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How to fold an origami shipwreck

A real project. Cut a jagged break into a ship's hull and pleat its rail, raise a leaning mast with a torn sail, comb an octopus's legs, fold a diver, a shark and an anchor, chain-cut gold coins and stand it all up on a deep-blue sea.

You need: 13 pieces: 13 × 5 cm brown, then dark brown, cream, sand, grey, pink, red, yellow, brown, gold and half-A4 dark blue (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, pens.. Challenge, 64 steps, about 70 minutes.

Steps

  1. Hull: fold in half. Start with the hard part, the hull: a 13 × 5 cm brown piece, brown side up, long side across. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge.
  2. Hull: cut the break. At the right end, cut from the fold 3 cm in, out to the end 1.4 cm below the fold. Snip the top layer's end shorter on a slant, and the bottom layer's corner.
  3. Hull: open it. Unfold it. The right end is now torn open in jagged points, like a hull broken on the rocks.
  4. Hull: fold the top down. Fold the top edge down on a crease 1.2 cm below it.
  5. Hull: pleat the rail. Fold it back up on a crease 3.5 mm lower. The pleat's edge is the ship's rail along the deck.
  6. Hull: slope the bow. Fold the bottom left corner behind on a slant, from 1.3 cm below the top left corner to 3.2 cm in along the bottom.
  7. Mast: new sheet. Set the hull aside. For the mast, take a 2 × 9.5 cm dark brown strip, standing tall.
  8. Mast: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  9. Mast: in half again. Fold the right edges back over onto the fold.
  10. Mast: snap the top. Cut the top off on a slant, 1 cm down on the left to 3 mm down on the right: a snapped mast.
  11. Mast: glue in the hull. Glue the hull over the mast's bottom 2 cm, with the mast leaning 22 degrees to the left.
  12. Sail: new sheet. Set the ship aside. For the torn sail, take a 4.4 cm cream square, cream side up.
  13. Sail: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  14. Sail: tear the bottom. Snip the bottom corner at the fold, 2 cm up and 1.2 cm across. Snip the other bottom corner too, and the top layer's right edge a little.
  15. Sail: open it. Unfold it. The bottom edge is ragged and torn.
  16. Seabed: new sheet. Set the sail aside. For the seabed, take a 21 × 3.8 cm sandy strip, sand side up, lying long.
  17. Seabed: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
  18. Seabed: round the mounds. Round off both top corners with two long snips each, starting 9 mm down the sides.
  19. Seabed: open it. Unfold it: two soft sandy mounds.
  20. Sink the ship. Glue the ship behind the seabed, its keel 1.6 cm down, the mast leaning left. Glue the sail hanging off the mast's right side, 2 cm below its top.
  21. Shark: new sheet. Set the wreck aside. For the shark, take a 5 cm grey square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  22. Shark: triangle. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner.
  23. Shark: top point down. Fold the top point down to the middle of the bottom edge, through both layers.
  24. Shark: pop up the fin. Fold the point back up on a slant, from the left end of the top edge to just below the right end. It sticks up as the fin.
  25. Shark: tail and nose. Fold the right point up on a slant 2.5 cm from its tip, for the tail. Fold the tip of the left point behind for a blunt nose.
  26. Octopus: new sheet. Set the shark aside. For the octopus, take a 5.6 × 12 cm pink piece, white side up, standing tall.
  27. Octopus: fold up. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge. The fold along the bottom is where the leg tips will be.
  28. Octopus: round the head. Round off both top corners with three snips each, starting 3 cm down the sides, for a dome-shaped head.
  29. Octopus: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  30. Octopus: in half again. Fold the right edges back over onto the fold.
  31. Octopus: and again. Fold it in half once more, the same way. Crease all the layers hard.
  32. Octopus: cut the legs. Cut a long thin slice off each side of the stack, from 2.8 cm above the bottom down to the bottom fold, leaving 2 mm in the middle.
  33. Octopus: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  34. Octopus: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  35. Octopus: open flat. Open it flat. Eight pointed legs dangle from the round head.
  36. Diver: new sheet. Set the octopus aside. For the diver, take a 9 × 2.5 cm red strip, red side up, lying long.
  37. Diver: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge.
  38. Diver: cut the legs. At the right end, cut from the fold 3.4 cm in, out to the end 5 mm below the fold.
  39. Diver: open it. Unfold it: two legs kick out at the right end. Fold the left end's corners behind, 9 mm each way, for a round head.
  40. Air tank: new sheet. Set the diver aside. For the air tank, take a 3.6 × 1.2 cm yellow piece, yellow side up.
  41. Air tank: round the ends. Fold all four corners behind, 4 mm each way.
  42. Anchor: new sheet. Set the tank aside. For the anchor, take a 2.8 × 7 cm grey piece, grey side up, standing tall.
  43. Anchor: fold in half. Fold the left half behind onto the right half: a grey strip 1.4 cm wide, grey on both sides.
  44. Anchor: crease the middle. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, right edge over to the left edge, and crease it.
  45. Anchor: open the crease. Open it again.
  46. Anchor: slit the arms. Cut up the middle crease from the bottom, 2.8 cm. The two flaps beside the cut become the arms.
  47. Anchor: swing out the arms. Fold each flap out and up on a slanted crease from the top of the cut, so the two arms curve up at the sides like an anchor's.
  48. Anchor: round the top. Fold the two top corners behind, 5 mm each way, for the ring at the top.
  49. Chest: new sheet. Set the anchor aside. For the treasure chest, take a 5 × 4 cm brown piece, brown side up, long side across.
  50. Chest: fold the top down. Fold the top edge down on a crease 1.6 cm below it.
  51. Chest: pleat the lid. Fold it back up on a crease 3 mm lower. The pleat's edge is the rim of the lid.
  52. Chest: dome the lid. Fold the two top corners behind, 1 cm each way, for a rounded lid. Fold the bottom corners behind 4 mm for little feet.
  53. Coins: new sheet. Set the chest aside. For the gold coins, take a 10 × 1.4 cm gold strip, gold side up, lying long.
  54. Coins: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
  55. Coins: in half again. Fold the right edges back over onto the fold.
  56. Coins: and again. Fold it in half once more, the same way. Crease all the layers hard.
  57. Coins: round them. Snip all four corners of the little stack, 4 mm each way. Don't cut the folds away: they hold the coins together.
  58. Coins: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  59. Coins: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  60. Coins: open flat. Open it flat: a chain of eight gold coins.
  61. Sea: new sheet. Set the coins aside. Last, the sea: half an A4 sheet of dark-blue paper (21 × 14.8 cm), blue side up, lying long.
  62. Sea: crease the stand. Fold each short end in 4 cm and open it again. These two creases let the sea stand up like a screen.
  63. Build the wreck. Glue on the seabed, the shark at the top, the diver right with the tank on his back, the octopus at the right, the anchor by the bow, then the chest and coins.
  64. Stand it up. Bend both end panels gently towards you on their creases, and stand the whole wreck up on the table.

Treasure found!

With a white gel pen, dot the diver's bubbles, the portholes' rims, the octopus's eyes and spots. In black, draw the diver's mask and fins, and the chest's bands.

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