Hi volumeboy,
The art of Origami is versatile, to say the least. Even each fold follows the same idea, take all from one side and bend it over to the other side: This needs to be broken down in many sub steps in 3D.
Paper, even thin, will create a volume and with it a complex force with each new fold. To recreate this is not simple. You might request a tutorial-series about this, and you might check out earlier questions about this:
https://www.cineversity.com/forums/viewthread/2216/
where the plug in
https://code.vonc.fr/?a=59
was suggested from the one asking.
Folds can be done with Joints, Deformers, manual movement of points and in that way with PoseMorph to keep the rotational [axis], to name the most useful parts here. One fold is simple, to add another might work, but each must follow the preparation of the one before.
Here are just two little examples/sketches, of a step by step option:
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/GugIzIqAgnp8oFBnVthciABZGND6PGnvEInGb9ZQzvK
As mentioned, sub steps should be planed like a chess play, many steps ahead. However, any animation movie that I have seen so far with Origami, uses editing (cuts) to later states or cuts away from the folding for a moment. In other words, each step of folding shows a new model, not a noticeable replacement of course, and so the impression is created to have done it from start to finish. If you can use the filmic editing to your advantage, then you might reduce each folding to a single problem, instead of a chain-reaction. After all, we talk here about render results, not recreating reality. that is what CG and VFX is all about, the magic to make believe.
As a side note:
If I’m not mistaken, some Origami figures need a pull of certain parts to unfold the current results, which is certainly one of the most difficult steps to simulate.
All the best
P.S.:
A nice technique is presented here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC9OS_uij1U&list=PLIqMw1vG1TWbW_9RrkKomk5tW0hwTtUbk&index=17&t=0s&rel=0&color=ffffff
