How to fold an origami beluga whale
One square, no glue. Pleat a small beak out of the head, fold a plump kite in half, flatten the back, fold a big round melon, and lift and split the tail.
You need: 1 square sheet (15 cm), pale blue-grey on one side and white on the other, scissors and a black pen. Hard, 13 steps, about 25 minutes.
Steps
- Crease the middle. White side up, fold the top corner down to the bottom corner, crease, and unfold.
- Fold in the head. Fold the right corner in to the middle of the paper.
- Pleat out the beak. Fold the tip of that flap back out to the right, 3.8 cm from the middle, so a small point peeks past the edge: the beak.
- Make a kite. Fold the two left-hand edges in to the middle crease, so the left point is long and narrow.
- Turn it over. Turn the paper over. Now it is all pale grey, with the beak on the left.
- Fold in half. Fold the bottom half behind along the middle crease. The fold is the belly, the beak points left.
- Flatten the back. Fold the top of the back down behind through all layers on a level crease 4.5 cm above the belly.
- Round the rump. Fold the corner where the back starts to slope behind on a gentle slant, so the back curves down to the tail.
- Fold the melon. Fold the top front corner of the head behind on a slant, from 3 cm above the belly to 2.5 cm along the back.
- Round the melon. Fold the two new corners behind a little, so the big forehead bulges round.
- Lift the tail. Fold the tail up through all layers on a crease 6 cm from its tip, slanting up toward the tip, so the tail rises.
- Snip the tail. Snip 3 cm along the tail's folded edge from the tip, so its front and back layers come apart.
- Spread the flukes. Fold the front tip down and back from the end of the snip. The back tip stays up, so the tail spreads into two flukes.
Hello, beluga!
Draw a small eye behind the beak and a big smile.