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How to fold an origami dodo

Two stout strips cut free under a deep belly hang down as legs. A pleat cocks up the tail tuft, another bows the big head, and the beak tip hooks under.

You need: 1 square sheet, 15 × 15 cm, grey on one side; scissors and a black pen. Hard, 17 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. White side up, turned like a diamond. Fold the right corner over onto the left corner.
  2. Crease the legs. Fold the long folded edge over 9 mm, through both layers, and crease hard.
  3. Open it. Unfold that narrow strip again.
  4. Open flat. Open the sheet flat, white side up. Three upright creases now run down the middle.
  5. Half a kite. Fold the lower-left edge up so it lies along the line between the left and right corners.
  6. Fold in half. Fold the top corner down onto the bottom corner, the flap inside. The long fold on top is the back.
  7. Crease the belly. Fold the front layer's bottom point up on a crease from the left point to the right edge, 2.5 cm above the bottom point.
  8. Open it. Unfold it again. The crease is the bottom of the belly.
  9. Free the legs. Cut the front layer up its three upright creases, from the bottom edge to the belly crease. The two strips by the middle are the legs.
  10. Tuck the sides. Fold the front layer's pieces either side of the legs up inside the body, along the belly crease, so the dodo stays grey.
  11. Blunt the tail. Fold the tail point behind on an upright crease 2.4 cm from the tip.
  12. Tuft: fold in. Fold the tail over to the right on a crease from the belly crease, 5.5 cm behind the legs, leaning a little to the left.
  13. Tuft: fold out. Fold it back to the left from the same point, on a crease that leans right. The short tail sticks up as a tuft.
  14. Head: fold in. Fold the right point over to the left on a crease from the back, 7.2 cm from the point, slanting down to the chest.
  15. Head: fold out. Fold it back to the right from the same point, on a crease that slants less. The big head bows and the beak points down.
  16. Hook the beak. Fold the last 2.1 cm of the beak under and back on a slanted crease, so the tip curls into a hook.
  17. Stand it up. Tilt the dodo a little so its back rises toward the head.

Waddle, waddle!

Colour the big beak pale with a white pen, draw a line where it meets the face, a round eye, and colour the hooked tip black.

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