How to fold an origami manta ray
Fold a black sheet in half and cut both wings at once. Fold a white rim along the trailing edges, add two head fins and a thin tail, then bend the wings up to glide.
You need: A 10 × 24 cm sheet, a 2 × 10 cm strip and a 1 × 8 cm strip, black on one side and white on the other, scissors, glue and a white pen. Hard, 14 steps, about 25 minutes.
Steps
- Fold in half. Black side up, fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
- Cut the wings. Cut a straight mouth 1.5 cm out from the fold, then a long curve out to a sharp wing tip at the bottom corner, and straight back to the fold 5 cm below the mouth.
- Open it out. Unfold it, black side up: a wide ray with pointed wings.
- Snip the middle. Snip 8 mm up the middle crease from the back edge.
- White rims. Fold each back edge over on a slant, from the wing tip to the end of the snip, so a white rim shows along the back of both wings.
- The head fins. Set the ray aside. Take the 2 × 10 cm strip, white side up, lying across.
- Head fins: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge, so the strip is black on both sides.
- Head fins: turn up the ends. Fold each end straight up on a 45° slant, 1 cm out from the middle, so two short horns stand up side by side.
- Head fins: point the tips. Snip the outer top corner off each horn on a slant, so the tips point in.
- The tail. Set the head fins aside. Take the 1 × 8 cm strip, white side up, standing upright.
- Tail: fold in half. Fold the right edge over onto the left edge.
- Tail: cut it thin. Cut from 2.5 cm down the left edge on a long slant to a sharp point at the bottom.
- Glue it together. Glue the head fins behind the mouth so the horns stick forward, and the tail behind the middle of the back edge.
- Glide. Stand the manta up on its tail tip, facing you, and bend both wings gently toward you along the sides of the body. Glide!
Gliding giant!
Dot a white eye on each side of the head, just behind the head fins.