How To Make an Origami Flapping Bird
- December 10, 2007
- 73,053 Views
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foldmaster
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Origami Expert
Tony Cheng
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Produced by
Howcast Media
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Directed by
Kevin Hall
- Source Origami USA
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Voice-Over Artist
Taige Jensen
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Production Designer
Karin Olsen
- Cosmetics Provided by M·A·C
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Music
Edison Music Corp
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Writer
Howcast Studios
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Art Director
Dew Gueramian
Have you ever wanted to just flap your wings and fly away? Well, here’s your chance to flap your wings—the flying away part is a little more complicated.
You Will Need
- A square of origami paper folded into a Bird Base
- A flat surface
Step 1: Position Bird Base
Position the Bird Base so that there are separate right and left flaps on the bottom. These flaps will be the tail and neck of the bird.
Step 2: Fold flap up and at angle
Fold one flap up and out to the side at a 45-degree angle above the center horizontal, pivoting at the center of the model.
Step 3: Unfold
Unfold.
Step 4: Fold flap in on itself
Fold the flap in on itself, between the model’s two layers, along the existing creases. This reverse fold creates the tail.
Be sure to create your fold by pivoting at the center of the model, or your bird will flop, not flap.
Step 5: Repeat the reverse fold
Repeat the reverse fold on the other side, folding the flap up and out to the side at a 45-degree angle above the center horizontal, pivoting at the center of the model, then unfolding and folding the flap in on itself, between the model’s two layers, along the existing creases. This creates the neck.
Step 6: Fold the head
Fold the tip of the neck in on itself to form a head.
Step 7: Lower the tail
Grasp the wings and lower the tail slightly so the bottom of the wing is centered in the middle of the tail.
Step 8: Fold one wing down
Fold down the top of one of the two remaining center flaps diagonally to make a wing by pivoting at the lower corner of the back of the wing. Line up the front edge of the wing against itself and crease softly.
Step 9: Repeat with other wing
Repeat with the other wing.
Step 10: Hold bottom of neck and pull the tail
Grasp your bird at the bottom of the neck with one hand. Gently pull the tail with your other hand and. . . up, up, and away!
Did you know? The smallest origami flapping bird on record was made from a square of paper about 1/10 of an inch on each side and mounted on a needle.
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Comments (12)
There should be a link to a ";bird base";
over 3 years ago by Gbeebani
there is a bird base link. Type in "; Bird Base ";. Find the link that says "; How to make a bird base ";.
over 3 years ago by simmons1675
Thanks for the reply, but what I meant was that the link should be more conveniently placed within this page so that users do not have to leave the page and search for it separately.
over 3 years ago by Gbeebani
I'm only 2 wks into this and love it. At first I also had to keep referring to Bird Base....but! .... after making several, I had it! And my bird's wings flap, too.
over 2 years ago by RubyAnn
That's a very good comment!! Thanks for pointing it out to us. I will ask Howcast to do that!
BTW, were you able to fold the flapping bird successfully?
Yours,
June
over 3 years ago by foldmaster
how to donwload this file?i can not watch this video because of our slow internet connection speed
over 2 years ago by yadi
Martin, I did join the Hub, thanks. How's it going? I found a book in a Used Book Store about Flying Things, really different than anything I've seen on-line. A Flying Nun, a Maple Tree Seed (helicopter), Gliding Swan, Delta Jet, and so many more! I hope you're enjoying this, too, don't give up! RubyAnn
over 2 years ago by RubyAnn
i do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
over 3 years ago by outlet
I have always wondered how to make one of these. Thanks!
over 2 years ago by kalliegirl
last night i made one of these flapping bird.
about 1 year ago by williamkoko
I really love your vids and origamiUSA too. do yo narrate each other?
about 1 year ago by darkshadow13
Hi darkshadow13,
I'm happy to hear that you and others have enjoyed learning to fold origami from my videos. I narrated several videos for Howcast. They used some of my voiceovers for the video clips and someone else for others.
Keep on folding! You'll get better as you fold more. :)
June
about 1 year ago by foldmaster
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