creases will form
mostly by themselves.
Elias stretch done.
We now have created
two separate flaps.
We can now practice the Elias stretch a bit more by making two smaller ones at the top.
When both of them are done the CP would look
like this. Note that with those two Elias stretches
we will get three distinct flaps at the top. They
will be shorter than the flaps at the bottom though.
In the next part we will perform an Elias stretch that is a lot more complex (and doesnt really look
like an Elias stretch) on the Porcupine model.
Open out the layers
on the left a bit.
Form the shown
mountain fold.
Close the model using
the shown creases.
Make another Elias
stretch on the right.
Done.
Arm Arm
Head
Leg Leg
Taking a look at this base and the associated stick
figure, it might be suitable for a human-like figure
(with a bit short arms).
So just give it a try and see what you can turn
this base into.