Origami 3D: Learn to Fold

What Origami 3D is and who it suits

Origami 3D is a paper folding app that draws the sheet in 3D, so each step can be turned, replayed and taken apart. The developer aims it at people who have struggled with dotted lines and layered diagrams in a paper book.

The listing names complete beginners, parents and children folding together, and anyone who wants to fold a crane. It also includes traditional origami, which the listing describes as folds passed down for generations.

Viewing each fold from any angle

You can rotate and zoom the paper to see a fold from any side. A scrub control moves through a single fold so you can watch the paper bend at whatever speed you choose. A split view separates the layers to show which flap sits on top of another.

Markers show which hand holds the paper and which hand moves it, and in what order. There is a left-handed mode. Paper colours can be set to match the sheet you are folding with.

A course of lessons that build on each other

The course has 7 modules and 62 lessons. The listing says each lesson teaches one idea and reuses the fold from the lesson before it. Lessons run 2 to 12 minutes and finish with a model you can keep.

The first lesson turns A4 paper into a square if you have no square sheet. The developer lists the whole course as free for one hour, once, with no account or card needed. After that it unlocks by quarterly or yearly subscription, or by a one-off purchase that does not expire.

Searching a library of models and bases

Outside the course, the library holds 55 finished models, 6 bases and 2 techniques. You can search the collection by name. The listing describes the models as traditional origami rather than new designs.

The developer also says the engine folds one straight crease at a time, and that two models need a move it cannot show. Those two are marked as such rather than shown with a fake animation.

Using it offline, with no download step

The 3D engine and every model are built into the app, according to the listing. Nothing needs to be loaded or fetched before a session starts. The developer says it works on a plane or with no signal at all.