All models

How to fold an origami goat

Fold a square in half, crease the leg lines and fold both ends back. Cut and slim the legs, lift a neck and tail, crimp the head down, then glue on a beard and curved horns.

You need: A 15 cm square, tan on one side, and a scrap of the same paper; a 3 cm grey square; scissors, a ruler and glue. Hard, 19 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. White side up, fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold at the top is the goat's back.
  2. Crease the legs. Fold the left end over on an upright crease 2.8 cm from the left edge, and the right end behind on an upright crease 7.4 cm from the right edge.
  3. Open them. Unfold both ends again. The two creases mark the inside edges of the legs.
  4. Ends back. Outside-reverse-fold the right end back over the body 6 cm from the right edge, and the left end 1.4 cm from the left edge. Each layer wraps round the outside.
  5. Cut the strips. Cut up both end folds, leaving 1.8 cm at the right and 1 cm at the left. Trim the right flap to a strip, 1.4 cm deep at its tip, and the left one to a point.
  6. Shape the nose. Snip the bottom corner off the neck strip's tip: from 7 mm below the top fold on the tip, to the bottom edge 1.5 cm in. This shapes the muzzle.
  7. Cut the legs. Cut up both leg creases to 3.6 cm below the top fold. Cut the belly between them in a shallow curve, 4.3 cm below the top fold in the middle.
  8. Slim the legs. Trim each leg narrower toward the hoof: slant the back and chest edges in 4 mm at the bottom, starting from the strips, and the inside edges 2.5 mm.
  9. Tail up. Outside-reverse-fold the tail strip up on a crease from its bottom corner, so it sticks up and back.
  10. Lift the neck. Outside-reverse-fold the neck strip up on a crease from its bottom corner, so it stands up leaning forward.
  11. Snip the neck. Cut along the back fold of the neck from its base right up to the tip, so the two layers of the neck come apart.
  12. Head back. Fold the top of each neck layer down over the neck, on a crease from its back edge 1.8 cm up, slanting down to the front edge.
  13. Head out. Fold the head back out on a crease from the same corner, so it points forward and down. Glue the two head layers together.
  14. Horns: new sheet. Set the goat aside. Take the 3 cm grey square, white side up.
  15. Horns: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge, so you cut both horns at once.
  16. Horns: cut a curve. Keep the fold as the back of the horn. Cut a curve from 1 cm along the bottom, bulging out, up to a sharp tip at the top of the fold.
  17. Beard: new sheet. Set the horns aside. Cut a strip of the tan paper 8 mm wide and 2.5 cm long, and lay it white side up.
  18. Beard: cut a point. Snip the bottom of the strip to a long point, cutting in from both sides.
  19. Glue it together. Glue the beard behind the chin so its point hangs down. Glue the horns behind the top of the head, curving back, one on each side.

Maa!

Draw an eye and a nostril on each side, and colour the hooves dark. Stand it up with its legs a little apart.

What to fold next