Origami Animals

Practice paper folding in this art lesson: origami animals.

🎨 Studio Brief #3

Origami transforms a flat square of paper into a three-dimensional form using only folds—no scissors or glue.

🎯 Your mission

If you can wear it, that counts.

⚡ The twist

Only use materials that were about to be trash.

What you'll learn

Origami transforms a flat square of paper into a three-dimensional form using only folds—no scissors or glue. Start with a simple dog or cat face.

Get ready

Techniques you'll practise

paper foldingorigamigeometric construction

BeadsFelt sheetsCardboard tubes

Step 1 of 4

Start with a perfect square of paper, colored side down.

Step 2 of 4

Fold it in half diagonally to make a triangle.

Step 3 of 4

Fold the two side corners down to make ears.

Step 4 of 4

Fold the bottom point up slightly for a chin. Flip over and draw a face.

Did you know?

🤯 Mind = Blown

🤯 You can fold a piece of paper at most about 7 times — physics gets in the way after that.

🌟 Artist Spotlight

🎨 El Anatsui makes giant sculptures from bottle caps.

You did it!

🎯

We'll pick an art project that matches exactly where your skills are right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this: The next time you 'just buy it,' notice how much you could've made yourself.

🏆 Try this week: Make a card for someone who isn't expecting one.

👨‍👩‍👧 At dinner: “What's something you'd build if you had unlimited cardboard?”

Send it to a parent looking for a 15-minute screen-free creative win.