The dodecahedron is a polyhedron consisting of 12 identical pentagons. This is the basic figure for many crafts: from desktop calendars to openwork pendant lights.
How to make a dodecahedron from paper?
You can build a pentagon yourself - this is simple and guarantees high accuracy of the picture. To build a regular pentagon, you need a compass and a ruler. Draw a circle of the required size. Spend a radius anywhere. Draw a different radius perpendicular to it. Then divide one of the radii into two equal parts. Each half will be the radius of another, small circle, which will serve as an auxiliary. Then connect the center of this auxiliary circle to the place where the other circle intersects another radius (for example, at point A). The resulting line crosses the auxiliary circle at a certain point - B. The distance AB is one tenth of the circle. It is this distance that the compasses mark on the main circle, and then connect these points in straight lines through one - the regular pentagon is ready!
There are other methods. For example, a pentagon can be built using a protractor, but it does not guarantee accuracy. The easiest way is to take a ready-made scheme, print it, and, according to this "pattern", already craft crafts from suitable paper. But this method, despite its simplicity, is not always suitable - after all, sometimes you need to make a dodecahedron of a specific size. You can enlarge one pentagon to the desired scale and print only it, then build a figure according to the diagram below.
But the "pattern" is not yet a finished craft. How to make a dodecahedron from paper? To do this, you will need:
1. Paper suitable for density. It should not be too thin or too thick - preferably 220 g / m², it is this density that cardboard has, which is sold in children's sets. Although it is quite possible to create volumetric figures from thick cardboard, you only need to pre-process all the folds - slightly incise or push well so that they bend well and evenly.
2. Scissors, pencil, glue, knitting needle or stationery knife
Dodecahedron Tips
It is advisable to slightly push the paper in the places of the folds with a knitting needle, with the blunt side of the clerical knife or with something sharp, but not cutting. Neat, even folds are half the success.
If there is no glue at hand, the dodecahedron can be assembled as a designer by making incisions along the folds, and then simply inserting the sides one into the other.
If you assemble the dodecahedron in a modular technique (instructions below), then it is advisable to glue or fasten the joints with clips, since the structure will become stable only after fixing the last module.
Origami dodecahedron
The origami module is a great base for a dodecahedron. How to make a paper dodecahedron in a modular technique? It will take 30 rectangular or square sheets of paper. Each leaflet is folded in half, then each half must be bent in the opposite direction - you get a “harmonica” in four additions. Sometimes, if the sheet is not square, they make an "accordion" in three additions. As a result, you have a narrow promo-angle strip in your hands. Then on each side of the rectangle on the narrow side you need to bend the corner. Corners are folded in one direction - these are future fixtures that will be refueled in an accordion. Then bend the module inward obliquely diagonally from the small side corners. Thus, one module for the origami dodecahedron is three-dimensional; it includes two edges of the future figure and corners. When all the modules are ready, you can begin the assembly.
Assembly begins with one node, for which you need to take three modules. In the image below, these are the blue, pink, and yellow origami modules. Assembly schemes are quite simple, and even beginners can easily cope with such figures.
What crafts can be done on the basis of the dodecahedron?
Each side of the paper dodecahedron is a flat pentagon, which in itself can be the basis for a variety of different and bizarre shapes. For example, in the photo below, the pentagon is replaced by a five-pointed star. Ribs in such a figure are absent, although they are assumed. How to make a dodecahedron from paper in the form of a star? Replace in the scan presented above, each pentagon with the necessary five-pointed figure and connect them not along the edges, but along the vertices.
This photo shows a star-shaped dodecahedron. At the heart of each "ray" lies the same pentagon.
Instead of pentagonal pyramids, any three-dimensional figure can be made.
In the photo below, more complex origami modules act as pentagons, schemes of which those interested in this technique can be found in the specialized literature.
In any case, mastering even the simplest assembly scheme for the dodecahedron will already provide tremendous opportunities for creativity and the search for its own options.