StarCraft 2 Hydralisk

The hydralisk is a staple of many zerg armies because of its high damage output and ability to shoot both ground and aerial targets. Its main attack consists of propelling spines into the target but it can also use it arms to hack and slash in close quarters.

Like my original hydralisk, this design is based on the bird base. However, unlike the last hydralisk I designed, I actually researched the hydralisk’s anatomy to get a more accurate model. I am most pleased with how the head/shoulders turned out and the spines on the back were also a pleasant surprise when I realized I had the paper to accommodate them. I would like to rework the arms to make the spikes longer but I don’t think this current design can manage longer spikes.

 

Just a comparison of my current hydralisk to the one I designed four years ago.

Folded from a single sheet of square, uncut printer paper.

StarCraft 2 Ravager

The ravager is a zerg assault unit that morphs from a roach and can fling corrosive bile which excels at hitting targets from a distance. One cheese strategy involves rushing two ravagers as soon as possible and attempting to win the game off the momentum they provide.

This design went largely unchanged since its inception. The center and head remained constant from the first iteration but the legs changed a little bit in terms of their definition. The central spikes are made from a center point split and the head is made from an edge flap as opposed to a corner flap as I would typically attempt to do.

I am very pleased with how this design turned out and now I need to design a roach so the evolutionary tree can be complete.

Folded from a single square sheet of uncut printer paper.

Reference from StarCraft wiki

StarCraft 2 Zergling

One of the first results from searching for StarCraft origami is axcho’s zergling. After I saw his design, I knew I could do better and after a couple of iterations, I arrived at this design.

Throughout the design process, the head remained the most consistent while the wings fluctuated the most. I am content with how they ended up but if I were to redesign this model in the future, I would try to make them longer and more separated as sported by the raptor strain of zerglings. The other change I would consider would be making the hind legs a bit longer but I think they are acceptable in their current form.

Since the zerg are all about evolution, I decided to show how my model evolved from the first iteration to the final model.

The first draft

Folded from a single sheet of square printer paper.

StarCraft 2 Hatchery

A well defended mineral line

The hatchery is the zerg’s starting building and resource collection center. It can spawn queens and larva and can be upgraded to a lair and then a hive to unlock new units.

The model is folded from a pentagon of which construction I derived myself. Methods I found online did not give me the accuracy I desired so I created my own method. The construction starts from a square and uses triangle properties to approximate the necessary angles. Because the pentagon is derived from a square, this model could technically abide by pure origami rules but I cut off the excess paper as leaving it would have made it difficult to fold and left the model looking lopsided.

The design itself went through only a couple of iterations. The biggest change was making the central five spikes smaller which allowed the outer five to be bigger.

During the final folding process with colored paper, I don’t often make mistakes but after an hour of pre-creasing, I realized I had folded the central five spikes on an incorrect orientation; they would have lined up with the outer five spikes instead of being in between them. Typically I would have started from a new piece of paper but creating a pentagon is a pain in itself so I just continued with the original paper.

Folded from a single pentagonal piece of paper.

Reference from StarCraft Wiki

I’ll post diagrams for the pentagon construction later.

Starcraft 2 Archon

Power Overwhelming…

These powerful Protoss units are created by merging together two high templars, dark templars, or one of each.

I started designing this model from the hood and shoulders. Ironically, the head was the last part to get detailed. I am very happy with how the hands and arms turned out as well as the chest. The bottom part minus the belt also exceeded my expectations.

I have no plans to attempt to create a version with the surrounding energy ball.

Liquipedia entry for reference.

Folded from a single square sheet of printer paper.

StarCraft 2 Tempest

 

The only Protoss strategy I can really perform is creating the “Golden Armada” by amassing a huge amount of powerful Protoss ships and defeating your opponent with the most powerful fleet available to all three races. Although mass carriers are usually preferable, mass tempests can also be considered. Their powerful, single target attack can be a strong counter to other fleets and is great for late game siege attacks against structures.

The model itself came very naturally from a fish base which provided the two main prongs. The smaller two flaps allowed me to create the ship’s thrusters and weapon systems.

I have gone through several revisions and am happy with this result. The overall proportions are what I originally imagined and although I could still add a couple extra points as well as a set of thrusters, I believe this iteration captures enough of the essence to be recognizable.

Folded from a single sheet of square paper.

For reference

StarCraft 2 Mothership

The back looks like a flower.

Close-up of the back.

 

I recently began playing StarCraft 2 again after Blizzard made it free-to-play. Protoss is still my favorite race and brings with it a plethora of units and buildings to create.

The Protoss motherships function as flagships of the Golden Armada and are capable of sustaining Protoss culture and civilization. Its massive scale gets lost in its paper form but the essential features are still there.

The most interesting feature of my model is the triangle I used to create it. The mothership’s three main platforms can be created more conveniently by starting with an equilateral triangle instead of the typical square. I would definitely like experimenting more with other starting shapes, especially the triangle because of the favorable 30 and 60-degree angles.

Even in this brief model, I found that more lines intersected than I expected which is typically a favorable feature in the design phase. Each intersection can be used to create a point and makes collapsing the model easier. 30 and 60-degree angles create more intersections and made designing the model much easier than I expected.

The other feature I am was pleasantly surprised by was the capability of the middle to sty “open”. Usually, maintaining three-dimensional shapes is difficult for near two-dimensional paper. However, the way I created the wing flaps allowed the middle city portion to stay separated which I was expecting to be much more difficult to achieve.

Overall I am happy with the result and would only want to make one out of larger paper to capture its grand scale.

Folded from a single equilateral triangle.

For reference