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How to fold an origami fishing trip

A quiet lake build. Fold hills, the lake and a sloping bank, pleat a wooden jetty, fold a heron, bulrushes and a tent, then a young angler in a rowing boat with a rod, line and fish, and stand it up.

You need: 22 pieces: pale-blue A4; dark and light green, blue, red, brown, grey, black, white, orange, skin, yellow and light-brown paper. Scissors, glue.. Challenge, 86 steps, about 120 minutes.

Steps

  1. Sky: crease the middle. Start with the sky: a pale-blue A4 sheet lying long. Fold it in half, short edges together, and open it. It bends on this crease to stand.
  2. Hills: new sheet. Set the sky aside. For the far hills, take a 29.7 × 6.5 cm piece of dark-green paper, green side up.
  3. Hills: slopes. Fold the top corners behind on long slants, 2.5 cm down the ends, so the hills rise to the middle.
  4. Lake: new sheet. Set the hills aside. For the lake, take a 29.7 × 10.6 cm piece of blue paper, blue side up.
  5. Lake: shoreline. Fold the top edge down 4 mm: a white line where the water meets the far shore.
  6. Bank: new sheet. Set the lake aside. For the near bank, take a 11.9 × 8.5 cm piece of light-green paper, green side up.
  7. Bank: the water's edge. Fold the top right corner behind on a long slant, from 6 cm in along the top edge down to the bottom right corner.
  8. Tent: new sheet. Set the bank aside. For the tent, fold the gallery tent from a 12 cm square of red paper, white side up.
  9. Tent: crease the middle. Fold in half side to side, crease, then unfold.
  10. Tent: fold the doors. Fold the left and right edges in to meet at the centre crease. These two flaps are the tent doors.
  11. Tent: top half behind. Fold the top half behind, so the top edge meets the bottom edge.
  12. Tent: top half behind again. Fold the top half behind once more, so the top edge meets the bottom edge again.
  13. Tent: slope the sides. Fold the top corners behind, from the middle of the top edge down to each bottom corner.
  14. Tent: open the doors. Fold each door's bottom inner corner out, from two thirds of the way up the middle to a third of the way to the corner. The white lining shows.
  15. Reed 1: new sheet. Set the tent aside. For a bulrush stalk, take a 5 cm square of green paper, white side up, like a diamond.
  16. Reed 1: kite. Fold the two lower edges in to meet on the middle line.
  17. Reed 1: slim the bottom. Fold the lower edges in to the middle again. A long, slim point.
  18. Reed 1: slim the top. Fold the two short top edges in to the middle line too.
  19. Reed 1: thinner still. Fold the long lower edges in to the middle once more. A thin stalk with a short spike on top.
  20. Reed 1 head: new sheet. Set it aside. For its brown head, take a 2.5 cm square of brown paper.
  21. Reed 1 head: sides behind. Fold the left and right edges behind, 5 mm each. A plump brown strip.
  22. Reed 1 head: round it. Fold all four corners behind a little, so the head is a plump, rounded sausage.
  23. Reed 2: new sheet. Set the reed aside. Fold the next stalk.
  24. Reed 2: kite. Fold the two lower edges in to meet on the middle line.
  25. Reed 2: slim the bottom. Fold the lower edges in to the middle again. A long, slim point.
  26. Reed 2: slim the top. Fold the two short top edges in to the middle line too.
  27. Reed 2: thinner still. Fold the long lower edges in to the middle once more. A thin stalk with a short spike on top.
  28. Reed 2 head: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold its head the same way.
  29. Reed 2 head: sides behind. Fold the left and right edges behind, 5 mm each. A plump brown strip.
  30. Reed 2 head: round it. Fold all four corners behind a little, so the head is a plump, rounded sausage.
  31. Heron: new sheet. Set the reed aside. Fold the gallery heron from an 11.3 cm square of grey paper, white side up, like a diamond.
  32. Heron: crease the diagonal. Lay the square white side up, as a diamond. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  33. Heron: make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to lie along the centre crease.
  34. Heron: narrow the top. Fold the two upper edges in to the centre crease too, making a long grey diamond.
  35. Heron: fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half along the centre crease, so the grey flaps stay on the outside.
  36. Heron: lay it down. Turn it so the fold runs along the bottom and the point that was at the bottom is on the right.
  37. Heron: crease a strip. Fold the bottom edge up 6 mm along its whole length, through all the layers, and crease it hard.
  38. Heron: open it. Unfold the strip again. You will cut along its crease to free a neck at the front and two legs at the back.
  39. Heron: neck and body. Cut along the crease from the right end to 9 mm before the peak. Then round the body above it, from the neck up over the back.
  40. Heron: cut the legs free. Cut along the crease from the left end to 2.6 cm behind the peak. Then snip along the bottom fold just as far, so the strip splits into two legs.
  41. Heron: neck back. Outside-reverse-fold the long neck strip back over itself, on an upright crease right under the peak, so it points back along the body.
  42. Heron: neck up. Outside-reverse-fold the neck strip up, starting the crease at the bottom of the last fold, so it stands up leaning forward.
  43. Heron: neck down again. 2.7 cm up the neck, outside-reverse-fold the rest straight back down over it, on a crease square across the neck.
  44. Heron: bend it back. Outside-reverse-fold it up again from the bottom of that fold, leaning back over the body. Now the neck zigzags: the start of the S.
  45. Heron: head forward. 2.5 cm higher, outside-reverse-fold the top forward, level with the table. The pointed tip is the dagger beak.
  46. Heron: legs down. Fold the front leg strip down from the end of its cut, leaning a little forward. Fold the back one down behind, leaning a little back.
  47. Heron: fold the feet. Fold the last 8 mm of each leg forward along the ground: the front foot over the front, the back foot behind.
  48. Heron: trim the tail. Snip the back end of the body off at a slant, starting 1.9 cm behind the legs, and round off the back above it: a short pointed tail.
  49. Heron's crest: new sheet. Set the heron aside. For its crest, take a 0.2 × 1.9 cm piece of black paper.
  50. Heron's crest: cut the plume. Cut the strip from corner to corner along its length, into a long thin point.
  51. Jetty posts: new sheet. Set the heron aside. For the jetty posts, take a 10.7 × 1.2 cm dark-brown strip, long side across.
  52. Jetty posts: narrow it. Fold the top and bottom edges behind to meet in the middle at the back. Press hard: a stiff strip.
  53. Jetty posts: bend the ends. Fold both ends down on slants from the bottom corners: two posts standing in the water.
  54. Jetty deck: new sheet. Set the posts aside. For the deck, take a 12 × 3.2 cm piece of light-brown paper, brown side up.
  55. Jetty deck: pleat 1. Fold the bottom part up on a line 9 mm below the top edge.
  56. Jetty deck: pleat 1 back. Fold it back down on a line 3.5 mm higher. The pleat's edge parts two boards.
  57. Jetty deck: pleat 2. Make a second pleat the same way, its line 1.5 cm below the top edge.
  58. Jetty deck: pleat 2 back. Fold it back down 3.5 mm higher: three boards.
  59. Fishing line: new sheet. Set the deck aside. For the fishing line, take a 6.1 cm × 4 mm white strip, standing tall.
  60. Fishing line: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle: a line just 2 mm wide.
  61. Fish: new sheet. Set the line aside. For the fish, take a 4.8 cm square of orange paper, white side up, like a diamond.
  62. Fish: make a triangle. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner.
  63. Fish: corners up. Fold the left and right corners up to the top point.
  64. Fish: fold out the tail. Fold the tips of both flaps outward so they fan apart.
  65. Fish: turn it sideways. Rotate so the tail points left.
  66. Life jacket: new sheet. Set the fish aside. Now the angler, starting with a life jacket: a 2.2 × 2.7 cm orange piece.
  67. Life jacket: shoulders. Fold the two top corners behind, 4 mm along each edge: sloping shoulders.
  68. Angler's arms: new sheet. Set the jacket aside. For the arms, take a 4.1 × 1 cm skin-tone strip.
  69. Angler's arms: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle at the back: a thin, stiff strip.
  70. Angler's arms: bend it. Fold the top part down on a line through the shoulder: one arm rests, the other reaches out for the rod.
  71. Angler's head: new sheet. Set the arms aside. For the head, take a 2.1 cm square of skin-tone paper.
  72. Angler's head: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 5 mm along each edge: a round face.
  73. Sun hat: new sheet. Set the head aside. For the sun hat, take a 2.8 × 1.2 cm piece of yellow paper, yellow side up.
  74. Sun hat: the crown. Fold the top corners behind on slants, 8 mm along the top and down to the bottom corners: a round crown.
  75. Sun hat: hat band. Fold the bottom edge up 2.5 mm: a white band round the hat.
  76. Fishing rod: new sheet. Set the hat aside. For the rod, take a 10.9 × 0.6 cm dark-brown strip.
  77. Fishing rod: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle: a thin, stiff rod.
  78. Boat: new sheet. Set the rod aside. For the gallery rowing boat's hull, take an 8.3 × 4.1 cm piece of brown paper, brown side up.
  79. Boat: fold the bottom behind. Fold the bottom strip behind, a bit less than half.
  80. Boat: white rim. Fold the top edge down in front, just a thin strip. It shows white: the rim of the boat.
  81. Boat: bow and stern. Fold the bottom-right corner behind on a long slant for the pointed bow, and the bottom-left corner behind on a short slant for the stern.
  82. Oar: new sheet. Set the hull aside. For an oar resting in the water, take a 0.4 × 5.4 cm piece of light-brown paper.
  83. Oar: thin handle. Fold both long sides behind on a slant to narrow the handle.
  84. Oar: tilt it. Turn the oar so it slopes, its blade pointing down to the right.
  85. Build the scene. Glue the hills, lake and bank onto the sky. Add the tent, reeds, heron and jetty, then the line and fish, the angler, the rod, and the boat in front.
  86. Stand it up. Bend the sky gently towards you on the middle crease and stand the whole lake up on the table.

Got one!

Draw the angler's face, the heron's eye and the fish's eye, ripples on the water and the boat's planks.

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