Origami Paper Size Calculator

The raw minPaperSize output is the theoretical floor from the formula, but origami paper is sold in fixed sizes, so recommendedSize snaps up to the nearest value in a standard list (7.5cm through 100cm) that's actually available to buy or cut cleanly. If your minimum happens to fall between two standard sizes, you'll see recommendedSize as noticeably larger than minPaperSize — that gap is just headroom from buying real paper rather than a custom cut.

It adds roughly 1% extra paper for every layer beyond a baseline of 4, so a model with 8 layers adds about 4% to the minimum size while one with 50 layers adds about 46%. This reflects that models with many overlapping layers at their thickest point consume more paper relative to their finished dimensions than a simple, thin-layered model of the same size.

Origami models are typically folded from a single square sheet, and the limiting factor for how big a finished model can be is whichever dimension is largest — a tall, narrow model still needs paper sized to its height even though its width is small. Using modelMax (the greater of height and width) times the complexity factor gives the minimum square that can accommodate the model's biggest extent in any direction.

Pick whichever tier your model most resembles in terms of point count and layering complexity — the factors (2.5× for simple up to 7.0× for super-complex) are averages across typical models at each tier, not a formula tied to your design's specific crease pattern. If your model has unusually long legs, deep pleating, or other extras beyond what's typical for its tier, it's safer to round up to the next complexity level or add extra margin than to trust the exact number.