How to fold the Blade Runner origami unicorn (1996)

See also: https://geekydadcrafts.com/2019/01/10/the-blade-runner-unico...

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257 points

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exvi

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3 days ago

40 comments

delichon ・ 3 hours ago

I just read about the backstory. Gaff (Edward James Olmos) put the unicorn where Deckard would find it as a message. He was gently informing Deckard that he was a replicant. Deckard had just dreamed about the unicorn and told nobody, so the only way Gaff could know is if he knew which dreams Deckard had implanted in his memory.

This came from Ridley Scott, not Philip K. Dick.

I am impressed that Scott was so subtle about this for so long. It would have been a short-term boost to hit us over the head with it, as in The Sixth Sense. But being coy about it helped to make the movie a true classic.

saalweachter ・ 11 hours ago

I used to fold an origami unicorn design by Marc Kirschenbaum. I can't find any instructions on the Modern Internet, but I used to fold it out of gum-wrappers while sitting in class.

The unicorn from the film itself wasn't "true" origami, being a prop consisting of several pieces glued together, but it really popularized the idea of an origami unicorn and a number of the current designs were prompted by it.

shevy-java ・ 7 hours ago

Are we losing old websites like that?

I actually was unaware that this warranted a website. When I was young, I had one origami book. I completed it to about 40%; wasn't too bad but was far away from being really good. Origami is quite an art. These days I tend to watch youtube videos more than look at oldschool books but I loved that old handbook. Never folded a unicorn though.

  • orkasi ・ an hour ago

    I also had a small handbook that was given to me by a big brother figure. I spent so much time with that handbook which was very beaten up, its cover fallen off etc. fun memories. Seeing origami reminds me of that time when I was 5-6 years old

puttycat ・ 10 hours ago

I recently picked up an origami book and started practicing in dull moments. I highly recommend it for anyone struggling with phone addiction.

  • MrPapz ・ 9 hours ago

    Can you share any tips on good origami books for beginners?

    • puttycat ・ 9 hours ago

      The nice one I found randomly in a store is by Adeline Klam. (originally in French, but I see there's an English version)

chao- ・ 9 hours ago

I used to do origami obsessively in my youth, and recently picked it up again while spending time with my nephew. I'll have to give this one a go!

21asdffdsa12 ・ 11 hours ago

Its not foldable from one paper sheet?

  • jcl ・ 10 hours ago

    Correct… they “cheated” a little to make the props for the movie. There are other designs for single-sheet unicorn, winged unicorn, and Pegasus — particularly the ones from John Montroll — but they look a bit different from the movie props, and are harder to fold.

    https://johnmontroll.com/books/dragons-and-other-fantastic-c...

    • pelcg ・ 2 hours ago

      Thanks for sharing this book.

    • the_af ・ 9 hours ago

      Wow, those look fantastic!

      I love Blade Runner (I'm obsessed with it), but the unicorn origami never clicked with me. These ones look much better.

  • skrebbel ・ 10 hours ago

    Okay?

    • IAmBroom ・ 9 hours ago

      Origami by definition is folded from a single, square sheet.

      • skrebbel ・ 7 hours ago
        ・ 5 more

        When people write a statement and then tack on a question mark they force people to guess what they mean. Is it a typo? Is it an observation and the question mark is supposed to somehow signal disapproval? Or is it an actual question, with a little grammar error that's not uncommon for non-native English speakers?

        Maybe this is just me being weird but I simply don't understand why people think a question mark means ", and that's stupid for obvious reasons that I can't be bothered to spell out and therefore I disapprove".

        Admittedly my reply was even worse so yeah, pot, kettle.

ge96 ・ 10 hours ago

Interesting it starts off the same as a crane

  • etrvic ・ 9 hours ago

    As many origami folds do, I believe

  • the_af ・ 9 hours ago

    Am I the only one who starts folding an origami design, gets distracted, and somehow ends up with either a crane or a frog?

    • IAmBroom ・ 9 hours ago

      I got a rock.

      • munificent ・ 8 hours ago
        ・ 2 more

        I always end up with a Frank Gehry building.

        • ge96 ・ 7 hours ago

          Wow those are trippy like a building going through a dimensional rift or something

          Some you could call a Dr. Seuss house the ones more boxy in appearance than curved

kittikitti ・ 10 hours ago

Thank you for sharing, I really enjoy origami and look forward to learning this fold.

mbfg ・ 6 hours ago

Now we need the 1 cut and fold algorithm.

notorandit ・ 10 hours ago

Where is Bladerunner mentioned?

  • Aardwolf ・ 6 hours ago

    It does reference it in links on the 'COMPLETE' page