The Best Origami Insects of 2018

There are a few more categories to wrap up for the Best Origami of 2018. This time we’re looking at insects which are always very impressive and there are a lot of great models from 2018.

Like the previous posts voting will be open for 2 weeks until September 23, 2019 so vote for your favourites at the end.

And like I mentioned in the last post I’ll be giving away two copies of Origami Design Secrets to two random people from the email list so sign-up at the bottom of the site.

There’s a lot to go through in this post so lets get started with one of Kota Imai’s amazing beetles. Kota Imai is one of the best insect designers I’ve ever seen and all the details, especially the little bits on the legs here are incredible.

1) Caucasus beetle 3.1, Designed and Folded by Kota Imai

Crease pattern available from Kota Imai’s Flickr

This cockroach looks fantastic. Kim Ju Hyun did a really good job folding it and the paper used here makes it look extra great.

2) Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Designed by Brian Chan and Folded by Kim Ju Hyun

Crease pattern available in Tanteidan Magazine #168

Here’s a very realistic looking scorpion and I really like all the bends in the legs.

3) Scorpion, Designed and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue

Instructions not available

Here’s another incredibly realistic looking insect. If you saw this from a bit of a distance sitting on a tree you’d easily mistake it for a real one. Mariano Zavala B. has also created an excellent YouTube tutorial showing how to fold this model too.

4) Kirkaldyia Deyrolli, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.

Video tutorial available from Mariano Zavala B.’s YouTube channel

This leaf insect is a pretty cool looking model and this one also looks very life-like. The brown paper used here is also quite nice and gives it kind of a nice autumn leaf look.

5) Leaf insect (Phyllidae), Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Carla Godoy

Crease pattern available from Kota Imai’s Flickr

This is one of the best mantis designs I’ve seen and I especially like the action pose it’s folded in here. This is all folded from a single 45cm x 45cm square of paper.

6) Flying Mantis, Designed and Folded by Nguyenngoc Thanh

Crease pattern available from Nguyenngoc Thanh’s Flickr

Here’s another beautiful beetle design. It’s a popular model to fold and this is one of the best versions I’ve seen of it.

7) Cyclommatus Metallifer, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Kim Ju Hyun

Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009

I’m still amazed at how many incredibly amazing and different origami beetle designs are out there. Here’s another one and I really love the head and legs on this one.

8) Tiger Beetle, Designed and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue

Instructions not available

This flying beetle is on another entire level because I’m pretty sure it’s all one sheet of paper and the colour changes make it so the shell is black but the inside and wings are brown. I have no idea how you can design something like this.

9) Flying Okuwagata, Designed and Folded by Kota Imai

Instructions not available

Here’s another incredible example of a colour change in design. This whole model is folded from the same 78cm x 78cm square of paper!

10) Scorpio-Snake, Original Designer Unknown, Modified by Mariano Zavala B. and Folded by Vít Masopust

Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.’s YouTube channel

Here’s another really excellent beetle design full of fantastic little details and all folded from a single 35cm x 35cm square of paper.

11) Golofa Beetle, Designed and Folded by Nguyenngoc Thanh

Instructions not available

This is another fantastic model that looks absolutely beautiful here.

12) Leaf Katydid, Designed by Brian Chan and Folded by Kim Ju Hyun

Crease pattern available from Brian Chan’s website

Michael Lau designed this incredible beetle both walking and flying!

13) Beetles, Designed and Folded by Michael Lau

Instructions not available

This wasp is another fantastic design with colour changes, I especially like those eyes.

14) Wasp, Designed and Folded by Nguyenngoc Thanh

Instructions not available

Cicadas are fairly popular in origami and this one is one of the best. Take a look at all those folds in the wings.

15) Cicada, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Kim Ju Hyun

Crease pattern available in Tanteidan Magazine #160

This is another one of my favourite beetle designs and I especially like the colour change on the back. It looks especially awesome when folded with yellow and black paper. The details on the legs here are really great too.

16) Hercules Beetle, Designed by Nguyen Ngoc Thàn and Folded by Carla Godoy

Instructions not available

Here’s another absolutely amazing and creative design. The details and folds are perfect and it’s all from a single 40cm x 40cm square of paper!

17) Leg Snack, Designed and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue

Instructions not available

This Tarantula would make a perfect Halloween decoration. The use of a tessellation pattern to give the whole thing a 3D shape is a very clever idea too. I know spiders technically aren’t insects but I’m still including this model here because it’s awesome.

18) Tarantula, Designed and Folded by Kota Imai

Crease pattern available in Tanteidan Magazine #170

Here’s another really great and quite aggressive looking scorpion design. The glossy paper used here as a very nice touch too.

19) Emperor Scorpion, Designed and Folded by J.W Park

Instructions not available

This is called a Dead Leaf Mantis and with the paper used here it very much looks like it’s name. Another absolutely fantastic design.

20) Dead Leaf Mantis, Designed and Folded by Nguyenngoc Thanh

Instructions not available

Here’s another really excellent and almost kind of cute looking tarantula.

21) Tarantula, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by lostbaguetteORIGAMI

Instructions not available

I love how clean this model looks. The colour changes on the wings are very cool and folding here is top-notch.

22) Simple Dragonfly, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Jan Groot

Diagrams available in Origami Nature Study

Kei Watanabe also designed an amazing flying stag beetle. This is some very interesting almost stone-paper here.

23) Miyama Stag Beetle, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe

Instructions not available

Our final model for this post is this beautiful looking beetle with an amazing color change in the design. The black and yellow paper here looks fantastic and the details on this model are awesome. This model is folded from an uncut 40cm x 40cm square of paper.

24) Odontolabis Mouhoti Elegans, Designed and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue

Instructions not available

Which one of these do you think is the best origami insect of 2018? Vote Below!

Feel free to vote for your own model and to encourage other people to vote as well. Voting will be open for 2 weeks and close on September 23, 2019.

Voting is now closed.