How To Make An Origami Snake

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Origami means "folding paper" in Japanese and is a form of art created by folding paper.

Origami is deeply linked with Japanese culture, and is also linked to ancient Chinese art. It has been found to boost focus, awareness, and is also a relaxing and fun craft, which means kids and parents alike will love it.

Making this origami snake is simple, meaning it is the perfect easy origami for beginners, who are just starting to learn how to make origami. Kids who enjoy learning about animals and the world around them will also love learning how to make a snake! If your kids have never made origami before, they could always start off by making another animal, such as a fox, which we think is the easiest origami animal to make for beginners.

Learn how to build an easy origami snake below, with Kidadl's origami tutorial, including origami snake folding instructions as well as extra tips for families.

You Will Need:

A square of origami paper, green on one side and white on the other.

A pen.

Follow these instructions to make an origami snake you will be proud of!

1. Take your square of origami paper with the green side facing you. Turn it so the paper is a diamond shape.

2. Fold your paper in half vertically, and unfold it. You should be able to see a crease in the middle of your paper. Now fold your paper horizontally, and unfold it, so there is another visible crease.

3. Fold the upper point of your diamond shape into the middle of the paper, and do the same with the lowest point. Your paper should now be the outline of a hexagon shape.

4. Fold the top half of your hexagon and the bottom half of your hexagon into the very middle of your paper.

5. Unfold your origami paper so it looks like a diamond shape again.

6. Fold the bottom section of your square into a triangle slightly smaller than if you were to fold your paper in half so you can see a white triangle. The green part of your paper should now look like an upside down letter 'V' written in bubble writing.

7. Fold the middle part of the white triangle back down, so it now forms a green, downward pointing triangle. You should see two smaller white triangles on either side of this newly folded green triangle.

8. Fold the point of your new green triangle back up. You should now be able to see five triangles of an equal size forming a zig-zag pattern along the bottom edge of your triangle.

9. Repeat steps six, seven and eight for the upper half of your triangle, so that you have a zig-zag pattern on the top half of your paper, that looks identical to the one on the bottom edge. The outside of your piece of paper should now look like an irregular hexagon, with two long horizontal edges at the top and bottom, with what looks like four green diamonds in the middle.

10. Fold the top half of the hexagon down, on top of the bottom section. You should now have a piece of origami that stands up, with alternating green and white triangles on both sides.

11. Use your pen to draw an eye on the first green triangle on each side of your paper.

Image © Needpix

One simple way of achieving success when learning how to make a paper snake out of origami is ensuring every crease is firm and visible.

Why not stick on some googly eyes instead of drawing them on? Kids could also cut out a small red piece of paper and stick it beneath the eye, so their origami snake has a ferocious tongue.

If your kids want their snake origami to look really authentic, they could even draw the pattern of the skin of a particular snake. For example, they could make a Brazilian rainbow boa by drawing on some spots, or make a cool origami rattlesnake.