In this post we’re going to take a look at a ton of different mythological creatures and figures from cultures all over the world.
First up is an origami version of Sleipnir, the 8-legged horse from Norse mythology. Sleipnir is the “best of all horses” and Odin’s personal steed.
Sleipnir, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Nguyen Nam Son
Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009
Next is another excellent design by Satoshi Kamiya. This is a Minotaur, a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull. The Mintoaur could be found at the centre of the Labyrinth that was constructed by Daedalus and Icarus. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Greek hero Theseus.
Minotaur, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Thamar van Dijk
Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009
This 3-legged crow is found in the mythologies of several different East Asian cultures. In Japan it’s called Yatagarasu and is thought to be a guide from heaven.
Yatagarasu, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by J.W. Park
Diagrams available in Tanteidan Magazine #157
Next is another design from Satoshi Kamiya that I really like. This is a Jackalope, a creature from North American folklore. The Jackalope is a mixture of a jack rabbit and an antelope. Combining both these animals gives you the name Jackalope.
I really like how soft this one looks and especially like how the paper on the chest almost looks like actual fur.
Jackalope, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
Diagrams available in Tanteidan Magazine #149
Next we have this amazing origami Valkyrie. Valkyries are female warriors from Norse mythology who choose those who live and those who die in battle.
This one is folded from a single square of 70 cm x 70 cm sized paper!
Valkyrie, Designed and Folded by Bart Davids
Crease pattern available from Bar Davids’ Flickr
Pretty much everyone knows about the legend of the genie in the lamp. This amazing genie is folded from a single sheet of paper! When you use paper that’s a different colour on each side you end up with different colours for the clothing, lamp and genie. I have absolutely no idea how someone can design something like this with only folded paper.
Genie, Designed and Folded by Hubert Villeneuve
Instructions not available
A Cockatrice is essentially a dragon-like creature with the head of a rooster from English myth. Here’s a fantastic paper Cockatrice design from Finward.
Cockatrice, Designed and Folded by Finward
Instructions not available
This next creation is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. This is a Nue, a legendary Japanese spirits called Yokai. A Nue has the body of a racoon dog, the head of a monkey, the legs of a tiger and a snake for a tail.
This origami version is folded from 26 individual squares of paper which is how Hiroaki Kobayashi is able to get so many different colours in this incredible design.
Nue, Designed and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
Instructions not available
Next is a paper version of a Chinese guardian lion statue. This whole model is folded from one 60 cm x 60 cm square of paper. It’s also completely 3D with no gaps or holes in the design as well!
Chinese Guardian Lion, Designed and Folded by Hyun Seok Kang
Instructions not available
Here we have Lord Rama, the most virtuous hero from Hindu myth although many people think he’s based on an actual historical figure.
Lord Rama, Designed by Neelesh Kumar and Folded by Никита Васильев
Crease pattern available from Neelesh Kumar’s Flickr
There are tons of different unicorn designs out there and we’ve posted about them before. This design though stands out to me because it’s so different from most of the others.
Unicorn, Designed by Andrey Ermakov and Folded by Guillermo R. Parrondo
Diagrams available in Olympiad 2014
This Pegasus is designed by Satoshi Kamiya although Tkak Sakai modified the head with an original design. It’s nice to see the model from two different angles too.
Pegasus, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Tkak Sakai
Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 1995-2003
This Centaur design is absolutely fantastic, especially how the man’s torso is a different colour from the body of the horse. This particular model was part of a Korean origami exhibition.
Centaur, Designed and Folded by Yoo Tae Yong
Instructions not available
Gen Hagiwara designed this really cute paper version of the Zodiac sign Capricorn. The crumpled up ball of paper it’s sitting on is a very nice touch. It’s based off of his previous Hippocampus design.
Capricorn, Designed and Folded by Gen Hagiwara
Instructions not available
He also designed this really cute Kirin. Kirin is the Japanese name for the Chinese mythological creature known as a Qilin. Kirins are good omens that are thought to signify periods of prosperity or tranquility. They’re often depicted with fire all over their bodies. It would be cool to see a flaming origami kirin some time but you’d have to photograph that really quick before it burned up.
Kirin, Designed and Folded by Gen Hagiwara
Instructions not available
There are a few really good fallen angel designs out there but this one is especially great. I especially love how real the hood and sleeves look.
Fallen Angel, Designed by Yoshimasa Tsuruta and Folded by Alex Mironenko
Instructions not available
Next is this awesome looking Basilisk. A Basilisk is a creature from Greek mythology that can turn people to stone by looking at them. Traditionally they look like reptiles or serpents but sometimes they look similar to the Cockatrice like you see here. The scales on the tail here look really great and must have taken a lot of time and patience to fold.
Basilisk, Designed and Folded by Bodo Haag
Crease pattern available from Bodo Haag’s Flickr
This next creature is a Karasu Tengu from Japanese folklore. Tengu are a type of Shinto god and Karasu Tengu are a more bird-like kind of Tengu. The name Karasu Tengu translates as “Crow Tengu”.
Karasu Tengu, Designed by Kashiwamura Takuro and Folded by Ivan Svatko
Crease pattern available in Tanteidan magazine #132
Next is one of the most unique phoenix designs I’ve seen made by a Korean origami artist. It’s folded from a single square of 60cm x 60cm paper.
Phoenix, Designed and Folded by Choi Ju Young
Instructions not available
Cerberus is the 3-headed legendary dog from Greek mythology that guards the entrance to the underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. Satoshi Kamiya has an excellent Cerberus design and in this particular one I really like how you can see the curled paper that makes the eyes on the heads.
Cerberus, Designed by Satoshi Kamiya and Folded by Vít Masopust
Diagrams available in Works of Satoshi Kamiya 2, 2002 – 2009
This excellent paper bird is the only Roc design I’ve seen. The Roc is a giant eagle-like bird-of-prey from Persian mythology. This one is folded from a single 50cm x 50cm square of paper.
Roc, Designed and Folded by Roman Diaz
Instructions not available
This next creation is definitely one of the most unique looking origami designs I’ve ever seen. This Bael, a demon and one of the 7 princes of Hell. Some think Bael is also Satan’s main assistant. Since you’ve probably never seen or heard of Bael here’s an illustration from Wikipedia.
As you can see, Hiroaki Kobayashi has recreated this perfectly with folded paper. His version of Bael is folded using 15 different sheets of paper which like in his Nue design is how he can get so many different colours into the design. I really like the frog part of this too.
Bael, Designed and Folded by Hiroaki Kobayashi
Instructions not available
Hubert Villeneuve designed this absolutely fantastic Harpie and it’s folded from a single square of paper too! This particular model is now part of a permanent exhibit in Zaragoza. I especially love all the detail down the back of the model. It definitely looks very bird-like, especially with those tail feathers.
Harpie, Designed and Folded by Hubert Villeneuve
Instructions not available
Miyamoto Chuya’s Grim Reaper is a pretty famous design and here’s one expertly folded by Tomasz Krawczyk. If you use two coloured paper, ideally one side black and one side white you end up with different colours for the cloak and all the skeleton parts which is pretty cool.
Grim Reaper, Designed by Miyamoto Chuya and Folded by Tomasz Krawczyk
Video instructions available from Mariano Zavala B.’s YouTube channel
Our final model for this post is this absolutely incredible sea serpent attacking a ship. The entire model, both the ship and the serpent is folded from a single square of paper. This square of paper was 1 metre x 1 metre! You’d need a huge amount of space to fold something with a sheet of paper that big.
Stormy Seas, Designed and Folded by Bart Davids
Crease pattern available from Bart Davids’ Flickr
Mythology is absolutely perfect for origami. Since there’s so many different creatures and figures from cultures all around the world we’ll probably never run out of fantastic things to fold.
Let us know which one of these designs was your favourite in the comments!
