How to fold an origami manatee
Corners in, turned over and folded in half for a plump body. Blunt the snout, round the back, pleat a neck wrinkle, then glue on a paddle tail and a flipper.
You need: A 15 cm square, a 7 cm square and a 4 cm square, grey on one side and white on the other, scissors, glue and a pen. Hard, 13 steps, about 25 minutes.
Steps
- Top and bottom in. White side up, fold the top and bottom corners in to meet at the middle.
- Turn it over. Flip it over, so it's grey all over.
- Fold in half. Fold the bottom half behind along the middle. The fold is the belly; the long points are the head and tail.
- Blunt the snout. Fold the left point behind through all layers on an upright crease 2.3 cm from its tip, so the snout is square.
- Round the back. Snip each top corner of the back off in two short cuts, so the body is round and plump on top.
- Neck: fold back. Fold the head over onto the body, toward you, on an upright crease 5 cm behind the snout.
- Neck: and forward. Fold it forward again on a crease 0.5 cm further back, so the head comes out with a fat wrinkle behind it.
- The paddle. Set the body aside. Take the 7 cm square, white side up.
- Paddle: fold in half. Fold the left half over onto the right half.
- Paddle: round it. Snip the right side round in four short cuts, and snip the two corners at the fold too, so it's a round paddle.
- The flipper. Set the paddle aside too. Take the 4 cm square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
- Flipper: fold in half. Fold the top corner down onto the bottom corner to make a grey triangle.
- Glue it together. Glue the paddle's straight edge behind the tip of the tail. Glue the flipper's long edge behind the belly, under the neck.
Gentle giant!
Draw a small eye, two nostrils on top of the snout and lots of whisker dots on its chin.