How dragons are made. Origami dragon - description of diagrams, assembly instructions and the best ideas for beginners

Origami is the art of turning paper into figures of animals and various objects. It teaches us concentration, accuracy and perseverance. You can use paper to make a cute little dragon that will decorate a shelf with crafts.

In order to fold an origami dragon, you need to take a square sheet of paper. Nowadays, special paper for origami is sold in stores; it is immediately cut into even squares and comes in different colors.

The square must be folded diagonally, first on one side, then on the other.

Then the square is folded in half so that you get a rectangle, also on both sides.

It turned out to be 8 rays of folds.

Along these folds the figure is folded into a small rhombus; you need to take two opposite corners and fold them inward along the folds.

The result is a rhombus.

Then on the other. The result is a figure resembling kite.

The upper triangle is bent and ironed.

The top layer of the figure is bent from the bottom up and unfolded like a boat.

The edges are well ironed to create a narrow and long diamond shape. The same must be done on the other side of the figure.

The upper corner of a long diamond is bent from top to bottom.

Also on the other side. Again it turned out to be a kite.

The top needs to be bent to the fold and ironed well, bending first in one direction, then in the other.

Now we need to expand the figure - a pyramid has formed at the top.

The top of this pyramid must be bent inward.

The result was a kite without a top.

Now we need to bend the corners of the kite. First on one side.

Then on the other.

Now the figure needs to be turned out so that its inner layer is on the outside, that is, it just needs to be flipped over. This is what should happen.

Again, the corners of the figure are bent from bottom to top. The result is a triangle.

Let's flip through the figure again, this is what should be inside. But the figure is still the same triangle.

Now the wings of the future dragon will be formed from the upper layer of the triangle; to do this, you need to bend the wing first in one direction. The folded side of the triangle should be parallel to its base.

Then the wing bends in the same way, but in the other direction. You get 2 folds.

Now you need to form a wing using these folds. The photo shows the wing from above.

The same manipulations must be done with the second wing. Now they stick out to the sides.

Now you need to turn the leg out again. First, one side of it is bent; you need to make sure that the middle fold is parallel to the figure.

Then the second side is bent. This is what should happen in the end.

The same is done with the second leg. First it goes down.

Then it turns out parallel to the figure. This is how the dragon should look like.

Now you need to bend the right side of the triangle from top to bottom and perform a manipulation similar to that when the wings were formed. Fold the foot.

The result is a paw that sticks out to the side.

The same must be done with the remaining three legs. The dragon formed four protruding legs.

Now the paws need to be bent so that the dragon can stand on them. All paws bend in one direction.

Another fold is made.

And one more thing - it turned out to be the head of a dragon with a horn on the top of its head.

Now we need to work on the wings. The wing bends at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. First one thing, then immediately another.

A clawed hand is formed at the end of the wing.

For greater realism, you can make several membrane folds on the wing in any order.

The dragon is almost ready, the tail remains. It needs to be expanded a little.

And make an accordion from three folds.

The accordion bends, creating a ribbed tail. You need to properly spread the dragon's wings and put him on his feet. The dragon is ready!

The final look of the craft. Photo 1.

The final look of the craft. Photo 2.

Dragons are very mysterious and unusual mythical creatures. Many people want to find an origami dragon diagram, because in all fairy tales and legends they appear as both good and evil characters. Our origami dragon the same as in ancient paintings: proud and unapproachable and at the same time very graceful. In many cultures, the dragon is a symbol of wisdom.

There are various origami schemes for how to make a dragon. There are huge modular figures and solid ones, composed of several sheets; simple and easy dragons for beginners, as well as complex and moving ones for more skilled craftsmen.

Simple and accessible origami how to make a dragon.

If you have previously encountered the world of origami, then you have probably made a classic crane. This will be the basis of our dragon. If not, then it’s okay - ours paper origami dragon simple and affordable. And you can easily cope with it yourself, and also teach this scheme even to children. Collaboration working with children on origami helps not only the development of their pens and memory, but also a useful way to spend time and create new toy to the next tale of dragons.

To create such a dragon, you will need a double-sided square sheet of colored paper and a little time!

Assembling a simple crane. Fold the sheet diagonally, vertically and horizontally. Fold along the marked folds into a double square.

The next step is to fold the side edges of the square towards the center. We do this twice on both sides of the square, we get a rhombus. Next, we bend the ribs back. Along the marked folds, carefully lift up the lower part of the diamond. We do this on the other side as well. We get a thin, sharp rhombus, the top of which we lower down.

Following step by step photos, make a square at the top of the rhombus and bend it inward. To get a flat cut at the top, you need to slightly bend and lift up the sharp edges of the diamond. And fold it in half inward.

We create a blank for the wings by folding the points of the diamond in different directions and folding it in the center, as in the photo. This must be done on both sides.

Now let's create the basis for the tail and head of the future origami dragon. We fold the remaining two sharp corners slightly inward so that they become parallel to the wings.

Let's add realism to the dragon and make his hind legs, following the photographs.

Let's finish forming the tail. First, let's make it flatter, outline the folds and manually add volume and shape, bending it slightly upward.

By analogy with the hind legs, we will do the front ones.

And, of course, the head! The penultimate stage of assembling the dragon according to the diagram will be two folds up and back down. This way we will get the head.

Add volume to the wings (by simply straightening them with your fingers and slightly bending the tips), at this point everything depends only on your imagination.

Our dragon is ready.

Now children and even adults can easily play with it.

A ready-made origami dragon for everyone's joy!

Thus, you have in your hands the finished result of your time spent. But the result is more than worthy. These dragons can be a decoration for your holiday or theme party. oriental style. DIY origami dragon, diagram which is described above, will be an excellent reason for playing with children. After all, it will be interesting for kids not only to make such crafts themselves, but also to play together with ready-made figures. If you yourself are interested in origami, then by adding to your skills by creating such a dragon, you will surprise your acquaintances and friends. You can brighten up any boring evening by starting a game where you can create dragons or other origami characters together. And then even organize a competition to see whose baby dragon will be more beautiful and realistic.

Paper dragon - interesting craft, capable of decorating any apartment and also becoming a good toy for a child. In addition, you can have a great time creating it with your children, especially if it is timed to coincide with a holiday: for example, the year of the dragon, and make several copies at once. There are many techniques used to create a paper dragon, and among them everyone will find an option to their liking.

How to make a dragon out of paper: videos and diagrams

For the littlest fans of paper dragons, 3D modeling is ideal, when a pre-prepared template is cut out, folded along certain lines and glued together. There is little work, but the product comes out as colorful as possible, and dragons that are cartoon characters often take this form. Such figurines are most often folded for the purpose of collecting, so the costs of creating them are usually minimized.

Various origami techniques require much more experience and time: a paper dragon can be folded in 3 minutes, but only a silhouette will remind you of the primeval lizard. Or you can spend up to 30 minutes and get a more real figurine. In addition, if a classic origami craft often involves decorating parts, marking eyes, and drawing scales, then modular origami more self-sufficient. However, it is much more difficult for beginners to cope with it, so it is recommended to try your hand at classical schemes before moving on to more time-consuming tasks.

The easiest way to make a paper dragon is to hang it on the Christmas tree as a toy. For this purpose, you need to make a stencil from thick cardboard and cut it out. To make the figure even, you can use a ready-made drawing, transferred through tracing paper to cardboard, or you can sketch out a sketch of the dragon by hand. There is no point in creating a complex image - just drawing a silhouette is enough. After which you need to arm yourself with corrugated paper, glue (the stick version is recommended, it deforms the paper less), and thin ribbons or pieces of foil, velvet paper and markers.

Corrugated paper is laid out on the surface, and a cardboard template is placed on it. On the outside it is treated with glue, after which the paper is smoothed and its excess parts are cut off. It is advisable to wrap the entire cardboard blank with corrugation. The side on which “seams” appear from the edges of the paper will become the front side: further actions will be carried out on it. However, it is recommended to position the template so that all the “seams” are on the lower part of the silhouette, where the dragon’s belly will be located. To create it from foil or the same corrugated paper a part is cut out, which sits on the glue. Segments of skin are marked on it with a felt-tip pen, or they can be made by placing thin strands of foil on the abdomen.

In order for the dragon to have wings, a square is cut out of paper and tied at the bottom with a thread. Thus, it will fold into a semicircular open fan, which is glued to the body. If you have doubts about the reliability of such fastening, you can even sew the part to the craft with a couple of stitches: the needle and thread will pass through the cardboard with ease. In addition, the resulting holes may be needed if the paper dragon subsequently settles on the Christmas tree. All that remains is to make a ridge on the corrugation, which is a “fence” of triangles that should not be pulled out too much at the ends, and also draw and cut out a muzzle on flesh-colored velvet paper.

Origami: paper dragon


  • The classic origami technique also includes several paper dragon designs. They are not easy to divide by level of complexity - each requires thoughtful study of the algorithm and hard training. It is recommended to start with the following: prepare a square of paper in advance, the size of which will be no less than 24 by 24 cm. It must be folded, turning it into an equilateral rhombus. To do this, all corners are bent inward and their vertices meet at the central point.
  • Now the workpiece is turned over so that the seams are under the paper, and from the side corners with a pencil, using a ruler, outline rays that have an intersection point 1.5-2 cm below the top. These lines will become auxiliary: you need to draw folds along them, and move the tip extending beyond the folded product to the right and left, creating the “beak” of a dragon.
  • Once again, it is necessary to start constructing auxiliary lines: draw a diagonal from the side corners, which is also the transverse axis for the rhombus, then divide each side in half and release rays from these points, ending on the opposite face of the rhombus. Using the resulting lines, the paper is folded so that the opposite corners meet, and the resulting rhombus with an elongated lower part becomes three-dimensional.
  • The point that has been central until now will look upward. At the next step, that part of the diamond that ends with the “beak” and is in front of you bends upward, and the whole figure, like an accordion, stretches, opening outward. The same steps must be repeated for the opposite (back) side.
  • After outlining new auxiliary lines and turning the half-opened diamond sideways, a silhouette of a dragon is formed, whose wings are lowered down. The part of the product that already has a “beak” must be bent obliquely to indicate a bowed head. The opposite zone - the “tail” - is reduced in thickness by 2 times by bending.
  • Then the triangle rising above the “wings” and “back” should be pressed inward, for which you should first reverse side Using the blades of the scissors, draw a reverse fold line along it. The elongated rhombuses of the wings rise upward, the thin triangles visible from under them bend, forming “paws”. The final step will be notches of the same back side blades drawn along the wings and allowing deformation by placing the zones overlapping each other. The same goes for the tail.

How to make a dragon from modules?


Assembling a paper dragon from modules is considered the most difficult. The difficulty lies in the need to make many identical modules from small pieces of paper. Since more than 1000 modules are often required, it is best to work on the dragon with the whole family or any other team. big company, in order to minimize the production time of the figurine. The modules themselves are prepared simply: a rectangular paper sheet is folded along a transverse line, then along a vertical axis, and then aligned with the sides, bent along the diagonals emerging from one point. The resulting triangle is turned over, changing the front side to the wrong side, the protruding stripes are folded up, and then the outer ends are brought back along the diagonals. To finish, you just need to bend the lower part, forming pockets, and also fold the figure in half along the vertical axis.

If we examine in detail the various dragon figurines made from modules, we can come to the conclusion that there is no specific scheme for their assembly. Each author has his own perspective, but a few points can be mentioned. Firstly, it’s easiest to be inspired by someone else’s work and take it as a basis if you don’t yet understand how to correctly connect all the parts into such a product. This will not help count the number of modules, but it will greatly simplify the task.

Both the back and front legs of the dragon are most often attached to the body glue gun, since other methods are not suitable here. If it is not there, you can attach the elements with regular adhesive and press carefully, fixing them for several hours. The remaining parts are quite simply fastened together by simply inserting the modules into each other, as well as treating the joints with glue. This will improve the grip of the elements, especially if there is a load on them: for example, in places of bends, or in areas such as a thin neck holding a massive head.

Paper dragon: photo

The most attractive thing is a paper dragon assembled from modules. different color, and complemented with details made of foil or other decorative paper: it is good to make small nuances from it, such as a long mustache, a comb, and drawings on the scales. Similar design methods are typical for Chinese ribbon dragons: they are quite easy to assemble, since they represent a large wriggling strip with paws, short weak wings and a large head with an open mouth. It is with such a dragon that it is recommended to start working in modular origami.

We continue to actively prepare for the New Year! I hope you have already decided on the main symbol of the holiday itself in its tabletop - paper and cardboard - version. If not yet, then perhaps you will need a selection of 3D models of paper Christmas trees or a master class on making an amazing origami Christmas tree according to the design of designer Francesco Guarnieri. However, in no case should we forget about the symbol of the coming 2012, which, as you know, is the Dragon. Great way“appease” him - make this mythical creature the main guest of the New Year's celebration. And if you also create it with your own hands, then such a sign of attention, I’m sure, will help you earn the favor of the Dragon for the whole coming year.

We will, of course, make a dragon out of paper. To make your choice easier, I bring to your attention my selection of paper dragons, baby dragons and dragonets that I liked the most. There are exactly 12 of them. They all have different levels of difficulty, but detailed instructions and master classes clearly demonstrates how to make a paper dragon, therefore, absolutely anyone can recreate the proposed models. So choose the dragon you like best and go for it. Or you can go even further and make all 12 paper dragons - for each month of the year :)

To make this big-eyed monster, you will need to print just one part on an A4 sheet, punch it along the marked lines, trim it a little with scissors, slightly glue the body and tail (if desired) and fold it.

In this case, it is better to use thicker paper (from 200 g/m2) or even cardboard. For most of the models presented below, matte photo paper with a density of 120-160 g/m2 is optimal.

Next paper dragon also refers to the simplest models, only it consists of several parts. The assembly procedure is described in English language, but figuring it out is not a problem. As a last resort, Google Translator is always at hand.

The author of the blue dragon did not create instructions for assembling it. But, I hope, looking at the photo collage with images of the finished product from different angles, it will not be difficult to understand what and how to fold and where to glue.

If you have watched the American cartoon How to Train Your Dragon, then these three dragons are very familiar to you. The more interesting it will be to collect their 3D models.

Download patterns and get acquainted step by step instructions Can .

Another 3D model from the category of simple ones is the Chinese dragon from Canon “CREATIVE PARK”. All you need is to print 1 sheet of A4, fold and glue the unfolded paper.

But here you will have to work hard. Components of this Chinese dragon(Canon “CREATIVE PARK”) will have to be printed on 17 sheets. That's a lot of work :). Although if you get together with the whole family, the assembly process will definitely be more lively. The main thing is not to get confused in numerous details. To do this, when you cut out, be sure to mark them on the wrong side.

The result will be a very realistic paper figurine that will look great against the background of the festive surroundings on the occasion of the coming of the Year of the Dragon.

Download/print patterns and instructions

Another gorgeous dragon that can be done sitting or flying. Assembly will take a fair amount of time, but the results are definitely worth it.

Download patterns and instructions:

The following paper dragons are prominent representatives of products made using the modular origami technique. This is a task for the most patient, those for whom the need to fold several hundred identical paper modules does not extinguish the sparkle in their eyes, but, on the contrary, ignites them with creative excitement.

Even if for you the words “modular origami” are still the same as Chinese letter(figuratively speaking), then you still shouldn’t be afraid to try. Detailed master classes You'll be guided through every step of the build, from the first to the last module. Moreover, there should be just enough time to master this “titanic” work in order to be in time for the New Year

Fire Red Dragon

Three headed dragon, aka Zmey Gorynych

And finally, a funny little dragon, which is not at all as simple as it seems at first glance. All its hidden capabilities will be revealed to you after you collect it.

And believe me, it’s simply impossible to take your eyes off him, and he won’t leave you unattended :)

This paper dragon, demonstrating a stunning optical illusion, was invented quite a long time ago (author - Jerry Andrus), but, you see, on the eve of the Year of the Dragon, it is quite worthy of giving it new life. And it will certainly cheer you and your loved ones up.

Download the patterns (in blue, green and red), print the one you want (or change the color tone in a graphic editor, for example, Adobe Photoshop Elements), cut and fold according to the instructions.

Good luck in your creativity! And see you again in KARTONKINO!

PS. Do you want to be the first to know about new lessons and master classes, as well as when new box templates and other useful and entertaining cardboard crafts appear on the site? Receive announcements

A bright and beautiful paper dragon is a wonderful craft that children can make with their own hands. It consists of a voluminous body with several halves of circles, as well as two parts in the form of a head and a tail, which you can draw or use ready-made template images presented in this review.

In this work we used:

  • Red cardboard;
  • Orange paper;
  • Eyes stickers;
  • A simple pencil, scissors, a glue stick, a compass.

How to make a paper dragon with your own hands?

Making the torso

Draw and cut out 4 circles. If desired, you can do more, the dragon’s body will be more voluminous and denser.

Cut the circles in half.

Now add all the halves together.

Glue their sides together.

It should be noted here that as a result of this method the torso may be too wide. Therefore, it may be better to cut out ovals rather than circles. Or, at this stage, cut off the sides of the body a little, putting them together. Apply glue to one side and glue the other. Finally, complete the circle by gluing the first half of the circle and the last. The body of the paper dragon is ready.

The final stage of work

Use a template or draw a dragon head and neck of your choice.

Cut out these parts from cardboard.

Glue the head and tail, as well as any eyes, on opposite sides of the body. The paper dragon is already ready, it turned out so bright and beautiful. But you can supplement it a little with scales and spikes on the neck.