From the mountain fold to the valley fold, easy origami to advanced designs, the crane to the butterfly, the range of origami folds and models that exist is enormous. But where to start? What are the best origami folds that you should know? What are the most popular origami models? Need a quick and easy guide to paper folding? Read on for a quick and easy guide to the top origami folds and models that both children and adults will enjoy.

The word origami comes from the Japanese words for folding, ori, and paper, kami. As an art form, origami is the creation of an object from a single flat sheet of paper without the use of any glue, cuts or marks.

One of the most famous origami models is the crane, closely followed by the star, flower, boat, box and butterfly. Top origami folds include: the valley, mountain, reverse, squash and book folds, as well as pleats and sinks.

In addition, there are a number of origami bases which form the foundation for more complex designs, such as the square base, the kite base, the boat base and the bird base.

Today, in addition to books and videos, Robert Lang's Treemaker software is another popular way to learn origami, download it from softpedia.com.

So where to start with folding techniques?

Origami folds are where things begin. For the top origami folds master the: valley fold, mountain fold, squash fold, inside reverse fold, outside reverse fold, petal fold, book fold, petal fold, sink fold, triangle fold and the pleat and crimp.

Watch this helpful tutorial on origami folds from Henry Origami – Origami Basic Folds Instructions on Youtube.

Origami bases are an essential part of your skillset, try these popular origami bases: blintz base, boat base, helmet base, diamond base, kite base, fish base, frog base, bird base and the water-bomb base. Check out these great origami base tutorials from Paper Kawaii- Origami Tutorials on Youtube.

For what to create, a great place to start your knowledge of origami models is with an: origami 5-petal flower, origami heart, origami star, origami box, origami butterfly, origami boat and an origami swan.

Follow this tutorial by Proud Paper Official on Youtube to learn how to make an easy origami butterfly.

Use this tutorial by #OrigamiTV – How to make an origami diamond, easy – DIY simple origami tutorial.

Once you have these essential origami techniques mastered, the possibilities are endless!