By CraftingStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by Love Origami.
This dragon looks tricky, but it comes from a fold most paper crafters already know. Love Origami builds it on the traditional crane base, then reshapes the points into a neck, a tail, and two spread wings. One square sheet is all you need.
The video moves slowly on purpose, so you can match each crease as you go. Take your time on the reverse folds near the end. That is where the flat shape lifts off the table and starts to look like a real dragon.
Grab a 15cm square of origami paper, colored on one side, and find a flat surface. Ready? Let's fold.
Start with the paper colored side down. Fold it in half one way, unfold, then fold in half the other way. You want two clean creases crossing at the center. Run your thumbnail or a bone folder along each fold so it holds. These first creases guide every fold after this, so make them sharp.
Tip
Line the edges up exactly before you press. A crooked first fold throws off the whole dragon.
Add the two diagonal creases, then use all four folds to collapse the sheet into a smaller triangle. The sides tuck inward as the top layers come together. This is the preliminary base that the crane and this dragon both grow from. Press it flat so the point sits neatly at the top.
Tip
If the layers fight you, pinch the center and let the paper fall along the creases you already made.
Open the top flap, squash it down evenly, and petal-fold the point upward. Do the same on the back. Each side opens into a tall narrow shape. Take it slow here since the layers are thin and want to slip. When both sides are done you'll have a kite shape that is starting to look like a bird.
Fold the lower edges of the diamond in to the center line, front and back. This narrows the whole shape and creates two long points at the bottom. That is the finished crane base. Press every crease firmly. Those two points become the neck and tail, so a clean base pays off later.
Tip
Check that both points are the same length. Even points make a balanced dragon.
Take each of the two long points and fold its outer edges in toward the center again. This makes them thin and pointed, more like a neck and a tail than wide flaps. Work one point at a time and keep the folds symmetrical. Thin points give the dragon a sleeker, more finished profile.
Now the dragon leaves the table. Inside-reverse-fold each slim point upward so the neck and tail lift and curve. Open the point slightly, push the crease in the opposite direction, and flatten. This is the step that gives the model its shape, so match the angle you see in the video on both sides.
Tip
Pre-crease the fold line first by bending the point back and forth. The reverse fold snaps into place much easier.
Make one more small reverse fold at the tip of the neck to form the head. Then open the two side flaps and pull them outward into wings. Curl and pinch them so they hold their spread. This is where a folded shape finally reads as a dragon, so fuss with the wings until they look right to you.
Tip
Run a curved wing over the edge of a table to add a gentle arch instead of a flat sheet.
Give the wings a final shape, adjust the neck curve, and set the tail. Stand back and look at it from the side, where the dragon reads best. That's your paper dragon, folded from one square sheet. Try it again in a different color, and the second one always comes out cleaner than the first.
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