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How to Make to Head of an Ox in Origami

Paper was first introduced to Japan during the early seventh century, shortly after which the Japanese perfected a thin type of paper known as washi. This paper was first restricted to official religious use, but between 1600 and 1868, paper folding developed into a hobby allowed for all. An ox head is a basic origami shape, but requires some creasing before the folding begins.

Things You'll Need

1 sheet origami paper

Instructions

- 1
  Flip the paper over so the blank side is up. Bend the top edge to the bottom and press along the edge on the left hand side, creating a small crease. Do not crease the paper all the way across.
- 2
  Fold the top right corner down and align the corner with the crease from Step 1, so the corner hits the edge of the left side of the paper. Unfold.
- 3
  Fold the bottom left corner up, so the edge aligns with the crease created in Step 2. Unfold. Bend the top of the paper until the bend is even with the top edge of this new crease.
- 4
  Fold the remaining bottom tab up, so the fold is even with the top flap of the paper. Unfold the entire piece.
- 5
  Fold the left hand side to the right to create a vertical fold. Unfold.
- 6
  Fold the bottom left corner to the right side of the paper, so the bottom of the fold meets the vertical crease. Unfold, then repeat this fold with the bottom right corner.
- 7
  Flip the paper over and fold the bottom strip up, along the crease from Step 4. Flip the paper back over, and fold the bottom up to the center horizontal crease. Unfold, leaving the bottom tab folded.
- 8
  Flip the paper over again, and fold the bottom left corner up to where the horizontal crease from the Step 7 meets the diagonal creases. Repeat this fold with the right-hand corner.
- 9
  Flip the paper again, and fold the left and right edges in on the pre-existing diagonal creases. Fold the bottom edge so it aligns evenly with the top edge. Flip the model over.
- 10
  Fold the bottom edge in half, bringing the bottom edge up just above the top of the paper. Fold the tab this creates in half, so the top of the tab aligns with the bottom edge.
- 11
  Fold the layers on the top half and left-hand side of the model so the outermost corner sits just above the bottom right corner. Pull the lower section of this fold back out to the left and crease again. This should create an accordion fold. Repeat this fold with the right-hand layers. These form the basis of the ox's horns.
- 12
  Fold the uppermost layer of the horns so the corners point upwards. Fold the bottom corners of the horns up, so the inner edge aligns with the edge of the colored paper meeting the blank side.
- 13
  Fold down the corners of the horns between the upper corners and the ox head so the top edge runs flat. Fold in the outermost corner of both horns so the edges are rounded. Fold the paper over and tuck the top corners of the head under the head, to round the face. Fold the bottom tip of the nose up, then bend the sides of the face under the eyes underneath, creasing the paper lightly.

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