All models

How to fold an origami lion

Crease and cut a triangle into a body with four legs and swing a thin tail down from it. Cut a spiky round mane from a folded brown square, then glue on a little golden face.

You need: 1 golden square (15 cm), a brown square (10.5 cm), a small golden square (4.5 cm), scissors, a ruler, glue and a black pen. Hard, 24 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Body: fold in half. White side up, fold the top corner down to the bottom corner. The long fold at the top is the lion's back; it faces right.
  2. Body: crease the front legs. Fold the right point over on an upright crease 2 cm right of the middle, and crease it hard.
  3. Body: open it. Unfold it. This crease marks the back of the front legs.
  4. Body: crease the hind legs. Fold the left point over on an upright crease 2.5 cm left of the middle.
  5. Body: open it. Unfold it. This crease marks the front of the hind legs.
  6. Body: crease the rump. Fold the left point over again on a crease 4.5 cm left of the middle.
  7. Body: open it. Unfold it. Left of this crease will be the tail.
  8. Body: cut the legs. Cut the bottom point off level, 6 cm below the top fold. Cut up both leg creases to 2.8 cm below the top, and straight across between them.
  9. Body: free the tail. Cut up the rump crease to 8 mm below the top, then along to the left point, leaving a thin tail on the fold. Taper the hind legs.
  10. Tail: swing it down. Fold the thin tail down and back on a slanted crease from the top of the rump, so it hangs behind the hind legs.
  11. Tail: flick the tip. Fold the last 1.3 cm of the tail up and out, so the end flicks back like a lion's tail.
  12. Face: new sheet. Set the body aside. Take the small golden square, golden side up.
  13. Face: round it. Fold all four corners behind, about 1 cm in from each, so the face is round.
  14. Mane: new sheet. Set the face aside. Take the brown square, brown side up.
  15. Mane: in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The middle of the top fold is the middle of the mane.
  16. Mane: in half again. Fold the right half over onto the left half.
  17. Mane: corner to corner. Fold it in half from the top-right corner (the middle of the mane) to the bottom-left corner, top half down.
  18. Mane: and once more. Fold it in half once more from the same corner, the left edge onto the right edge. Crease all the layers hard.
  19. Mane: snip a point. Cut through all the layers in two straight snips that meet in a point: from 3.8 cm down each edge to 5.1 cm out in the middle.
  20. Mane: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  21. Mane: open again. Unfold the corner-to-corner fold.
  22. Mane: and again. Unfold the right half.
  23. Mane: open it flat. Unfold the top half. Sixteen spikes all round!
  24. Glue it together. Glue the mane over the front of the body, above the front legs. Glue the face in the middle of the mane.

Roar!

Draw two eyes, a black nose, a little mouth and whisker dots. Colour the end of the tail dark for its tuft.

What to fold next