Do you want to learn how to make a bird with flapping wings? With just a square sheet of origami paper, you can create beautiful works of art. This flapping bird is a mid-level origami masterpiece that will impress anyone who sees it. You can also make an origami bird that flies like a paper airplane or swirls in the air.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Creating the Winged Bird
Step 1. Start with a sheet of origami paper
Origami paper is always square with a variety of color choices. If you only have plain rectangular paper on hand, turn it into a square shape by folding the top corner down diagonally. Cut off the excess paper at the bottom.
- Choose origami paper of any color. Colorful patterned paper is suitable for this work because the flapping of the bird's wings will play with the colors.
- If your paper is a different color on both sides, determine which side is facing up and which side is facing down. If your paper is the same color on both sides, make a small mark or drawing to identify the two sides. The side facing the table is the side you will see when the bird is finished.
Step 2. Make a diagonal crease
Start by placing the square of paper in front of you, with the bottom corner of the paper pointing toward your chest. Bring the top corner of the paper to the bottom corner, then use your finger to emphasize the crease.
- Now the paper is in the shape of a triangle with the corner facing you.
- Then open the fold again so that the paper returns to a square shape.
Step 3. Make another diagonal crease
Rotate the paper and make another fold, this time meeting the other corner with the corner opposite. Emphasize the second fold with your finger.
- The two folds will form an "X" on the paper.
- Reopen the fold.
Step 4. Fold the paper in half horizontally
Place the paper in front of you with the bottom edge of the paper at chest level.
- Fold the paper in half, meeting the top edge of the paper with the bottom edge. Emphasize the folds with your fingers.
- Unfold the fold again so that the paper returns to a square shape.
Step 5. Fold the paper in half again
Turn the paper sideways and fold it in half again, then emphasize the fold with your fingers.
- Reopen the fold.
- Now you have four crease marks that intersect in the center of the square of paper.
Step 6. Pinch the sides together to form a smaller square
Start at the bottom corner of the paper facing your chest. Pinch both sides of the paper along the horizontal crease, meeting the left and right corners towards the bottom corner. The two sides will meet in the middle, and the top corners will fold over the top to form a smaller square.
- You may need to make a little effort to bring the two sides together in the center of the square. Reaffirming all the folds might help to make them more flexible.
- If you do it right, the little square you make will have a crease from the top corner to the bottom corner.
Step 7. Fold the right side
With the bottom corner of the paper toward your chest, fold the front layer of the paper from the right corner inward so that the edge aligns with the center crease.
Use your fingers to define the crease
Step 8. Fold the left side
Do the same thing by folding the front layer of paper from the left corner inward so that the edges are aligned with the center crease. Use your fingers to define the crease.
The fold you just made will be shaped like a small kite
Step 9. Turn the paper over to make the same fold
You will do the same fold on the other side.
- Now the paper looks like a kite on both sides.
- Fold the top of the kite down and emphasize the crease. Then open the fold again.
Step 10. Open the kite
Position the paper so that the bottom corner (the part where the fold can be opened to reveal the inside) is facing your chest. Lift the front layer from the bottom corner up and flatten it out on the table. Now the paper looks like a diamond shape on top of the kite shape.
When you lift the bottom corner, the edges of the paper will naturally form a diamond following the crease you've made
Step 11. Turn the paper over
Repeat the fold on the other side. Open the kite on the back of the paper. Position the paper so that the bottom corner (the part where the fold can be opened to reveal the inside) is facing your chest. Lift the front layer from the bottom corner up and flatten it out on the table. Now both sides of the paper have a diamond shape.
After completing this step, the two diamond shapes should be perfectly parallel to each other
Step 12. Fold the two halves at the bottom up diagonally
Fold the bottom right of the paper diagonally to the top right. Fold the bottom left of the paper diagonally to the top left.
Now you have three pieces that make up three triangles all facing up, in the direction away from you
Step 13. Unfold the fold so that the paper returns to the shape of a diamond
Turn your paper over and unfold it. Now take the bottom of the paper you just folded and unfold, then fold it up and put it in the fold. Close the fold. Then take the part of the paper that is now in the middle and pull it, so that both folds remain closed.
- Pull the paper so that all the edges are parallel. Emphasize the fold.
- Repeat on the other side so you have the head and tail shape pointing up diagonally.
Step 14. Fold the corner of one of the diagonal sections of the paper down
This inverted fold will form the head.
Open the paper to reveal the two folds and fold the corner down so that it is between the two folds. Then pinch all the folds together and emphasize the folds
Step 15. Fold one of the wings down
Fold the triangle shape (the one in the middle of the paper shape) on the front layer down at a slight angle to form the wings.
Fold the wings in a position that is more towards the head, not straight down
Step 16. Turn the bird's side over
Repeat the same fold to make another wing.
Make sure the wings are parallel to each other
Step 17. Pull the tail to flap the wings
Holding the bird's neck, pull the tail diagonally to flap the wings.
Finished! Enjoy your homemade origami flying bird
Method 2 of 3: Creating an Airplane in the Shape of a Bird
Step 1. Take a square piece of origami paper
If you don't have a square of paper, take a rectangular piece of paper and fold one corner down and align the edges. Once folded, the paper will be triangular in shape and any excess part will be rectangular. Cut the rectangle to make a square paper.
- Place the paper on the table with the colored side down and the white side up.
- If your paper is a different color on both sides, determine which one is facing up and which is facing down. If your paper is the same color on both sides, make a small mark or drawing to identify both sides. For example, put a mark on the underside facing the table. This sign will help you know which side is facing you. The side or color facing the table at the start of the creation will be the side or color you will see when the bird is finished.
Step 2. Fold the paper in half twice to form two folds
Fold the paper in half, first making a horizontal fold. Then unfold the fold and make another fold vertically.
Open the fold so that the paper returns to its original shape. Now you have two folds that look like crosses. If you mark the bottom side of the paper, that side is facing the table
Step 3. Fold the paper in half diagonally by bringing the two opposite corners together
Now fold the paper diagonally so that the paper has a diagonal crease mark. Unfold the fold and repeat on the other side.
You now have four crease marks on the paper. Two diagonal crease marks, one vertical crease mark, and one horizontal crease mark. If you mark the bottom side of the paper, that side is still facing the table
Step 4. Fold the paper in half again
Fold the bottom of the paper up away from you so that it forms a horizontal crease. The underside of the marked paper is now facing you.
Then rotate the paper so that the unfolded fold is facing you
Step 5. Take one of the corners and fold it inward following the diagonal crease line
Now the paper has a triangular shape that connects to the square part of the paper. Fold the triangle in half while bringing the fold to the left.
- You already have crease marks. Therefore, follow the lines and fold according to the crease marks.
- The inside of the fold is not the marked side of the paper (which is initially facing up).
- Repeat on the other side so you have four triangular folds. The paper will look like a triangle with two folds on each side.
Step 6. Fold the sides to the center of the crease line
Take each fold and fold it in so that the inside edge is parallel to the center crease line.
- You now have a diamond shape consisting of two folds on top of the bottom layer of paper.
- Fold each fold in half towards the back. Now take the folds you just made and fold each one backwards, aligning it with the outer edge of the fold.
- Now you have three layers of folds.
Step 7. Meet the two folds in the middle
Lift each fold from the inside edge. Bring them together parallel to the center line of the crease.
- When these two folds meet in the middle, another fold will form and increase the area of the outer edge of the fold.
- The outer edge of the fold will be aligned with the previous crease.
- You still have three layers of folds.
Step 8. Fold the bottom layer of paper so that it meets the edge of the fold you made earlier
Now take the paper folds on the table-facing layer and fold each side so that they line up with the outer edge of the previous fold.
Now the paper will look like a stealth bomber paper airplane with four corners on the bottom and one corner on the top
Step 9. Pull out the part of the paper that is under the middle layer
Keep the previous fold intact as you lift the middle layer.
- Pull the two folds that make up the tail so that they reveal the flat side of the underside of the paper. Pull the flat side up towards the two folds.
- Keep the folds that make up the tail intact by pressing the folds, but in the opposite direction. This process will compress all layers of the fold.
- Now your paper is in an upright position and looks like a shark's fin. The outer side of the fin should be the same color as and the side you have marked. The inside is white.
Step 10. Fold the center of the paper down
Take the edge of the shark's fin and fold it over the other fold layer.
- Now you have a triangular shape that sits between the inner edges of the wings.
- Now you have a total of six layers of folds if you look at the back of the bird.
Step 11. Unfold the outer fold that forms the wing
Once the wings are folded, you will see a line of diagonal crease marks in the center of each wing. While keeping the center crease intact, pull the front layer of the wing up diagonally until the crease line becomes the outer edge.
- The lower edge of the wing should be folded. Now you have another layer on top with the bottom diagonal edges meeting at the corners.
- As you pull the paper outward, press down on the center of the bird's fold and allow the part you're pulling to fold to follow the crease you made earlier.
- You should keep the center crease and the tail crease intact.
Step 12. Fold the outside of the wing inward
Fold the wings back inward so that the bottom edge of this crease is parallel to the bottom edge of the first layer of paper.
Make sure each wing is even and all edges are aligned
Step 13. Unfold the wings so that each wing is flat again
Then make small triangular folds on each side bringing the top corners of the wings inward.
Line up the long edge of the triangular fold with the crease you just made from the previous fold
Step 14. Fold the wings inward again twice so that each inner edge of the wing now touches the outer edge of the bird's tail
- Fold the wings inward while keeping the small triangular fold you just made intact.
- You'll have crease marks to use as guides as you fold the wings again twice on each side. The first of these two folds is the same fold you made before folding the corners of the triangle.
- The paper portion of the second fold will be in the center area. The underside of the wings should be in line with the tail.
Step 15. Fold the top of the paper toward you
Take the edge of the paper and fold it so that the corner meets the bottom horizontal edge of the middle layer of the paper above the tail.
Now you have four corners on the bottom, two corners on the wings and two corners on the tail. The top of the paper is folded so that the edge is pointing down, toward you
Step 16. Fold the ends back so the corners are pointing in the original direction
Fold the piece you just folded in half so that the end extends past the flat top of the bird.
Now you have made a zigzag fold with the paper sections that make up the head and beak
Step 17. Pull the piece of paper from under the part you folded earlier
Now you need to spread the wings on each side. Pull the wings so that the bottom edge of each wing is back flat and horizontal.
- This step may seem difficult, but you should keep the bottom edge of the bird's head intact as you open the wings from below.
- Flatten the paper. If the area around the bird's head looks crushed, that's not a problem.
Step 18. Turn the paper over so the flat side is now facing you
Fold the bird in half so the wings are on top and all the creases you made are visible.
Make sure the sides are as level as possible and the edges of the wings are parallel
Step 19. Fold the wings down
Leave enough space for you to shape the bird's body as you would with a paper airplane.
- You should fold the wings down so that the top edge of the bird is flat, with the wings pointing down.
- Then, pull the wings up so that each wing is flat on top. Do the same for the tail.
- The outside of the bird will reveal the side of the paper you marked at the beginning, which is facing the table.
- Now you can play this bird like playing a paper airplane.
Method 3 of 3: Make the Bird Fly in a Swirl
Step 1. Take the paper
To make this flying bird, you will need an A4 sized rectangle of paper.
Plain printing paper measuring 21.6 x 27.9 cm is very good for making this bird. You can also use notebook paper
Step 2. Place the paper with the white side facing you and the paper in a diamond-shaped position
The two corners of the paper should point up and down. If the paper has two colors, the color you want to use as the bird's color should be facing the table, with its back to you. This folding method will make the side of the paper facing the table the outside of your bird.
- Fold the paper in half by bringing the bottom corner of the paper together with the top corner.
- Now the paper has a triangular shape.
Step 3. Fold the paper in half again vertically
Then open the fold.
After folding the paper, unfold it again so that the paper returns to a triangular shape
Step 4. Fold the top of the paper down
Fold the top edge of the paper down horizontally.
- The top edge of the triangle should pass through the bottom edge of the paper which is the base of the triangle.
- Fold the paper in half vertically. You already have a crease line to make it easier for you to fold the paper in half.
- After folding the paper in half, rotate the paper counterclockwise 180 degrees so that the paper is vertical.
Step 5. Fold the two top corners down on each side
Fold each wing down, but leave enough space to form the bird's body.
The triangle shape in the center of the paper will be the bird's beak. Fold the wings down so that the top edge of the fold is flush with the top of the beak
Step 6. Fold the wings
Holding the bird's body, fold the wings so that each wing is horizontal.
- The wings should be flat.
- Throw a paper bird in the air like throwing a paper airplane and watch the bird go round and round before finally falling.
Tips
- Consider using recycled paper; it is better for the environment.
- Choose paper in a variety of colors! Each color is perfect for making anything with origami.
- If the bird's wings aren't flapping, try loosening the crease around the tail a bit.
- An origami crane is very similar to a winged bird. If you want to do something special for a friend's wedding, make an origami crane because according to Japanese tradition, a thousand paper cranes will bring good luck.
- Even if your first 20 birds look terrible, keep trying! Your skills will improve as your fingers will get used to the folds.
- Make each fold as even as possible, even for the initial fold when you're making a small square shape. Small mistakes will keep your bird out of shape as it should be.
- Try using light paper or newspaper. This depends on your choice.
Warning
- Keep the origami paper away from water.
- Be careful not to cut the paper!
