The Best Origami Dragons of 2018 - Vote Now!
I've said several times before that dragons are some of my favourite things I've ever seen folded out of paper which is why I'm excited to bring you this selection of the best origami dragons of 2018!
These were the best dragon models I saw uploaded to the Internet during 2018 and you can vote for your favourite from now until Wednesday February 27, 2019.
Let's get started!
1) Ancient Dragon, Designd by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Francisco José González Alcázar
This has always been one of my favourite models and this is easily one of the most impressive renditions I've seen. I absolutely love the pose here and how ferocious it looks.

Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 1995-2003
2) Western Dragon, Designed by Wonseon Seo and Folded by Terry Nicolas
This model isn't super complex but it looks great, is super expressive and has a lot of charm.

Instructions not available
3) Ryujin 3.5, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Lê Huỳnh Đức
This model blows my mind every time I see it. It's folded from a single 156cm x 156cm square of paper and I can't imagine how long it must take to fold all those scales. It's expertly folded and looks amazing here, especially the head.

Diagrams available in World of Super Complex Origami
4) Luster Dragon, Designed by Lee In Seop
Here we have another amazing dragon design that's folded incredibly well. The details and shapes on the head are fantastic and I love how the front legs look ready to grab something. This took 14 hours to fold from a single square of paper!

Diagrams available in the 23rd Tanteidan Convention book
5) Wyvern, Designed and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
This is an absolutely fantastic new design from Hiroaki Kobayashi. It's folded from one square of paper and looks amazing, especially the head. I also really love the choice of paper used here. It's a really beautiful looking pattern and colour and perfect for some kind of sky dragon.

Instructions not available
6) Chinese Dragon, Designed by MiKiller and Folded by Alex Mironenko
Here's another incredible looking eastern dragon design. It's kind of similar to the Ryujin but is certainly unique with a completely different head and other details. It's folded absolutely beautifully here and you can really see all the excellent little details.
This is a modular model that uses 2 squares for the head, 8 for the body, 1 for the tail and 4 for the legs.

Instructions not available
7) Eastern Dragon, Designed by Jun Maekawa and Folded by Andrea Borsa
Another somewhat simpler design but nonetheless fantastic looking. Expertly folded and I love how it kind of feels playful.

Diagrams available in Genuine Origami: 43 Mathematically-Based Models, From Simple to Complex
8) Spiky Dragon, Designed and Folded by Gregor Müller
A fantastic and kind of cute design from Gregor Müller. I love how it's posed and almost feels like a pet looking for a treat or something.

Instructions not available
9) Chinese Dragon, Designed by MiKiller and Folded by Arnolds Kuciks
Here's another amazing take on MiKiller's Chinese dragon. The paint job on the paper here looks incredible and the whole thing has a metal statue feel which I absolutely love.

Instructions not available. Note: I can't seem to find instructions for this model anywhere but I've seen several people now fold it. If anyone know where the instructions are please let me know.
10) Western Dragon V3, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Francisco José González Alcázar
An absolutely beautiful take on this model that looks super life-like and fantastic, especially the way it's posed here.

Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.'s YouTube channel
11) Dragon, Designed by Zhangyifan and Folded by Terry Nicolas
This is Terry Nicolas' excellent interpretation of this fantastic design. It's a bit modified with what looks light a slightly more complex head and overall the shaping feels very organic making the model feel quite life-like.

Diagrams available in Chinese New Year 2017
12) Dragon, Designed by Lam Nhat Phat and Folded by Lê Huỳnh Đức
I don't think I've ever seen this dragon design before and I really like it. It has a very different shape and feel from other designs I've seen, probably because of that really thick neck. It's a beautiful design and it's beautifully folded.

Instructions not available
13) Elder Dragon, Designed by Tsuruta Yoshimasa and Folded by Pan Hang
This dragon really does feel like an older, weightier dragon. It's beautifully folded and the paper used here is absolutely gorgeous!

Diagrams available in JOAS issue 28
14) Dragon, Designed and Folded by Sebastien Limet
Here's something very unique and awesome looking. This whole thing is folded from a single A size sheet of paper using a special crumpling technique! I really love how the dragon looks wrapped around that box.

Instructions not available
Which one of these models do you think was the best origami dragon of 2018? Vote below!
Voting will be open for 2 weeks until Wednesday February 27, 2019. Feel free to vote for your own model and to encourage everyone you know to vote for it as well!
The Best Origami Animals of 2018 - Vote Now!
In this post we're looking at the best origami animals I saw uploaded to the Internet during 2018. Voting is still open for the best origami people, birds and reptiles so if you haven't cast a vote for your favourites over there be sure to check them out first.
Voting for your favourite animal themed model will be open from now until Monday February 25, 2019. Feel free to vote for your own model and to encourage everyone you know to vote as well.
And with that let's get started!
1) Hippopotamus, Designed and Folded by J.W Park
This model perfectly captures the weight and overall essence of a hippo perfectly. I also love the wide open mouth, over all 3D-ness and the pose it's in here.

Instructions not available
2) Jaguar, Designed and Folded by Jaeil Jeong
This jaguar is easily one of my favourite cat designs. It really looks like a jaguar with the perfect pose and I really like the heavy cat-like feet with individual claws. An absolutely fantastic design.

Instructions not available
3) Lion, Designed by Andrey Ermakov and Folded by Chrisophe Michel
This is a fantastic looking lion and I love how playful and cat-like it looks and feels even though it's folded out of paper.

Diagrams available in Olympiad 2018
4) Basset Hound, Designed by Lee Jae Gu and Folded by Rui Roda
Here's an absolutely fantastic little origami dog with a ton of character. The colour changes in the design are really great, I love the big ears and everything is perfectly folded and shaped.

Diagrams available in the 2016 Origami Collection
5) Squeaker, Designed by Kohei Kamei and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
This is totally one of the cutest models I've ever seen. The design is awesome with the colour changes and how it's folded from a single square of paper and Hiroaki Kobayashi did a fantastic job folding here.

Diagrams available in Tanteidan Magazine #172
6) Deer, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Ivan Danny
Here we have a beautifully folded deer photographed out in the wild. Fantastic folding work and equally fantastic photography.

Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.'s YouTube channel
7) White Rhinoceros, Designed and Folded by J.W Park
This is one of the best rhino designs I think I've seen. It looks super life-like and full of energy despite being folded out of paper.

Instructions not available
8) Labrador Retriver, Designed by Gen Hagiwara and Folded by Adriano Davanzo
Here we have an adorable Labrador Retriever. I love how happy Adriano Davanzo made it look and the photography here is fantastic as well.

Diagrams available in Spirits of Origami
9) Bucardo, Designed by Richard Galindo and Folded by Jhordan Arauzo
Absolutely fantastic work here. I believe it's been modified a bit from the original design to make the horns look a loot better.

Instructions not available
10) Pangolin, Designed by Eric Joisel and Folded by Blue Dandelion the Creator
This looks awesome and must have taken forever to fold all those individual scales!

Instructions not available
11) Gorilla, Designed by Nguyen Hung Cuong and Folded by Nguyen Nam Son
Nguyen Nam Son did a fantastic job folding this somewhat famous gorilla model. The facial expression here is probably the best part.

Crease pattren available from NGUYỄN Hùng Cường’s Flickr
12) Horse, Designed and Folded by Jaeil Jeong
Here we have an absolutely beautiful and elegant horse design. Everything from how the legs are shaped to the head and mane is perfect.

Instructions not available
13) Wolf, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue
Easily one of the best origami wolves I've ever seen. The folding is super crisp and well done and the face has the perfect expression. The over all shaping and pose also deserve a mention.

Diagrams available in Origami Nature Study
14) Rhinoceros, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Tkak Sakai
I love how aggressive this rhino looks. It's folded using wet folding and looks amazing.

Instructions not available
15) Horse, Designed and Folded by J.W. Park
Another really fantastic horse design some some awesome colour changes and shaping.

Instructions not available
Which one of these models do you think was the best origami animal of 2018? Vote below!
Voting will be open for 2 weeks until Monday February 25, 2019. Feel free to vote for your own model and to encourage everyone you know to vote for it as well!
The Best Origami Reptiles and Amphibians of 2018 - Vote Now!
In today's post we're going to take a look at the best origami reptiles and amphibians. This includes any sort of lizard, reptile or dinosaur as well as amphibians like frogs.
Voting is still open for the Best Origami Person of 2018 and the Best Origami Bird of 2018 so check those out if you haven't already.
You can vote for what you think is the best origami reptile or amphibian here until Friday December 22, 2019.
Let's begin!
1) Tree Frog, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Ji Woo Han
This is easily one of the best frogs I've seen and probably the best version of Satoshi Kamiya's tree frog design I've seen. I love the face and also quite like the paper used here.
It took 5 hours to fold this frog.

Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2 - 2002-2009
2) Gecko, Designed and Folded by Chris Heynen
This gecko is definitely one of the best lizard designs I've seen out there. The shaping here makes it look super realistic as well.

Instructions not available
3) Green Turtle, Designed by Jang Yong Ik and Folded by CaptainMoon
Easily one of the most beautiful looking turtles out there. The folding work is fantastic and the paper used here makes it look extra gorgeous.

Diagrams available in Origami Pro #4
4) Spinosaurus, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
An absolutely fantastic rendition of Satoshi Kamiya's Spinosaurus. I love the claws on the feet (of course) the fin along the back and I really like the paper here too.
As an added bonus Mariano Zavala B. made a fantastic YouTube tutorial for this model as well.

Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.'s YouTube channel
5) Barosaurus, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Maxi Purewal
Here we have an awesome pair of Barosaurs (I think that's how you pluralize that...). One is folded from a 32 x 32cm square of paper and the other from a 24 x 24cm square. The smaller one uses thicker paper and was harder to fold but they both look fantastic.

Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 1995-2003
6) Japanese Giant Salamander, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
I don't think I've ever seen an origami salamander before and this one is quite excellent.

Instructions not available
7) Yum, Designed and Folded by Kevin Hutson
This is a really cool design. Kevin Hutson started out trying to design a frog catching a fly but had too much paper over after the first attempt which gave him the idea of adding the lily pad. That means that this whole model is folded from a single 22 x 22 inch square of paper!
While shaping the model he accidentally dropped it into a bowl of methycellulose but fortunately managed to salvage it.

Instructions not available
8) Glass Frog, Designed and Folded by Travis Nolan
Travis Nolan designed a pretty amazing frog fro the IOIO 2018 contest. Looking at the first image it looks like a fairly normal frog but if you look at the next one and see how it looks from underneath you'll definitely be impressed!
It's folded from a 23 x 23 inch of paper with no cuts or glue. The frog itself is green and the organs are white which is pretty awesome.
And believe it or not this is an actual real animal found in South America. It really does have transparent skin underneath so you can see its organs.


Instructions not available
9) Gigantosaurus, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Ji Woo Han
This is a fantastic model and Ji Woo Han did an amazing job here. I really love all the individually folded teeth and the wavy tongue.

Crease pattern available from Shuki Kato's Flickr
10) Through the Ages, Designed and Folded by Sebastien Limet
Sebastien Limet always has such interesting ideas for his designs. This one was designed after he watched Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom.

Instructions not available
11) T-Rex Skeleton, Designed by Issei Yoshino and Folded by Travis Nolan
A absolutely love dinosaur skeleton designs and this one is one of the best I've seen. This is a fairly popular modular design that a lot of people have folded before but I don't think I've ever seen it so crisp and clear where you can really make out all the details.

Diagrams available in Origami Skeleton of Tyrannosaurus Rex
Which one of these models do you think is the best origami reptile or amphibian of 2018? Vote below!
Voting will be open for 2 weeks until Friday February 22, 2019. Feel free to vote for your own model and to encourage everyone you know to vote for it as well!
The Best Origami Birds of 2018 - Vote Now!
In this post we're going to take a look at some of the best origami birds of 2018. If you missed our "Best Origami People of 2018" post you can check it out here. Voting is still open over there.
This time we're looking at origami birds and there are some pretty amazing models here.
I've selected a bunch of what I think are the best origami birds that I saw uploaded to the Internet during 2018 and you can vote for which one you think is the best at the end of this post.
Voting will be open until Wednesday February 20, 2018.
Let's get started!
1) Great Cormorant, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
Kei Watanabe is probably my favourite artist and he folded some absolutely incredible models in 2018 including several birds. The details in this model are incredible and it looks so life-like!

Instructions not available
2) Black Kite, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Ji Woo Han
A lot of people folded Satoshi Kamiya's black kite model in 2018 but this is probably the best version I've seen. I really love the pose and the angle of the photo here.

Diagrams available in the 24th Tanteidan Convention book
3) Turkey in Full Display, Designed by Katsuta Kyohei and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
This is easily one of the best paper turkeys I've ever seen. There are tons of excellent details like the individually folded feathers. Plus Mariano Zavala B. made an absolutely fantastic video tutorial showing how to fold this masterpiece.

Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.'s YouTube channel
4) Rooster 1, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
Next we have another incredible model from Kei Watanabe, this time of a rooster. I love everything from the feathers to the claws, the head, the tail everything here is fantastic.

Instructions not available
5) Eagle, Designed by Nguyen Hung Cuong and Folded by Vít Masopust
Here we have one the best eagle's I've ever seen. The wings and feathers are really great but I especially love the details and shaping on the head, especially with the eye and beak. The individually folded claws on the feet are awesome too.

Diagrams available in Licence to Fold
6) Eagle, Designed and Folded by Jaeil Jeong
This is a fantastic Eagle design. It's not super complex but it looks great and still has some awesome details. I especially love the colour changes.

Instructions not available
7) Rooster 2, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
Kei Watanabe also designed this other amazing looking rooster. The face is probably my favourite part of this but the whole thing is amazing and full of detail.

Instructions not available
8) Lugia, Designed by Hashimoto Haruka and Folded by Jaran Darra
Even though this is technically a Pokemon and not an actual real life bird it's still a bird and it still looks amazing so here it is. This is a fantastic design that uses a single square of paper and it's expertly folded here.
I really love the colour changes on this model and how it looks just like it does in the game.

Crease pattern available from Haruka Hashimoto's Flickr
9) Rooster, Designed by Mineo Shotaro and Folded by Giang Nam
Here we have another excellent rooster design with some lovely details and colour changes for the face and legs. Absolutely fantastic work here.

Crease pattern available in Tanteidan Magazine #161
10) Crested Kingfisher, Designed by Morisue Kei and Folded by Reaper
This may be the best version of this model I've seen and I really like the paper used here. My favourite part though is definitely the claws although the face is pretty awesome too.

Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.'s YouTube channel
11) White-Tailed Eagle, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
I don't have much to say about this model other than Wow! I love the details, the face, the pose, everything. It's an incredible work of art.

Instructions not available
12) Roadrunner, Designed by Ryan Charpentier and Folded by Carla Godoy
I really love the pose and how expressive this model looks as it runs along.

Video instructions available from hafs wahbi's YouTube channel
13) Blakiston's Fish Owl, Designed by Katsuta Kyohei and Folded by Boice Wong
This is a fantastic model and it's folded very well here. The way it's posed you can see all the fantastic details and it's all folded from a 40cm x 40cm square of paper too.

14) Crane with Bad Eyes, Designed and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
This is a fantastic take on the traditional origami crane. It's not super complex when compared to some of the other entries here but it's a cute idea and I really love those eyes.

Instructions not available
Which one of these models do you think is the best origami bird of 2018? Vote below!
Voting will be open for 2 weeks until Wednesday February 20, 2019. Feel free to vote for your own model and to encourage everyone you know to vote for it as well!
The Best Origami People of 2018 - Vote Now!
I had a super busy last few weeks but I'm finally here with the first post of the Best Origami of 2018 Extravaganza!
We're starting things off with the best origami people of 2018. These are anything from an entire person folded out of paper to just a face, a mask or something person-related.
I wasn't really going to do a people category but when I was looking for origami for the contest I found enough of these type models to create this category.
All of these were uploaded to the Internet during 2018. It's entirely possible they were folded or designed earlier but I'm going by the date these images were uploaded to the Internet to just keep things simple.
At the end of the post you'll find the opportunity to vote for whichever model you think is the best and voting will close in 2 weeks on Monday February 18, 2019.
1) Charrui Designed and Folded by Rui Roda
This mask was designed after Rui Roda attended a class taught by João Charrua and it kind of incorporates a bit of his style. There's a lot of expression in this simple folded piece of paper.

Instructions not available
2) Mahoraga Designed by Hojyo Takashi and Folded by Rydos
This incredible looking model is folded from a single 90cm x 180cm piece of paper and it took 50 hours to fold! I love all the details here from the design of the belt to the weapon it's holding in its hand.

Diagrams available in the 2011 Special JOAS Issue
3) Thetis Designed and Folded by Joel Cooper
Joel Cooper has designed some amazing masks using tessellation patterns. This one is folded from a single sheet of black elephant hide paper that's been bleached to give it the brown colour and pattern.

Instructions not available
4) In the Rain, Designed by Chen Xiao and Folded by Ivan Danny
This is definitely one of the my favourite "people" models. It's folded from a single square of paper and that includes the umbrella. Ivan Danny did a fantastic job folding this model.

Instructions not available
5) TI(E)RED_HERO Designed and Folded by João Charrua
This is a very unique design created for a "Paper Heroes" exhibition and the Jaffa Museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The idea of this model is that the hero is an ordinary person but the cape (traditionally a symbol of a super hero) is wrapped around the person like a tie and is dragging him back. If you look closely you'll see a little hand on the back of the cape.
The model is a metaphor for daily life where anyone can be a hero and despite things that might drag you back you should always stand and fight.
A very cool idea and an awesome design.

Instructions not available
6) Acantha, Designed and Folded by Joel Cooper
Joel Cooper has so many fantastic mask designs that I couldn't just pick one. This mask is also folded using a tessellation pattern but the design is unique, super expressive and the whole thing is absolutely beautiful.

Instructions not available
7) Kannon, Designed by Chen Xiao and Folded by Rydos
Another absolutely fantastic person design by Chen Xiao. The whole thing is folded from a 90cm x 90cm square of paper and it took Rydos 20 hours to create this masterpiece. The model is full of amazing details no matter where you look.

Instructions not available
8) Walking in the Rain, Designed by Chen Xiao and Folded by Ivan Svatko
Another fantastic take on this model. This version looks soft, delicate and beautiful, especially the way the hair is shaped.

Instructions not available
9) Iron Man, Designed by Yoo Tae Yong and Folded by J.W Park
Yoo Tae Yong designed an absolutely fantastic origami version of the Marvel super hero Iron Man. It's all folded from one sheet of paper and the colour changes in the design are absolutely fantastic.
Here J.W Park did an amazing folding job and this is easily the best version of this model I've ever seen.

Instructions not available
10) Worn Out Trooper Designed and Folded by Никита Васильев
When I saw this model I thought to myself, "Yeah, we need a people category." It's based on the Nicholas D. Wolfwood design from Brian Chan but if you go look that model up you'll see this one looks nothing like it.
Overall this model looks incredible and it's full of tiny details like the book. Adding a bit of fire and smoke is a super cool touch as well.
I almost included this model in the "Most Unique Idea" category but there already might be something else there from Никита Васильев, you'll just have to wait and see.

Instructions not available
11) Kendo, Designed and Folded by Matthew (Paperforger)
Here's another very cool looking person design. I love the colour changes and especially how that hood and mask look.

Instructions not available
12) Khan by Joel Cooper
I had to include just one more awesome mask by Joel Cooper here. I love how Asian this design feels and it totally captures the essence of a Great Khan.

Instructions not available
13) Golem Eater, Designed and Folded by Sebastien Limet
Here's a very interesting model. The design is a bit simpler but it's super expressive. It's wet-folded from a single piece of paper and then sprayed with spray paint and cement to give it a very unique look, especially since the teeth are still just regular paper.

Instructions not available
Which one of these models do you think is the best origami person of 2018? Vote Below!
Voting will be open for 2 weeks until Monday February 18, 2019. Feel free to vote for your own model and encourage other people to vote for yours as well!