{"title":"How to Make an Origami Dragon","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/paper-crafts/how-to-make-an-origami-dragon","category":{"slug":"paper-crafts","name":"Paper Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Love Origami","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCak5gY7JMwK5rWrUX0k7v3Q","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25qjLa9ZzBM"},"tldr":"Fold a paper dragon from one square sheet. Slow, clear steps from Love Origami take you from the crane base to spread wings, neck, and tail.","totalDurationSeconds":864,"difficulty":"advanced","tools":["flat clean folding surface","bone folder (optional)"],"materials":["one square sheet of origami paper (colored one side, 15cm)"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Crease the Square","text":"Start with the paper colored side down. Fold it in half one way, unfold, then fold in half the other way. You want two clean creases crossing at the center. Run your thumbnail or a bone folder along each fold so it holds. These first creases guide every fold after this, so make them sharp."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Collapse the Triangle Base","text":"Add the two diagonal creases, then use all four folds to collapse the sheet into a smaller triangle. The sides tuck inward as the top layers come together. This is the preliminary base that the crane and this dragon both grow from. Press it flat so the point sits neatly at the top."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Squash and Petal Fold","text":"Open the top flap, squash it down evenly, and petal-fold the point upward. Do the same on the back. Each side opens into a tall narrow shape. Take it slow here since the layers are thin and want to slip. When both sides are done you'll have a kite shape that is starting to look like a bird."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Finish the Crane Base","text":"Fold the lower edges of the diamond in to the center line, front and back. This narrows the whole shape and creates two long points at the bottom. That is the finished crane base. Press every crease firmly. Those two points become the neck and tail, so a clean base pays off later."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Slim the Neck and Tail","text":"Take each of the two long points and fold its outer edges in toward the center again. This makes them thin and pointed, more like a neck and a tail than wide flaps. Work one point at a time and keep the folds symmetrical. Thin points give the dragon a sleeker, more finished profile."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Reverse Fold the Neck and Tail","text":"Now the dragon leaves the table. Inside-reverse-fold each slim point upward so the neck and tail lift and curve. Open the point slightly, push the crease in the opposite direction, and flatten. This is the step that gives the model its shape, so match the angle you see in the video on both sides."},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Shape the Head and Wings","text":"Make one more small reverse fold at the tip of the neck to form the head. Then open the two side flaps and pull them outward into wings. Curl and pinch them so they hold their spread. This is where a folded shape finally reads as a dragon, so fuss with the wings until they look right to you."},{"number":8,"title":"Step 8: Finish and Display","text":"Give the wings a final shape, adjust the neck curve, and set the tail. Stand back and look at it from the side, where the dragon reads best. That's your paper dragon, folded from one square sheet. Try it again in a different color, and the second one always comes out cleaner than the first."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-07-13T19:36:55.091Z","published":"2026-07-13T15:08:54.724Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}