I folded a climbing bear and believe it is relevant to the design processes of origami.
In the book [The Origami Bible] Nick Robinson shows us
a tree bear as an example of an origami joke. About the design he says:
"Initally, I made the whole thing from a single square, but the resulting complexity seemed
out of character with the simple nature of the joke, so I developed it first from two sheets of paper
and, finally, from three".
And then he challenges the reader creatively to fold the same illusion from a single square. My solution
is shown below (diagram).
Except for the colour (his was brown in brown) Nick's version is displayed to the left. I used, though,
only 2 half-squares for the paws instead of 2 full squares, as the thickness is then more appropriate
(actually, a 1x4 piece would suffice). Nick calls the model a "tree bear". In black and white it rather
becomes a "panda", and several of my friends call it a "koala", and the light red immediately becomes
"the pink panda". But all agree (both about his and my version) that it is a kind of bear climbing
behind a tree or similar.
The primary steps in my attempts can be seen to the left. Top right is the "crumple technique", i.e. the
paper is crumpled as much as it is folded. However, it demonstrates a "proof-of-concept". The second
attempt is folded more carefully, men becomes too long, and the paws are too small. Then I folded the
top and bottom first, and refined the technique to fold the paws/legs until the final version shown
above appeared.
Comparing the two versions we see that Nick's paws are a bit broader, maybe more bear-like. My paws could
be so, too. The needed paper is there. It's a matter of taste which one is better. Then there is the
question of the number of pieces of paper. My model is not difficult to fold, but Nick is right that it
is even easier to fold the multi-piece model. This has the additional advantage that it is easier to
find two pieces of paper in appropriate colours, than it is to find one piece with an appropriate front
and back; unless, of course, you are happy with white bears (pandas? ice bears?) in black trees. Peter
Engel cites Akira Yoshizawa:
"I see that your knight on horseback is made from one piece of paper, but in this case I feel that
two pieces would be better. God made the human being and the horse as separate creatures, not
connected, as in your model." [Folding the Universe]
Purists demand that only one piece of paper is used, square, and neither cut nor glued. In the end, which
version is better is, as said, a matter of taste.