How to make origami

Introduction:

Origami is an art form where you fold paper into beautiful shapes, often in the form of animals. It can be very complicated and complex requiring several tiny folds, or it can be relatively simple. To start, let's try something simple like the movable frog. This frog does not look exactly like a frog, but does resemble the shape and movement. As you get better you can try more complex items or stick with basics like the crane.

Difficulty rating:
Easy to moderate

Steps:

Step one:

Start with a square piece of paper. It can be as big or as small as you would like depending on the size you want your end result to be. It can also be whatever color you want, however, it is best to use green since that is a good color for a frog, but it is really up to you.

Step two:

With the colored side of the paper face down, make valley folds along the North-South and East-West lines. These are small folds, but the size just depends on the size f the paper you started with. If your paper is colored on both sides you can start with either side up.

Step three:

At this point you want to fold each of the four corners into the center point, to make another square. Make sure you make it as even as possible, and make good folds.

Step four:

Next fold two of the squares edges onto the centerline. This will make it look like a kite.

Step five:

Now fold the short corner of the kite up. This will make a triangle shape.

Step six:

Now you should fold the lower corners of the triangle onto the centerline. This gives you an odd shape, but you are almost to the end point

Step seven:

At this point you want to fold the lower edge of your odd shape up...then fold it back down. This will make a bend, and becomes the legs for the frog.

Step eight:

Last but not least, you will want to fold the top corner down. And that is it you have a frog made, all you have to do now is turn the frog over and you are ready to go. You can make it hop.

Tips and warnings:

• Make sure the folds you make are good, that you make nice sharp creases, this will help the frog keep its shape better. If you want, you could use a ruler to crease the edges.
• If you want you can decorate the folded frog after you are finished with pens, markers, etc. It is smart not to use anything more than drawings though as if you start gluing stuff on it, it will be too heavy to hop.
• If you want to, you can make several frogs and race them. It is even fun to make them in different colors so that you can keep track of them easily.
• Try different paper types, and thickness to determine which you prefer for folding frogs. Some paper is just more apt for origami making. However, when in doubt just use typical generic printer paper.
• As you get better at the simple origami patterns, consider purchasing a book or looking online for more complex origami patterns to try. The frog and crane are easy, but it is amazing how many beautiful and complex paper folded items you can make once you are comfortable with the easy ones.

Things you will need:

• Paper
• Ruler (optional)
• Markers (optional)
• Pen (optional)