How to Make a Penguin out of Paper (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 10:50

There are lots of fun ways to make paper penguins for all ages, both for small kids craft purposes and as origami projects for adults!

Step

Method 1 of 2: Making a Penguin out of Origami

Step 1. Buy origami paper

This method requires origami paper measuring 15x15 cm. If you want to make a larger penguin, you can use origami paper that is 30x30 cm, but you will need to double the measurements listed in the instructions. If you want even better results, buy origami paper that has one side white and the other black.

Step 2. Fold the paper in half diagonally

First, lay out the origami paper on a flat surface (with the white side facing up if the paper you are using also has a black side). Then, fold the paper in half diagonally so that the bottom left corner of the paper meets the top right corner of the paper and make a crease. Unfold the paper again and do the same on the other opposite corners, and then unfold the paper again.

When you unfold the paper again, the crease marks will form a large X

Step 3. Fold the bottom left corner to the center of the paper

Once the paper folds are opened again and the crease marks form an X, take the lower left corner of the paper and meet the corner with the center point of the paper. In other words, the end of the corner will meet the midpoint of the cross the letter X has made through the fold earlier. Unfold the fold you just made and make another fold, then unfold the fold again.

Step 4. Fold the top right corner of the paper into the crease you just made

You now have a large X-fold as well as a smaller diagonal crease at the bottom left of the paper. Make a crease where the top right corner of the paper meets the bottom left. And open the fold again.

Step 5. Turn the origami paper over

The next step, turn the paper over to make other folds. If the paper you are using has a different color on both sides, this means that the black side of the paper is now facing up. When turning it over, position the paper diagonally so that the bottom-left corner of the paper is now on top.

Step 6. Join the left corner of the paper with the right corner to create a new fold

With the paper positioned diagonally, take the corner of the paper on the left and fold the paper in half so that the left corner meets the right corner of the paper. You will notice when making this new fold that there is already a fold you made earlier on the back of the paper, but you should still fold it in the opposite direction at this point.

Step 7. Make a crease by bringing the bottom corner of the paper to the right corner

After doing the last step, the paper should now look like a triangle whose left side forms a vertical line. Take the bottom corner of the paper triangle and fold it to a 45° angle. Fold it so that the horizontal edge of the top crease touches the bottom crease that has formed on this section of the paper-not the center crease but the crease underneath. After making the fold from the previous fold, flip the paper over so you have the same triangular shape as before.

Step 8. Take the corner of the paper so that it follows the fold you just made but in the opposite direction

The reverse fold technique has more three dimensions than the folds you have made so far. To do the reverse fold, take the fold you just made and fold it in the opposite direction, but when making the fold, fold it and tuck the corners into the paper.

Since the reverse folding technique may be difficult to understand through written instructions, you can find out what the folding technique is here

Step 9. Fold the top of the paper

After making the crease using the reverse folding technique, take the corner on the right-only the top layer, don't include the bottom layer-and fold it towards the opposite corner. Fold it so that the top edge of the paper meets the left edge of the paper vertically. Flatten the folds, but don't unfold them. Keep it folded.

Step 10. Turn the paper over and make the same fold as the reverse side

Now you have to turn the paper over and make the same fold you just made on the other side. In other words, fold the corner of the paper (on the undercoat of the paper mentioned in the previous step) so that its top edge also meets the edge of the paper next to it.

This step will be easier to understand because the penguin's shape will begin to appear more clearly when the black side of the paper is facing out on both sides, especially if you are using paper that has two different colors. Later, this part will become the penguin's wings

Step 11. Turn over your paper again

To prepare for the next step, you must turn the paper over again. While doing so, position the paper so that the sharpest corner is at the top.

Step 12. Fold the sharp corner to the left

With the paper positioned so that the sharp, long corner is on top, take the corner and fold it to a 45° angle so that the corner is now pointing to the left. You'll see these folds form the penguin's beak. After doing this fold, unfold it so that the corners are back in the up position.

Step 13. Perform the reverse fold technique on the crease you just made

At this point, you'll be doing the outside reverse fold along the crease you made earlier. The reverse outward folding technique is slightly different from the previous reverse folding technique. To perform this technique, slightly unfold the paper on the black side, and push the white side of the paper with your finger against the crease you made in the previous step. When the fold reverses, you just need to re-emphasize the fold so that the two black sides of the paper meet again.

Again, the reverse folding technique may seem a little difficult to understand. You can find out how to do it right here

Step 14. Fold the wings

Although now the shape is clearly visible, the shape of this wing is not quite perfect. Take the wing layer on top and fold it so that the white side of the paper is facing out. You'll fold it back so that the corner that was on the bottom left is now on the right. Lift the corner of the paper a little further so that the small tail at the bottom of the paper is slightly visible.

Step 15. Fold the wings towards the original shape

Once the folds have formed from the previous step, fold the wings toward the original shape so that the black side of the paper is facing up again. Make a crease so that the corners almost touch the white underside of her body.

Step 16. Perform the rabbit's ear fold technique

To do this technique, lift up the part of the wing that you just folded and flip over the crease formed from the previous step, but flip it only at the bottom of the crease and only about as deep as your fingertips. This will form a small crease at the bottom end of the wing, but the paper edge will remain parallel to the rest of the wing.

Just like with other complex folds, visual clues can help you do this, which you can see here

Step 17. Repeat steps 14-16 to make another wing

When you're done making one wing, turn the paper over and repeat the same steps to form the other wing. Just use the same fold from steps 14-16 on the reverse side of the paper.

Step 18. Tuck the end of the paper at the bottom

At the bottom of the penguin you will still see the corners sticking out which is a bit annoying to see your penguin. Fold each corner to the inside of the penguin to make the lower body even and form a horizontal line. After tucking in these corners, your paper penguin masterpiece is done!

Method 2 of 2: Making Penguin Crafts for Little Kids

Step 1. Take one sheet of white, black, and orange craft paper

Since origami is usually a bit difficult (and not very exciting) for children, the craft paper cutting and pasting technique (a good old method) may work better for them. This method of making paper penguins requires 1 sheet of white, black, and orange craft paper.

Step 2. Trace the oval shape on the black craft paper

To shape the penguin's body, ask the child to draw an oval shape on black craft paper using white crayon or chalk so he can see the outline. One cute and fun way to help her make the shape is to ask her to put her shoe on paper and trace the shape of the shoe.

Step 3. Cut out the black oval shape

Using scissors (child-safe scissors), ask him to cut the oval out of black craft paper. When making the penguin's eyes, you can ask the child to draw the eyes on white paper or cut out the pupils of the penguins from black paper. After that, you can ask the child to cut out the eye shape.

Step 4. Trace the smaller oval shape on the white craft paper

Now, ask the child to trace the white belly on the white paper. Find something that is slightly oval in shape so the child can use it to trace the shape. You can also ask him to create them freely (without the help of shape examples).

Step 5. Glue the penguin belly piece to the body

After the child has finished tracing the white oval, let him cut out the shape he made on the craft paper. Then use a stick of glue to attach the belly piece to the penguin's body. Position the piece closer to the bottom of the body than the middle because the penguin's head will be placed above it.

Step 6. Cut out small triangles from the orange craft paper

To make the penguin's beak, ask the child to cut out small triangles from the orange craft paper. The beak doesn't have to be a perfect triangle, so you can ask him to make a triangle first or cut it out of paper right away.

For younger children, cutting out the shape of the penguin's tiny beak may be too difficult for them, so you may need to help at this stage

Step 7. Glue the beak to the penguin's face

You have a choice of two methods for attaching the beak to the penguin's face. The first option, you can attach a triangular shape to the face with one of the corners facing down. The second option, you can make a small crease on one side of the triangle and attach it to the fold, thus forming a beak that protrudes from the penguin's face.

Step 8. Make the penguin's eyes

As mentioned earlier, you can ask your child to draw eyes on white craft paper, cut them out, and then glue them to the penguin. In addition, you can also ask the child to cut out the white part of the eye from white paper, and then use black paper to cut out the pupil of the eye.

Another option, if the child is too young to cut out the little circles, is to use doll eyes, which you can buy at a craft store or in the aisle at the grocery store. Small children will be more interested in attaching toy eyes using a glue stick

Step 9. Let the child decorate it

The final result is a basic penguin shape, and the child can have fun decorating it. If he cut out two completely oblong ovals out of black paper, he could attach the two ovals to the sides of the penguin's body as wings. If the child wants to make legs for the penguin, you can ask him to trace the shape of a leaf or other object and make slightly curved shapes to make it look like a webbed shape.