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How to fold an origami velociraptor

Fold a sheet in half, reverse-fold a long stiff tail and a neck, crimp the head and cut two running legs. Glue on a feathery arm and draw the famous sickle claw.

You need: A 20 x 15 cm rectangle, orange on one side, and a 3.4 cm square of dark brown paper; scissors, a ruler and glue. Hard, 19 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. White side up, long sides at the top and bottom, fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold at the top is the back.
  2. Crease the belly. Fold the bottom edge up on a level crease 2.6 cm below the top fold.
  3. Open it. Unfold it again. The body goes above this crease, the legs below it.
  4. Crease the hips. Fold the right end over on an upright crease 10.3 cm from the left edge.
  5. Open it. Unfold it again. The two legs will be cut on either side of this crease.
  6. Tail end back. Outside-reverse-fold the left end back over the body on an upright crease 7.5 cm from the left edge.
  7. Cut the tail. Cut up the left end fold, leaving 1.6 cm at the top. Trim the flap to a point: a slant from there to its far end on the top fold.
  8. Tail out. Outside-reverse-fold the tail strip out on a crease from its bottom corner, so the long tail sticks straight back, a little up.
  9. Neck end back. Outside-reverse-fold the right end back over the body on an upright crease 6 cm from the right edge.
  10. Cut the neck. Cut up the right end fold, leaving 1.7 cm at the top; trim the flap to 1.4 cm deep at its tip. Slant the tip's bottom corner off for a snout.
  11. Cut the legs. Cut along the belly crease up to 1.2 cm each side of the hip crease, and up that crease 8 mm. Trim the back leg slanting back, the front one forward.
  12. Slim the body. Snip the two bottom corners of the body off in slants: 1.2 cm along the belly at the tail end, 1.5 cm at the chest, up to the strips.
  13. Neck up. Outside-reverse-fold the neck strip up on a crease from its bottom corner, so the neck rises up and forward.
  14. Head back. Outside-reverse-fold the top 3.4 cm of the neck back down along it, on a crease from its back edge.
  15. Head forward. Outside-reverse-fold it out again from the same point, so the long, pointed head looks straight ahead.
  16. Arm: new sheet. Set the body aside. Lay the 3.4 cm dark square white side up.
  17. Arm: fold a triangle. Fold the top right corner down onto the bottom left corner. The fold, running down from the top left, is the arm.
  18. Arm: cut the feathers. Cut a slant from 1.5 cm down the left edge to 4 mm from the right corner. Snip four slits into that edge, halfway to the fold, for feathers.
  19. Glue on the arm. Slide the body under the arm and glue them, the arm's corner at the chest, so the feathery arm reaches down and forward.

Zoom!

Draw a fierce eye, a long grin, stripes on the back and the big hooked sickle claw on the foot. Then race it across the table!

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