I used to be an Origamist, someone who folds paper, and i would like to know how to model origami models in blender. I would like to model something like a crane or a waterbomb (http://www.en.origami-club.com/fun/balloon/ballon/index.html)
Ok, hold on while I record you a video tutorial, it will include step by step explanations on how to model…NOT!
Allright, sorry for the sarcasm. 
but hopefully this message finds you receptive, and that bit jarred you awake.
There is no “way” to model anything, if there was we could just let the computer do it and go home. Just as there is no “way” to draw something with a pencil, modeling is an art form. Well I was going to say more but I just got called away. Study the shape, take some modeling tutorials, see how other artists deal with similar problems. Good Luck.
Do you want to animate the folding, or just model the finished thing?
For animation, the initial modelling is trivial: just a plane subdivided wherever there will be a fold. But the rigging is a nightmare; I’ve made three separate attempts at a crane over the last year or so, and given up in frustration each time.
Best wishes,
Matthew
Here’s a couple bits for inspiration:
Hi I am kind of looking for techniques for making realistic Origami patterns myself. I’m trying to fold a plane without stretching the edges. I’m wondering if there is a way to lock edges or at least make them locked so they will stretch, but then snap back to their original length when released while attempting a fold. I think this is a feature that would make such an idea as this easier.
look in Addon forum there is an addon for Paper modelling
could help
https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/130974/export-paper-model-from-blender-add-on-in-2-80
happy bl
OMG… I had thought about doing this myself before. I started to try, and then gave up and forgot about it. The best part of this is that you could actually make printed layouts with designs printed right on the paper you are folding. It would be such a good technique.
Hi. I know this is an old topic.
I managed to model some origami in Blender. I used shape keys a lot.
The process was difficult for me, mainly because of my low skills. I’m an indie developer with a little knowledge of 3D modeling (a hobbyist).
I had a lot of work, mainly with the z, x and y axis conflicts. But I think I achieved an acceptable result.
If anyone is interested, I can make my Blender files and the strategies I used available.
With these origamis made in Blender I managed to create a game with a simulator feel. I was able to publish it on the Playstore.
Here are the links to the videos on YouTube showing a bit of the gameplay.
Origami-Dog-Face-GamePlay
And this is the Playstore link in case anyone wants to download it.
OrigamiParty at Playstore
What I believe makes Origami Party a little different is that it allows interaction with the origami being folded. Generally, other origami apps only contain instructions on how to make your origami with some print screens or a simplification of just one layer. And to make this interaction during game play I change the values of the shape keys at each step.
Looks good!
As nobody has mentioned it in this thread there should be a way to do origami with Geometry Nodes, it would be interesting to see if anyone can pull it off. Not sure if you could translate it to a game engine though (unless the engine is Blender!).
Thanks.
Yeah!
I was caught by this limitation, I use Unity as engine, so I couldn’t use Geometry Nodes.
Hey! I just made an add-on for origami in blender. It let’s you do step-by-step folding and uses UV space definitions of folds so that you can mess with topology mid-workflow and still have things come out the way you want. It’s totally free! Check it out here: https://github.com/lucienbw/blender-origami