Won Park Folds His Koi- Shaping the head and body

A while ago, I put up a video of Won Park folding the fins, as people have been stumped by how to fold the fins, from Marcio's diagrams.

Recently, it seems that completing the head has also been a point of difficulty. So here is Won at OUSA 2007, folding the head, and doing the final shaping of his koi.

Part One:


Part Two:



Part Three:



I had to divide the video up into 3 parts, due to 100MB limitations with uploads. It is not an instructional video; but hopefully it will offer up clues to some of the difficulties folders are having, relying solely on the diagrams and verbal descriptions of what to do. it should also give a window into what a meticulous, tedious folder Won is. He is an artist, and exacts great care in what he is working on.

Even with the most perfect diagrams, stepfolds, video instructions, one might not be able to fold Won's model as beautifully as Won. Because what is not so easy to convey, is the artistic interpretation, which is uniquely Won. A folder could be technically precise, yet still not come out with a koi that looks like Won's. The final results will depend a lot upon how good one is at sculpting and shaping.

Actually, when I think about it, if one follows the proper fold sequences and folded neatly, then the shaping isn't all that difficult. Won relayed to me, that what a lot of folders seem to be missing (based upon photos submitted by different folders of their koi), is in rounding the head on the bottom. If one folds the fins back sharply, and rounds out the bottom, by curving the bottom layers inward, as well as the body, it should hold a pretty good shape.....unless you subject the dollar to humidity or cold weather (for gifts, where permanence is important and where the recipient might not know how to do "touch ups", over time, Won does apply a bit of glue on the pleats to make the model last and hold its shape "permanently).

On a side note, I arrived at yesterday's WCOG meeting after work, and after a 3 month absence. Yami had brought a young friend who needed help on the koi, and when I got there, there was a whole table of folders doing the koi out of a large sheet of, I think, kraft paper. I was entertaining a young friend I brought with me (one of my gymnasts), and it made it difficult to get into the mindset of offering help to my fellow folders on the WP model. I found it disorienting out of regular paper, and it made me realize how much I relied upon the printed landmarks on the dollar to help me fold the koi. Also, I haven't folded one in a couple of months. Arriving late, and with my young charge, I just couldn't get my brain into gear. So I hope maybe these videos offer up some help.

Again: these aren't instructional videos, so just be happy that it's better than having nothing. I do hope that watching Won and how he folds, does shed some light on how to do his koi.

I'm all of a sudden, in the mood, to start folding them again.