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How to fold an origami heron

A long diamond folded in half, with thin strips cut free along the bottom for the neck and two legs. Outside reverse folds bend the neck into an S and point the dagger beak.

You need: 1 square sheet, 15 × 15 cm, grey on one side; scissors and a black pen. Hard, 20 steps, about 25 minutes.

Steps

  1. Crease the diagonal. Lay the square white side up, as a diamond. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  2. Make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to lie along the centre crease.
  3. Narrow the top. Fold the two upper edges in to the centre crease too, making a long grey diamond.
  4. Fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half along the centre crease, so the grey flaps stay on the outside.
  5. Lay it down. Turn it so the fold runs along the bottom and the point that was at the bottom is on the right.
  6. Crease a strip. Fold the bottom edge up 8 mm along its whole length, through all the layers, and crease it hard.
  7. 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.
  8. Neck and body. Cut along the crease from the right end to 1.2 cm before the peak. Then round the body above it, from the neck up over the back.
  9. Cut the legs free. Cut along the crease from the left end to 3.5 cm behind the peak. Then snip along the bottom fold just as far, so the strip splits into two legs.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Neck down again. 3.6 cm up the neck, outside-reverse-fold the rest straight back down over it, on a crease square across the neck.
  13. 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.
  14. Head forward. 3.4 cm higher, outside-reverse-fold the top forward, level with the table. The pointed tip is the dagger beak.
  15. 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.
  16. Fold the feet. Fold the last 1.1 cm of each leg forward along the ground: the front foot over the front, the back foot behind.
  17. Trim the tail. Snip the back end of the body off at a slant, starting 2.5 cm behind the legs, and round off the back above it: a short pointed tail.
  18. Crest: new sheet. Set the heron aside. Take a strip of black paper 3 mm wide and 2.6 cm long.
  19. Cut the plume. Cut the strip from corner to corner along its length, into a long thin point.
  20. Glue on the crest. Glue the wide end of the plume behind the back of the head, so the thin point trails back and droops.

Patient hunter!

Draw an eye, a black stripe behind it that ends in a long plume, and dark streaks down the front of the neck. Stand it by a pond of blue paper.

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