Origami Penguin

Simple Origami - The Penguin

Origami is the art of folding paper to create elegant and divine creations. It has been around for ages. A simple piece of paper could be transformed into something extravagant. As time goes on, origami becomes more complex. There are many more things that a piece of paper could become. This is one of the reasons that origami has interested me. It also brings back memories of how I used to do it in elementary school.

Origami is not only a fun and creative craft for children it is also fun for adults. "And the instructions and diagrams have been pretested for young and old alike" (Helfman 2). This means that origami is a fun craft that allows families to bond and have a good time. Origami is also considered a hobby. It is a very peaceful hobby that I hope to continue for a very long time because it is very fun. With the book that I have, I will be able to test my skills and improve. This book is very well written because it goes from beginner to expert in the levels of folding.

The last thing that I created was the paper cup. The cup was a beginner level craft that took a short amount of time to complete. However, this time I have pursued a more difficult creation. I have folded a penguin, which is an intermediate level creation. And after completing it I must say that it is pretty difficult. It took me a couple of tries to complete because I kept on messing up part of the head. At first I tried rushing through it because it looked very easy, but I was wrong. After taking a break from my first failed creation I decided to take advice from the book. "Do not rush. Follow the easy step-by-step instructions slowly" (Helfman 3). This may seem like common sense information but some of the creations in this book look super easy. Some look easy enough for you to just rush through them in a couple of seconds.

Christmas is just around the corner and what better thing to fold than a penguin? The penguin took a couple of minutes to complete. It would work very well as decorations. It is an intermediate level creation, which means it is normal to have errors. This creation also breaks the rules of origami because it requires a cut. The first time I did this fold I messed up twice because I rushed through it. But after repeating the steps I was able to fold it by memory.

Below are steps to create your own origami penguin.

What is the hardest origami that you have created? Would you consider folding this penguin for Christmas decorations?

Step 1
Fold the paper in half.

Step 2
Open the paper and fold the left and right corners
along the lines to form a kite shape.

Step 3
Your shape should now look like a kite.
Now fold the top corner over line F-E.

Step 4
Fold the top corner over line G-H.

Step 5
Now fold the shape in half down the middle.

Step 6
Now fold and crease the one corner
over the line. And repeat
for the other side but fold the opposite side.

Step 7
Your shape now looks like this.

Step 8
Now fold and the top over line M-N to
form a head.

Step 9
Now your shape should look like a penguin.

Step 10
Now do a very thin cut along the line.

Step 11
Now put eyes on your penguin.

Overall, making these origami penguins were really fun. I have never made one before. I just wished that I had black and white origami paper so it would look more realistic. After making these origami penguins, I am eager to make more origami animals. I feel that my origami skills are slowly improving. I hope that you guys will give this origami penguin a try.

Helfman, Harry H. Fun with Origami: 17 Easy-to-Do Projects and 24 Sheets of Origami Paper. Dover Publ., 1991.