The ancient art of paper folding began long ago in China around the year 100 AD and eventually took hold in Japan by the year 600 AD. Many books have been published on the art of paper folding and they all use the same symbols for instructions on folding. These instructions were made by Akira Yoshizawa and are still used to this day.

These symbols define the art of paper folding and make instruction easier and more uniform and would be important to know for someone beginning to learn origami. These symbols can be found online as well as in most books and they make learning the art of paper folding that much easier.

There are thousands of possibilities for folding and they can be done with anything from the size of a scrap of paper up to a sheet 10-foot square and even larger. Of course, if you are only starting out you will want to go with some of the easier designs. Here are a few of the things you will need in order to get started with origami.

1) Patience – Although this is not a material requirement it is, nonetheless, something you will definitely need in order to master the art of paper folding. There will be times where you get frustrated because a fold did not go exactly how you planned but, that is a part of the learning process.
2) Paper – You will want to start with easy to fold paper because some folds require very precise edges.
3) Fingernails – This one is easy because everyone has them. You can use these, or something else with a nice flat edge to make good and even smooth folds, which are very important to the folding of the designs.

The first thing you need are some simple designs and a good first place to start, actually, is with making paper airplanes. Yes, paper airplanes. Almost everyone has heard of and knows how to fold a paper airplane of some fashion. This is probably one of the easiest ways to practice precise folding as well as making good clean creases.

Remembering that this is an art form means it will take time and practice to become proficient at it. If you find yourself becoming frustrated at any time, stop and walk away. Come back to the paper when you have relaxed a bit and are again calm and focused. Origami should be a calming and enjoyable activity and not something stressful and annoying.

Once you have mastered multiple paper airplanes, you can move up to other beginner origami designs. Who knows, maybe over time you will be able to create your own folds. There are computer programs available where you input a design and the program will lay out the designs you can print out and start folding.

Origami is an ancient and honorable recreational activity that can create some truly amazing pieces of artwork. With time, dedication and practice you can become a skilled creator of some of the simplest yet amazing things ever created by man.

CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE FREE REPORT WITH MP3 AUDIO!