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.
Hive Got to Show You these Origami Insects, they’re Getting a lot of Buzz
After dragons origami insects might just be my next favourite thing. There really aren't any other types of models that have the same level of complexity and details while looking so much like the real-life versions.
You can really tell that a lot of work has gone into these designs and probably a ton of research into different insect species as well.
First up is this fantastic Praying Mantis. This particular one has quite a great little face.
Praying Mantis, Designed by Sebastian Arellano and Folded by Edgar
Diagrams available in Origami Masters Bugs
Beetles are a super popular type of insect to fold and there's ton of amazing designs. This species is called Cheirotonus jansoni. P. Colman painted the model afterwards using a mix of hydrus watercolor and metallic calligraphy ink and finished everything with a copic airbrush.
The model was also modified slightly here to be more like the real-life version with extra hooks on the feet and antennas.
Cheirotonus jansoni, Designed by Folder951 and Folded by P. Colman
Here are two more fantastic beetles fighting each other out in the wild.
Dorcus curvidens Designed by Brian Chan and Cyclommatus metallifer Designed by Satoshi Kamiya, Both Folded by Phillip Curl
Cyclommatus metallifer diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009
Dorcus curvidens diagrams available in the 2010 Peru Convention book
Satoshi Kamiya also designed this great little dragonfly.
Dragonfly, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Shuki Kato
Crease Pattern available in World of Super Complex Origami
Here's another absolutely incredible looking beetle and it's folded from a single square of 35cm x 35cm paper!
Kabutomushi 3.6, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Nguyen Nam Son
Crease pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
This is another amazing beetle and I absolutely love how the colours and design look exactly like this beetle does in real life.
Hercules Beetle, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by David Dávalos
Diagrams available in Origami Insects 2
Here's another incredible praying mantis model. Look at how many layers of paper you can see folded up into each other! This can't be easy to fold.
Mantis Boxer, Designed by Manuel Sirgo and Folded by Vít Masopust
Diagrams available in License to Fold
We're going to look at a ton of incredible origami beetles in this post because they're all so impressive. Here's another beautiful design from Satoshi Kamiya. This is folded from a single 40cm x 40cm square of paper.
Lucanus maculifemoratus, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Kim Ju Hyun
Diagrams available in the 22nd Tanteidan Convention book
I love the colours in this next beetle. This is all one square of paper again and if you use two sided paper like you see here you get that excellent different coloured back.
Lily Beetle, Designed and Folded by Damian Malicki
Instructions not available
Here's an incredible looking wasp and if you look closely again you can see all the many layers of paper folded up inside.
Vespa Mandarina, Designed and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue
Instructions not available
This is one of those leaf insects that camouflages itself as a leaf. It looks really great folded out of paper here.
Leaf Insect, Designed by Daniel Robinson and Folded by Guillermo R. Parrondo
Diagrams available in Origami Masters Bugs
The plates on the back of this pillbug look really cool folded out of paper.
Pillbug, Designed by Jordan Langerak and Folded by Fernando Castellanos
Crease pattern available from Jordan Langerak's Flickr
Here's another really excellent beetle design that has a great bright colour change on the back.
Designed and Folded by Michael Lau
Instructions not available
Shuki Kato's flying Kabutomushi is definitely one of the most impressive insect designs I've ever seen. This whole thing is folded from a single square of paper too!
Flying Kabutomushi, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.'s YouTube channel
This next model is something a bit different. It uses an extra long sheet of paper and a tessellation pattern to make a quite impressive centipede.
Scolopendra, Designed and Folded by Andrey Ermakov
Instructions not available
Here's something a bit different and unique from Sebastien Limet. The stem, flower and insect are all folded from the same square of paper.
Slyness, Designed and Folded by Sebastien Limet
Instructions not available
From a distance you could totally mistake this next beetle for a real-life version.
Darwin Beetle, Designed by Manuel Sirgo and Folded by Pere Olivella
Diagrams available in the 22nd Tanteidan Convention book
Here's another absolutely beautiful beetle folded and then painted by P. Colman. The real beetle is that colourful and shiny in real life too.
Jewel Click Beetle, Designed by Đỗ Anh Tú and Folded by P. Colman
Crease pattern available from Bill Ori's Flickr
There's such a huge amount of diversity with all these beetle designs. This one has a completely different shape.
Neolucanus okinawanus, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
Instructions not available
Here's another spectacular design by Kota Imai. The most impressive thing about these designs is that the bottom is folded perfectly too. You could easily design an amazing looking beetle and leave the bottom a mess since you're not going to see it. Pretty much all of Kota Imai's designs though look incredible no matter what angle you're looking at.
Dorcus Hopei Binodulosus, Designed and Folded by Kota Imai
Crease pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
Here's another really fantastic wasp.
Wasp, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by J.W Park
Crease Pattern available in World of Super Complex Origami
This is one of those insects that disguises itself as sticks. It's another perfect insect to fold out of paper and this is a really great design.
Giant Spiny Stick Insect, Designed and Folded by Daniel Robinson
Instructions not available
Here we have what's probably the most beautiful looking dragonfly I've ever seen. The paper used here is gorgeous too.
Matrona Basilaris Japonica, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
Instructions not available
This is another awesome type of insect that camouflages itself as a leaf.
Leaf Katydid, Designed by Brian Chan and Folded by 林月劍雲
Diagrams available in the 12th Tanteidan Convention book
Here's another incredible beetle design with amazing and complicated details from every angle.
Lucanus Cervus Judaicus v2.1, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Nguyenngoc Thanh
Instructions not available
The last model for this post is one more incredible beetle. This is a Yanbaru long-armed scarab beetle and you could easily mistake this for the real thing from a distance. Like pretty much all of Kei Watanabe's designs I have no idea how someone could create something like this.
Yanbaru Long-Armed Scarab Beetle, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
Instructions not available
That's it for this post, let us know in the comments which one of these models is your favourite. If you want to see more amazing origami insects check out some of the posts below.
This Desert Themed Origami Is Looking Quite Sharp… and Hot
A little while ago someone suggested that I make a post all about origami jerboas. I've seen a few jerboas out there but not enough for an entire post. It did however give me the idea to make a desert themed post since jerboas are found in desert environments.
There are a lot of different types of animals and insects found in deserts and there are good origami versions of many of them. So in this post we're going to take a look at some amazing animals, insects, lizards and plants found in desert environments.
Starting off we of course have a fantastic jerboa design by Tran Trung Hieu. I really love how it looks like it's in mid jump.
Jerboa, Designed and Folded by Tran Trung Hieu
Diagrams available in VOG 2: Origami.vn - Follow Tran Trung Hieu on Flickr or Facebook
Shuki Kato designed this Bactrian Camel and it's probably the most popular camel design that I've seen. Here Xu Daniel has probably folded the smallest version of this model I've seen too.
Bactrian Camel, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Xu Daniel
Diagrams available in Origami Nature Study
A desert themed post is the perfect opportunity to include some cacti and here are two very beautiful looking ones.
Cactus, Designed by Andrea Borsa and Everlasting, Designed by Riccardo Colletto, both Folded by Andrea Borsa
Cactus instructions not available, Everlasting instructions available in Pajarita Magazine #100
Camel spiders are quite similar to both scorpions and spiders but they're technically not either. They are found in desert environments though and this one looks absolutely incredible! It's folded from a single uncut piece of paper too.
Camel Spider, Designed and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue
Crease pattern available from Maeng Heung Gue's Flickr
Lizards are definitely found in deserts and this one looks fantastic. Chris Heynen's lizard is a pretty popular design and this one is folded very well. With the choice of paper used here too it looks like it would be right at home in a desert environment.
Lizard, Designed by Chris Heynen and Folded by J.W Park
Diagrams available in COS 2015
This incredible cobra is folded from a single rectangle shaped piece of paper and must take forever to fold.
Devil Cobra, Designed and Folded by Kade Chan (Photo by Chris Hui)
Video instructions available from Kade Chan's YouTube channel
Dung Beetles are another insect commonly found in deserts and here's a fantastic one. These insects always impress me with how realistic they look and the little ball here is a nice addition although it is a second piece of paper.
Dung Beetle, Designed and Folded by Nguyen Ngoc Thanh
Crease pattern available from Nguyen Ngoc Thanh's Flickr
Here's Shuki Kato's Bactrian Camel design again folded by a different designer. You can really see all the details here and the metallic finish on the paper looks amazing.
Bactrian Camel, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Jaran Darra
Diagrams available in Origami Nature Study
This is another fantastic looking insect found in deserts called a Whip Scorpion. The whole thing is folded from a single uncut square of paper.
Whip Scorpion, Designed and Folded by Derek McGann
Instructions not available
Rattlesnakes are found in desert environments so this is a fantastic opportunity to showcase this incredible model. This is a rattlesnake and an AR-15 rifle all folded from the same square of paper with no cuts! It uses paper with a different colour on each side and you get those different coloured diamonds, tail and gun. This is an absolutely amazing design and it took 10-12 hours to fold!
Diamondback Rattlesnake and AR-15, Designed and Folded by Jared Needle
Instructions not available
Here's a different Jerboa design photographed out in an actual desert. Adriano Davanzo always has such fantastic photos.
Jerboa, Designed by Yery J. Astrona and Folded by Adriano Davanzo
Diagrams available in the 22nd Tanteidan Convention Book
Next is easily one of the best origami scorpions I've ever seen and it's even better photographed in this whole desert scene.
Scorpion, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by P. Colman
Crease pattern available in Young Origami Creators Seminar Research Note Vol. 2
Here's another very awesome snake design. It's folded from a single square of paper and if you look closely you'll see it loops back through itself which is really cool.
Snake, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by loganorigami
Instructions not available
Gen Hagiwara's Frilled Neck lizard is one of my all-time favourite origami models. One day I hope to fold this myself but I've seen the instructions and they still look a bit intimidating for my current skill level. This one looks really fantastic.
Frilled Neck Lizard, Designed by Gen Hagiwara and Folded by Kyoung Su Kim
Diagrams available in Spirits of Origami
This incredible looking cactus was photographed at a convention in 2015. Believe it or not this is folded from a single square of paper and it must take a ton of time to fold all those individual spikes.
Cactus Opus 680, Designed and Folded by Robert J. Lang (Photo by Michelle Fung)
Crease pattern available from Robert J. Lang's website
Here's another absolutely incredible scorpion. Unless you look really closely you can't really tell that it's made out of paper, it's that real looking! It's also folded from a single uncut square of paper.
Scorpion, Designed and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue
Instructions not available
Here's another fantastic take on that Bactrian Camel model. I kind of expected that there would be more camel designs out there. This one is certainly popular which makes sense since it's such an excellent design.
Bactrian Camel, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Pan Hang
Diagrams available in Origami Nature Study
This is another incredible snake that's folded from a single piece of paper. This one was photographed at a convention.
Cobra, Designed by Ronald Koh and Folded by Romain Pauchet
Instructions not available
Here we have a cute little road runner that's folded from a regular old Frog Base. This is an updated version of a design from 11 years earlier that you can see in the upper right of the image.
Road Runner, Designed and Folded by Terry Nicolas
Instructions not available
Fernando Castellanos also folded Shuki Kato's camel and did a fantastic job. The paper used here is absolutely perfect.
Bactrian Camel, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Fernando Castellanos
Diagrams available in Origami Nature Study
This next model is mind blowing and I've been waiting for a post to include it for a long time. This desert themed post is perfect since some quails are found in desert environments and also it wouldn't be uncommon to find a skeleton like this in a desert either.
Quail Skeleton, Designed and Folded by Kei Watanabe
Instructions not available
Here we have one of the very few other camel designs I've seen out there. It's an excellent design that uses one uncut square of paper.
Dromedary Camel, Designed and Folded by bodorigami
Instructions not available
Here's another incredible origami scorpion that you could easily mistake for the real thing. This one is also folded from a single uncut piece of paper.
Scorpion, Designed and Folded by Maeng Heung Gue
Instructions not available
When I saw this model I knew I had to include it in this post. These lizards run across the desert and alternate which feet touch the ground to try and cool them down. I love how that's incorporated into this design and it looks like it's running across the ground. The model is actually balanced so it stands up perfectly like this on its own.
Blue Desert Lizard, Designed by Andrey Ermakov and Folded by Dzmitry Lysiuk
Instructions not available
Here's another excellent little jerboa that looks quite cute.
Jerboa, Designed by Tran Trung Hieu and Folded by Vít Masopust
Diagrams available in VOG 2: Origami.vn
Certain species of tortoises are found in desert areas so here's a beautiful looking one folded from a single 40cm x 40cm square of paper.
Tortoise, Designed by Nguyen Hung Cuong and Folded by Guillermo R. Parrondo
Diagrams available in VOG 2: Origami.vn
These are technically "magic balls" but uschi mitzkat turned them into a gorgeous little cactus garden.
Magic Balls, Designed by Yuri Shumakov and Folded by uschi mitzkat
Video instructions available from Jo Nakashima's YouTube channel
Here's one more folders excellent take on that Bactrian Camel design.
Bactrian Camel, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Vít Masopust
Diagrams available in Origami Nature Study
This is another fantastic scorpion design that's folded out of a pretty small sheet of paper. The paper must get pretty thick and difficult to fold when folding so small.
Scorpion Version 2.0, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Xu Daniel
Crease pattern available in Young Origami Creators Seminar Research Note Vol. 2
Our final model for this post is P. Colman's incredible take on Ronald Koh's King Cobra. This is folded from a single 5" x 150" sized rectangle of paper. This really has to be incredibly time consuming to fold and the face looks especially awesome.
King Cobra, Designed by Ronald Koh and Folded by P. Colman
Instructions not available
What did you think about all these desert origami models? Let us know which one is your favourite in the comments!
Paper Metamorphosis, Beautiful Looking Origami Butterflies
Butterflies are a very popular thing to fold out of paper. Just like in real life you can use all kinds of different colours of paper to make all kinds of different colours of butterflies.
In this post we're going to take a look at some of our favourite origami butterflies.
First up are these two beautiful specimens from Hiroaki Kobayashi. The paper he used looks very soft and realistic.
Butterflies Designed by Kanoko9 and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
Partial photo diagrams available from Kanoko9's website
Here's a few more excellent butterflies from Sérgio Queiroz. I have to say that I quite like that chunk of wood they're sitting on in the photo.
Butterflies, Designed by Hideo Komatsu and Folded by Sérgio Queiroz
Diagrams available in the JOAS 2017 Special Issue
These two incredibly colourful butterflies are wet folded. That's how you get those very nice curved folds in the centre.
Designed and Folded by Mauricio Flórez
Instructions not available
This species is called an Alexander Swallowtail. This one also uses some very beautiful soft and feathery looking paper.
Alexander Swallowtail, Designed by Michael LaFosse and Folded by uschi mitzkat
Diagrams available in Origami Butterflies
Here's the same model folded by a different artist with very different colours. Gonzalo always takes such great looking photos.
Alexander Swallowtail, Designed by Michael LaFosse and Folded by Gonzalo
Diagrams available in Origami Butterflies
Here's a bit of a more complex design with a really fantastic colour change on the body.
Designed and Folded by 簡單的度過-2
Instructions not available
This design is really cool and as you can see in the photo on the right, all the legs and lots of other details are folded underneath the wings. The lighting in the photo is really awesome too.
Butterfly NS 2.0, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Nguyen Nam Son
Crease pattern available from Mdanger217's Flickr
Here's a really great design from Do Anh Tu that's much less complex.
Butterfly v1.0, Designed and Folded by Do Anh Tu
Instructions not available
Here's another great design that has some really nice colour changes when you use two coloured paper to fold it.
Peace Butterfly, Designed and Folded by Quentin Trollip
Diagrams available in the AEP convention 2013 book
Tomasz Krawczyk designed this great origami butterfly.
Designed and Folded by Tomasz Krawczyk
Instructions not available
Here are two more beautiful looking Alexander Swallowtails.
Alexander Swallowtail, Designed by Michael LaFosse and Folded by uschi mitzkat
Diagrams available in Origami Butterflies
Here's another really great design from origami master Satoshi Kamiya.
Butterfly TH, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by 簡單的度過-2
Crease pattern available from folders.jp
This next one is technically a moth but it still looks really great so I'm going to allow it in this post.
Mudarri Luna Moth, Designed by Michael Lafosse and Folded by Gonzalo
Diagrams available in Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies
The painted paper used to fold this butterfly really gives it a unique and beautiful look.
Origamido Butterfly, Designed by Michael G. LaFosse and Folded by Andrea Borsa (Paper painting by Hilli Zenz)
Diagrams available in Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies
This one uses a tessellation pattern for the wings which gives it a very unique look. The legs, antennae and other details are really great too.
The whole thing is folded from a single 70cm x 70cm square of paper.
Butterfly op.28 № 12 (version 3), Designed and Folded by Andrey Ermakov
Instructions not available
Here's another really great design that uses a colour change to the wings and the body are different colours with double sided paper.
Designed by Nguyễn Hùng Cường and Folded by Magali
Diagrams available in VOG 2: Origami.vn
This is another really great design and it looks quite vibrant with that green paper.
Spring Green, Designed and Folded by Magali
Instructions not available
Here's another masterfully designed origami butterfly from Quentin Trollip.
Designed and Folded by Quentin Trollip
Instructions not available
Next we have a really awesome butterfly that's folded out of money. The photograph is really awesome too.
Butterfly, Designed and Folded by Lê Danh
Instructions not available... Yet
Here are three excellent butterflies all from the same book, Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies. It's really one of the best origami books you can get if you're looking for butterfly instructions.
Temko Butterfly, Alice Grey Butterfly and Joyce Rockmore Butterfly All Designed by Michael LaFosse and Folded by Maria Sinayskaya
Diagrams available in Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies
I really like how the paper used in this next one is a little bit transparent so you see through the wings a little bit.
Designed by Nguyễn Hùng Cường and Folded by Анатолий Кириченко
Diagrams available in VOG 2: Origami.vn
Here's another fantastic and unique butterfly design. The shiny blue paper looks really nice too.
Designed by 目黑俊幸 and Folded by Origami bluedandelion
Instructions not available
Here's a beautiful looking butterfly photographed out in the wild. Adriano Davanzo always takes great photos out in nature.
Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Adriano Davanzo
Diagrams available in Origami Insects II
The colour changes in this design make for some pretty nice results no matter what coloured paper you use.
Butterfly for Yamaguchi, Designed by Michael Lafosse and Folded by Gonzalo
Diagrams available in Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies
You can't really see them in this photo but this butterfly has 6 legs on the bottom.
Butterfly 1.1, Designed and Folded by Paulius Mielinis
Crease pattern available from Paulius Mielinis' Flickr
This next one is folded from unryu paper that's been painted with acrylic.
Designed by Nguyễn Hùng Cường and Folded by Edgar
Diagrams available in VOG 2: Origami.vn
Hoàng Tiến Quyết has an awesome butterfly design with his trademarked curvy style.
Designed by Hoàng Tiến Quyết and Folded by Tadashi Mori
Crease pattern available from Photobucket
Here's another one of Michael Lafosse's excellent butterflies.
Butterfly for Yamaguchi, Designed by Michael Lafosse and Folded by Herman Mariano
Diagrams available in Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies
Here's another elaborate design from Andrey Ermakov.
Butterfly op.25 (vers.2), Designed and Folded by Andrey Ermakov
Instructions not available
I really like this final image. P. Colman folded a whole bunch of Michael Lafosse's butterflies with 15 cm squares of several different kinds of beautiful paper. Then he stuck them in a case with pins just like an entomologist would do with a collection of real butterflies.
If you don't look close you could easily mistake these for actual real butterflies.
Butterflies, Designed by Michael Lafosse and Folded by P. Colman
Diagrams for each of these are available in Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies
Which one of these origami butterflies was your favourite? Let us know in the comments. If you've ever folded a paper butterfly yourself definitely post a photo in the comments as well!
I (c)Ant Believe How Complex and Realistic these Origami Insects Look!
Origami insects continue to blow my mind every time I see them. There are tons of different animals and creatures that can be folded with paper but for whatever reason insects always look the most realistic and impressive.
This post features another excellent collection of some of the best paper insects we've ever seen.
Beetles of all kinds are very popular. Here's an amazing looking Prosopocoilus inclinatus by Kaede Nakamura.
Prosopocoilus inclinatus, Designed and Folded by Kaede Nakamura
Crease pattern available from Kaede Nakamura's Flickr
Satoshi Kamiya's Cyclommatus metallifer is another very popular beetle design.
Cyclommatus metallifer, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Damian Malicki
Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009
Here's another fantastic beetle design from Seth Friedman.
Stag Beetle, Designed and Folded by Seth Friedman
Instructions not available
This is another one of the most realistic looking insects I've seen.
Camel Cricket, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Nguyen Nam Son
Crease pattern available in Origami Tanteidan Magazine #150
Here's a group of some beautiful looking butterflies. The colours in the paper used here are really great with the black and the colour changes in the design.
Butterflies, Designed and Folded by Alex Mironenko
Instructions not available
I really like the feelers/antennae on the front of this beetle.
Euthysanius Beetle, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by P. Colman
Crease pattern available from Robert J. Lang's website
Robert J. Lang also designed this incredible Samurai Helmet Beetle.
Samurai Helmet Beetle, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Matthew Groves
Diagrams available in Origami Insects 2
Here's a fantastic paper Praying Mantis.
Praying Mantis, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Origami bluedandelion
Diagrams available in the Origami Tanteidan 20th Convention Book
This is a great silverfish design by Robert J. Lang.
Silverfish, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Al3bbasi
Diagrams available in Origami Design Secrets Second Edition
Robert J. Lang is definitely one of the best designers of origami insects. Here's his grasshopper design and a great little scene.
Grasshopper Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Agnieska (Agne) Mackonyte
Diagrams available in Origami Insects 2
This leaf insect is definitely one of my favourite insect designs.
Leaf Insect, Designed by Daniel Robinson and Folded by Shuki Kato
Diagrams available in Origami Masters Bugs
This next model is folded from one single sheet of paper starting with just a simple bird base! You can definitely tell this was designed by Sebastien Limet because it has his unique style.
Who Will Be Eaten? Designed and Folded by Sebastien Limet
Instructions not available
This walking stick leaf is another one of my all-time favourite insect designs.
Walking Stick Leaf, Designed by Manuel Sirgo and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
Diagrams available in SirgOrigami
Here's a slightly terrifying looking camel spider. It's folded from a single square of paper that's 50cm x 50cm. if you click through to the original image on Flickr you can read a bunch of interesting facts about camel spiders.
Camel Spider, Designed and Folded by Petr Stuchlý
Instructions not available
Here's another fantastic insect design and I love how there's multiple photos here that show it off from different angles, especially from underneath.
Locust, Designed and Folded by Kota Imai
Crease pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
Here's another fantastic beetle design. This is all folded from one square of paper, even all the little spikes and bumps.
Stag Beetle, Designed and Folded by bodorigami
Crease pattern available from bodorigami's Flickr
Satoshi Kamiya designed this excellent cicada nymph. I quite like the pose it's in here.
Cicada Nymph, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Antoine S. (origoku)
Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009
Here's a somewhat simple but really beautiful looking scorpion.
Scorpion, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Pierre-andré
Diagrams available in Origami Insects 2
This amazing looking paper ant took 10 hours to fold out of a single sheet of paper!
Ant, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Ji Woo Han
Instructions not available
Here's another fantastic and quite complex looking insect design.
Flying Lantern Bug, Designed and Folded by Bil Ori
Crease pattern available from Bil Ori's Flickr
Here's another great beetle. P. Colman painted the final model to give it that awesome metallic colour.
Japanese Drone Beetle, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by P. Colman
Crease pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
Folding all the legs on this centipede must have taken a long time.
Giant Centipede, Designed and Folded by Bart Davids
Crease pattern available from Bart Davids' Flickr
Our final image this post is for this incredible made-up metallic insect.
Metallic Insect, Designed and Folded by Finward
Crease pattern available from Finward's Flickr
That's it for this post, let us know which one of these amazing origami insects is your favourite in the comments. Be sure to check out all these incredible artists on Flicker to let them know you like their work as well!
24 More Amazingly Realistic Looking Origami Insects
A while ago we made a post about paper insects that ended up being much more popular than I thought it would be. Because everyone seems to like them so much and because they still continue to blow my mind with how realistic they look here's another post with another fantastic collection of origami insects.
First up is this amazing origami scolopendra which is a type of centipede. The fact that the legs and antenna are all a different colour from the main body is pretty cool.
Scolopendra 2.0, Designed and Folded by Riccardo Foschi
Crease pattern available from Riccardo Foschi's Flickr
Here's a really cool origami stick insect that's flying away. P. Colman managed to fold it despite only having instructions for the base.
Flying Stick Insect, Designed by Manuel Sirgo and Folded by P. Colman
Instructions not available
Vinegaroons are a type of arachnid that's kind of similar to a scorpion.
Vinegaroon, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Alex Mironenko
Crease pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
This next model is an Aedes aegypti which is a type of mosquito that is known for spreading Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Zika and other not so fun diseases. Fortunately you won't catch anything from an origami version.
Aedes aegypti, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
Crease pattern available from langorigami.com
Satoshi Kamiya's Cyclommatus metallifer is one of the more famous origami insects and lots of people have folded one. This great looking one is folded by Sérgio Queiroz.
Cyclommatus metallifer, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Sérgio Queiroz
Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009
Here's another amazing origami beetle designed by Kota Imai. If Shuki Kato says it's pretty hard to fold you know it's a serious model. He spent about 15 hours folding this one.
Lucanus maculifemoratus, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Shuki Kato
Creaes pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
Here's a bonus image showing off the absolutely incredible bottom of the model.
Lucanus maculifemoratus, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Shuki Kato
Creaes pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
When I think of moths I don't really envision that they look as nice as butterflies but here's a beautiful looking Mudarri Luna Moth.
Mudarri Luna Moth, Designed by Michael G. LaFosse and Folded by Adriano Davanzo
Diagrams available in Origami Art: 15 Exquisite Folded Paper Designs from the Origamido Studio
Here's another incredible origami centipede design.
Centipede, Designed and Folded by Nguyen Ngoc Vu
Instructions not available
This is a pretty awesome and little bit intimidating origami soldier ant.
Soldier Ant, Designed and Folded by Andrey Ermakov
Instructions not available
Here's one of those awesome insects that disguises itself as a leaf.
Leaf Katydid, Designed by Brian Chan and Folded by Jhordan Arauzo
Diagrams available in Origami Tanteidan 12th Convention Book
This is an origami water strider, one of those insects that can walk across the surface of the water.
Water Strider, Designed and Folded by Andrey Ermakov
Instructions not available
Here's a fantastic butterfly that's folded from a bird base.
Butterfly, Designed and Folded by NGUYỄN Hùng Cường
Instructions not available
This is a really excellent praying mantis design.
Praying Mantis, Designed by 神谷哲史 and Folded by Captain Moon
Crease pattern possibly available here
Here's a really fantastic origami dragonfly that looks like it's just landing.
Dragonfly, Designed and Folded by Artur Biernacki
Crease pattern available from Artur Biernacki's Flickr
This origami tarantula looks very unsettlingly like the real thing.
Tarantula, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Malleon
Diagrams available in Origami Insects II, Video instructions available here
Here's an unbelievably realistic looking cicada nymph. I have no idea how one designs something like this. This is folded from one 20cm x 20cm square of paper.
Cicada Nymph, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Nguyen Nam Son
Crease pattern available from Robert J. Lang's website
This samurai helmet beetle designed by Robert J. Lang is another one of the more famous origami beetle models.
Samurai Helmet Beetle, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by DebugMode
Diagrams available in Origami Insects and Their Kin
Kota Imai is definitely a master at designing origami insects. Here's an origami Carabus blaptoides which is a type of beetle that apparently hunts snails. It's long head helps it get into snail shells when the snail pulls back to hide.
Carabus blaptoides, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by P. Colman
Crease pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
Here's another fantastic origami beetle with a great colour change for the legs and antenna.
Jewel Click Beetle, Designed and Folded by Bil Ori
Crease pattern available from Bil Ori's Flickr
This is another incredibly realistic origami beetle. Seeing it photographed over the leaves like this you have to look closely to see that it's made out of paper.
Calosoma semilaeve, Designed by Damian Malicki and Folded by P. Colman
Crease pattern available from Damian Malicki Origami's Flickr
Kota Imai has also designed this awesome paper scorpion.
Scorpion, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by Malleon
Instructions not available
Here's an incredible origami arthropod I love how the legs look splayed out like that.
Arthropods, Designed and Folded by Andrey Ermakov
Instructions not available
This is another and also very awesome praying mantis design.
Mantis Boxer, Designed by Manuel Sirgo and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
Diagrams available in #2 Licence to Fold
Our final model for this post is an amazing origami beetle designed and folded by the origami insect master Kota Imai.
Prosopocoilus inclinatus v3.1, Designed and Folded by Kota Imai
Instructions not available
That's it for this origami insect post but there's still a ridiculous amount of amazing origami insects out there so there definitely will be more posts like this in the future.
If you enjoyed this post please consider supporting us on Patreon and be sure to check out all these incredible artists on Flicker to let them know what you think about their origami.
24 Incredibly Realistic Looking Origami Insects
Last Updated: August 9, 2016
Origami insects are some of the most fascinating origami models there are. I don't know what it is about origami insects that make them so realistic looking but no other kind of origami creature looks anywhere near as real as some of these insects do.
Because there's such a huge variety of insects there's also a huge variety of origami insects as well and many of them are very impressive looking.
Our first model is Kaede Nakamura's Cyclommatus metallifer which is a species of beetle.
Cyclommatus metallifer, Designed and Folded by Kaede Nakamura
Instructions not available
Here's a beautiful origami butterfly folded by Damian Malicki Origami.
Butterfly, Designed by Nguyen Hung Cuong and Folded by Damian Malicki Origami
Diagrams available in #7 VOG 2: Origami.vn
This is an origami version of a leaf insect which is an insect that looks just like a leaf and can camouflage itself very well near leaves.
Leaf Insect, Designed by Kota Imai and Folded by P. Colman
Crease pattern available from Kota Imai's Flickr
Satoshi Kamiya has designed an incredible origami praying mantis which is folded here by Alex Mironenko.
Praying Mantis, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Alex Mironenko
Diagrams available in Origami Tanteidan 20th Convention Book
Spiders aren't technically insects but I'm going to count them here anyways so here's an amazing origami tarantula.
Tarantula, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Matthieu Georger
Video instructions available from Jo Nakashima's YouTube channel
Follow Matthieu Georger on Flickr
There are lots and lots of origami beetles and many of them look exactly like they do in real life. This one is a Lucanus Swinhoei which is a type of beetle native to Taiwan.
Lucanus Swinhoei, Designed by Pavel Nikulshin and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
Instructions not available
Here's another species of origami beetle, it's a Salt Creek Tiger Beetle which is an endangered beetle native to the wetlands in Nabraska.
Salt Creek Tiger Beetle, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Thamar van Dijk
Video instructions available from OrigamiSage's YouTube channel
This next one is a Longhorn Beetle which is a type of beetle famous for having very long horn-like antennae.
Longhorn Beetle, Designed by Brian Chan and Folded by Han-Sheng Yang
Crease pattern available from blue paper's Flickr
This flying Kabutomushi might be my favourite origami insect. A Kabutomushi is a Japanese Rhinoceros beetle. This model is designed by Satoshi Kamiya and depicts the beetle in flight with its wings out. The entire model is folded from one sheet of paper!
Flying Kabutomushi, Designed by Shuki Kato and Folded by Ivan Svatko
Diagrams available in the 21st Origami Tanteidan Convention
This adorable little insect that's hiding behind a leaf is folded from one sheet of paper, that includes both the insect and the leaf.
Hidden, Designed by Sebastien Limet and Folded by João Charrua
Instructions not available
Here's another very realistic looking origami beetle. This one is an Elephant Beetle and it's designed by Shuki Kato.
Elephant Beetle, Designed and Folded by Shuki Kato
Instructions not available
Here's a different walking stick leaf insect this time designed by Manuel Sirgo.
Walking Stick Leaf, Designed by Manuel Sirgo and Folded by Adriano Davanzo
Instructions not available
Next is another beetle, this time it's a scarab beetle designed and folded by Paulius Mielinis.
Scarab Beetle, Designed and Folded by Paulius Mielinis
Crease pattern available from Paulius Mielinis's Flickr
This is a very unique looking insect called an orchid praying mantis. I actually didn't realize these were a real species until now. They're from the rain forests of South East Asia and are usually found camouflaged on orchid flowers.
Orchid Praying Mantis, Designed and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
Instructions not available
Andrey Ermakov designed this incredible Onychophora which is a type of velvet worm found in the tropics.
Onychophora op. 80#2, Deisgned and Folded by Andrey Ermakov
Instructions not available
Satoshi Kamiya has also designed an awesome Cyclommatus metallifer.
Cyclommatus metallifer, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by P. Colman
Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009
Satoshi Kamiya also designed a very realistic looking wasp.
Wasp, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Nguyen Nam Son
Crease Pattern available in World of Super Complex Origami
This next model is an incredible design with a snake wrapped around the tail of a scorpion. The entire model is folded from one sheet of paper and if you use two sided paper you end up with a different colour for the scorpion and the snake plus the snake's tongue is the same colour of the scorpion which is amazing.
Scorpio-Snake, Designed by Nguyễn Hùng Cường
Instructions not available
There are also some great origami dragonflies like this one by Brian Chan.
Dragonfly, Designed by Brian Chan and Folded by Malleon
Instructions not available
This is just a regular origami scorpion but it's still a fantastic design.
Scorpion, Designed by Patricia Crawford and Folded by Luc MARNAT
Diagrams available in Creating Origami
This very impressive Camel Cricket was designed by Kota Imai.
Camel Cricket, Designed and Folded by Kota Imai
Instructions not available
The colouring added to this origami beetle makes it look almost exactly like the real thing.
Dicranocephalus walichii, Designed by Qiegao and Folded by P. Colman
Crease pattern available here
This next image is a great collection of five different origami snails each one designed by a different designer. Each one of these is folded from one sheet of paper and makes excellent use of double sided paper for a different coloured snail and shell.
Snails Designed by: Shiri Daniel, Nguyen Hung Cuong, Manuel Sirgo Álvarez, Derek McGann, Hideo Komatsu and all Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
Video instructions for Shiri Daniel's snail are available from Happy Folding on YouTube
Diagrams for Nguyen Hung Cuong's snail are available in Origami Tanteidan 16th Convention Book
Instructions for Manuel Sirgo Álvarez's snail are not available
Diagrams for Derek McGann's snail are available from Derek McGann's website
Diagrams for Hideo Komatsu's snail are available in Origami Tanteidan 19th Convention Book
Our final origami insect for this post is this incredible praying mantis designed by Tran Trung Hieu.
Praying Mantis, Designed and Folded by Tran Trung Hieu
Instructions not available
Follow Tran Trung Hieu on Flickr or Facebook
Which one of these origami insects do you think is the most impressive? Let us know in the comments and remember if you enjoy posts like this consider supporting us on our Patreon!
13 Incredibly Creepy Origami Spiders
Keeping up with the Halloween theme here are some very creepy looking origami spiders. There's something about origami insects that makes them very easy to design in such a way that they look incredibly life-like and these spiders are excellent examples.
Here's a great spindly looking spider designed by Manuel Sirgo and folded by Pere Olivella
Pholcus, Designed by Manuel Sirgo and Folded by Pere Olivella
Instructions not available
Chris Heynen designed this great, creepy looking spider.
Spider, Designed and Folded by Chris Heynen
Crease pattern available here
This is a very different and little bit more cute design by Wensdy Whitehead.
Spider, Designed by Wensdy Whitehead and Folded by Natalia Romanenko
Instructions not available
Andrey Ermakov designed quite a fantastic creepy looking spider that looks great for Halloween.
Spider op.10, Designed and Folded by Andrey Ermakov
Diagrams available via Origami Weekly
Here's Andrey Ermakov's spider again, this time folded by Mariano Zavala B. It's definitely creepy looking and you can see more photos of it on Mariano's blog.
Spider op.10, Designed by Andrey Ermakov and Folded by Mariano Zavala B.
Diagrams available via Origami Weekly
Robert J. Lang is one of the most famous origami designers and his tarantula model is amazingly detailed. Here it is expertly folded by Daniel Brown.
Tarantula, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Daniel Brown
Diagrams available in Origami Insects II, Video instructions available here
Here's the tarantula again, this time folded by Shuki Kato and a bit bigger.
Tarantula, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Shuki Kato
Diagrams available in Origami Insects II, Video instructions available here
Here's an incredible photograph of the tarantula in the wild taken by and folded by Adriano Davanzo.
Tarantula, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Adriano Davanzo
Diagrams available in Origami Insects II, Video instructions available here
Here's one more excellent tarantula folded by Pere Olivella. I especially like how the legs look in this one.
Tarantula, Designed by Robert J. Lang and Folded by Pere Olivella
Diagrams available in Origami Insects II, Video instructions available here
Alessandro Beber designed this awesome looking Argiope spider.
Argiope, Designed and Folded by Alessandro Beber
Instructions not available
Petr Stuchlý designed a different kind of spider called an orb weaver that's also incredibly realistic looking.
Orb Weaver, Designed and Folded by Petr Stuchlý
Instructions not available
Brian Chan has designed an amazing wolf spider model. Here's an awesome looking one folded by Eyal.
Wolf Spider, Designed by Brian Chan and Folded by Eyal
Diagrams available in Origami Tanteidan 16th Convention
Finally we have this slightly terrifying and awesome looking wolf spider folded by Gonzalo.
Wolf Spider, Designed by Brian Chan and Folded by Gonzalo
Diagrams available in Origami Tanteidan 16th Convention
I'm 99% sure that all of these spiders are folded from one square sheet of paper. Some of the sheets of paper are quite large. Be sure to check out all of these artists on Flickr and be sure to check back for more Halloween themed origami soon!