With a single piece of paper, follow our easy-to-follow instructions to fold a cool and handsome lion that comes to life! Although this model is just the overall shape of a lion without too many details, it perfectly captures the power and majesty of the lion, especially its mane and head, which are impressive. And at some point, it reminds me of the Sphinx in the Egyptian pyramids. Let’s explore it together!
This origami lion uses petal folds at the beginning and follows up with lots of Mountain And Valley Folds, as well as some Inside Reverse folds to form its legs.
If you are new to origami, start here from our beginner guide to know the basics and how to read the step-by-step instructions.
- Folding time: 30 minutes
- Paper: 15×15 cm
- Difficulty: Advanced
Material
Prepare a piece of 15×15 cm origami square paper, with different colors on each side, to create an 8.2×4.5 cm origami lion. Experiment with different colors to create a unique product.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Place the paper with the desired display color side up to begin folding, fold it in half horizontally, and unfold it.
Step 2
Fold it in half vertically, leaving a crease then unfold it.
Step 3
Flip the paper over from the left to the right.
Step 4
Fold the bottom right edge to align with the top left edge, crease it well, and unfold it.
Step 5
Fold the bottom left edge to align with the top right edge, and unfold it.
Step 6
Shape the left and right creases, and push the left, right, and top points to meet the bottom point, then flatten it to get a small square.
Step 7
Fold the bottom left and right edges of the top layer to align with the middle vertical crease, crease them well then unfold them.
Step 8
Fold down the top point of the paper along the dotted line that connects the two red spots, and unfold it.
Step 9
Open the pocket based on the crease created by the previous step. Then lift up the top layer, and use your hands to flatten the pocket.
Step 10
Fold down the top triangle.
Step 11
Flip the paper over from the left to the right, and fold the bottom left and right edges to align with the middle vertical crease, crease them well then unfold them.
Step 12
Open the pocket based on the crease created by the previous step. Then lift the top layer, and use your hands to flatten the pocket.
Step 13
Similarly, fold down the top triangle.
Step 14
Rotate it 90 degrees from the front to the back, then lift the left and right layers, and pull them toward sides.
Step 15
Keep pulling the left and right layers to the sides until the middle part is expanded. Then press down the center point, turn the creases indicated by the red dotted lines into mountain fold, and turn the creases indicated by the black dotted lines into valley fold. Finally, bring the left and right layers together on the top, and flatten the fold.
Step 16
Press down the left and right layers, and rotate the paper 90 degrees clockwise, then rotate it 90 degrees from the back to the front.
Step 17
Fold up the bottom point of the top layer along the black dotted line [picture 1], then fold up the left and right sections of the top triangle’s bottom edge, align them with the middle vertical crease [picture 2].
Next, flip the paper over from left to right, and fold up the bottom point of the top layer [pictures 3 and 4], then fold up the left and right sections of the top triangle’s bottom edge, align them with the middle vertical crease, as you just did [pictures 5 and 6].
Step 18
Rotate it 90 degrees from the front to the back, bring the upper two layers together on the top, the lower two layers together on the bottom. Then rotate the paper 90 degrees clockwise, and rotate 90 degrees again from the back to the front.
Step 19
Fold up the bottom point of the top layer, then fold up the left and right sections of the top triangle’s bottom edge, align them with the middle vertical crease. Then flip the paper over from the left to the right, and repeat this for this side.
Step 20
Rotate it 90 degrees from front to the back, then expand the paper.
Step 21
Take the left section indicated by the red line, and fold it to align with the top left diagonal crease indicated by the black line, crease it well then unfold it.
Similarly, fold the right section of the top edge to align with the top right diagonal crease, and unfold it.
Repeat this for the other three edges.
Step 22
Flip the paper4 over, and pull the right flap toward the right side to unfold the right part, then rotate it 180 degrees to flip the paper over.
Step 23
Lift the top and bottom edges of the left square, and push them toward the center point. Then lift and fold the left edge to align with the right edge, and finally flatten the fold, making the midpoints of the top and bottom edge meet the midpoint of the right edge.
Step 24
Press the edge that underneath the middle flap, then take this middle flap and fold it to the left to expand it, getting a triangle. Next, fold the bottom edge of this triangle to align with its middle horizontal crease. Finally, press down the little corners to the left side as you can see in the following last two pictures.
Step 25
Then fold the top edge to align with the horizontal crease, and press down that small corner.
Step 26
Rotate the paper 180 degrees from front to back, then fold the right point to meet the left point, and finally, rotate the paper 90 degrees clockwise.
Step 27
Push the left and right edges of the top triangle toward the center along its vertical crease, then press the top part down along the creases indicated by the black dotted lines. [pictures 1 and 2]
Next, fold the left and right parts backward, flatten it, and rotate the paper 90 degrees from left to right, and rotate it 90 degrees again counterclockwise.
Step 28
Lift the top layer, flatten the left layer, then fold down this top layer.
Step 29
Flip the paper over from left to right.
Step 30
Similarly, lift the top and press down the right layer, then fold down the top layer.
Step 31
Fold down the top left point to meet the intersection point formed by creases, crease it well then unfold it. [These two points are indicated by two red spots in the picture]
Step 32
Rotate the paper 90 degrees from left to right, then open it. Next, fold down the top point along the crease you just made.
Step 33
Shape the two creases indicated by the red dotted lines [picture 1], and press down this top part along the creases indicated by the black dotted lines [picture 2].
Then pinch the top part and close this opening [picture3], after that, rotate the paper 90 degrees from right to left [picture4].
Finally, slightly lift the tucked flap on the left side [picture 5].
Step 34
Fold this corner a little, crease it very well then unfold it, as you can see in the first two pictures.
Next, rotate the paper 90 degrees from left to right, then open the paper, and press down the corner along the crease you just made [pictures 3, 4, 5].
Finally, close this opening, flatten the fold, and rotate the paper 90 degrees from right to left [pictures 6, 7, 8].
Step 35
Rotate the paper 90 degrees from back to front, make the opening face up, then open it, and fold the top and bottom left corners a little toward the center. Next, fold them back to their sides for only a short section [pictures 1 to 4].
Finally, close this opening, and rotate the paper 90 degrees from front to back [pictures 5 to 7].
Step 36
Fold up the bottom point of the top layer, and unfold it.
Step 37
Rotate the paper 90 degrees from right to left, and open the left flap from the back side [pictures 1 and 2].
Then shape the creases you made in the previous step, and fold up the bottom point of this flap along the black dotted line [pictures 3 and 4].
Finally, close this flap forward and flatten the fold, then rotate the paper 90 degrees from left to right [pictures 5 and 6]. This is the complete shape of one of its hind legs.
Step 38
Flip the paper over from left to right, fold up its hind leg on this side, crease it well, and unfold it.
Step 39
Rotate the paper 90 degrees from left to right, and open the right leg from the back side [pictures 1 and 2].
Then shape the creases you made in the previous step, and fold up the bottom point of this leg along the black dotted line [pictures 3 and 4].
Finally, close this leg flap forward and flatten the fold, then rotate the paper 90 degrees from right to left [pictures 5 and 6]. This is the complete shape of the other hind leg.
Step 40
Fold down the tail along the black dotted line, then fold the end part upwards, and finally unfold them.
Step 41
Rotate the paper 90 degrees from front to back, and open it from the bottom [pictures 1 and 2].
Then mountain fold the creases indicated by the red dotted lines, valley fold the creases indicated by the black dotted lines, and finally, flatten the fold [pictures 3 and 4].
Step 42
Rotate the paper 90 degrees from back to front, and fold that corner a little back ward, as you can see in the second picture.
Then flip the paper over from right to left, and fold the corner on this side backward a little.
What’s Next
That’s your cool and lovely origami lion. Now you can explore our other origami animal instructions. Happy folding!
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