Reddit reviews Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art, Second Edition

Robert Lang is the guy who pretty much pioneered mathematical/computational origami design. I'd look into some of his papers and books.

Nope. Yoshizawa Akira used wet-folding techniques, and there probably isn’t a more important person in early 20th century origami history. The rules of traditional origami are that one uses one piece of paper (any shape, although a quadrangle is preferred) and that the paper isn’t cut (that would be kirikami), and this still is within those guidelines. Robert Lang has written about him in Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art, which has my highest recommendation. The paper is two-sided, which is how the contrast is achieved. Also not cheating.

The easy answer is Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art, Second Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568814364/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_r46Hub00PYXXZ
Great book, well worth the price

"Origami Design Secrets" by Robert Lang is a fantastic place to start. The basic idea is that most object can be represented as a tree (in the computer science sense), with some extra tricks to make things more efficient. The book details how a tree can be converted into a crease pattern, which you would then collapse and shape to get your desired result.

This book came recommended during a conversation about learning origami design. However, if you're not yet an advanced folder, I recommend you work on building your repertoire and progressing to more advanced models before investing in a book, since this is a great way to see the methods designers use.

This model is one of my favourites and illustrates how designers use the potential of folded bases: The tail, head, and wings are all made of identical flaps!