variety of flying dragons. Each with a unique form, flying style and personality. This book begins with simpler, easier to fold models, and incrementally advances to the more sophisticated ones. As they get more complicated, they become smaller and more compact, like today’s modern lizard, the basis of so many fantasy creatures.
A lot of hard work went into developing these models. We had a lot of fun, too. We hope that folding these dragons is as much of an adventure for you as it has been for us.
—Sam Ita
Folding Instructions
Naturally, you may want to skip the instructions and jump right into the fun stuff. That is perfectly understandable, but you should consider that these instructions can prevent a good deal of frustration, and help you fold much better planes. I encourage you to get a few sheets of origami paper and do the following folds. Don’t worry, we’ll go slowly.
Dashed lines indicate Valley Folds. This means that the crease ends up at the bottom of the completed fold. The arrow indicates the direction that the paper should be folded.
Mountain Folds go the other way. They are usually represented by a line of dots and dashes. This means that the crease ends up on top, once the fold is complete. I think of the dots as peaks of mountains.
A Double Headed Arrow means you need to fold and unfold. This weakens the paper slightly, leaving a crease.
The Inside Reverse Fold is also very common.
It usually follows a crease, created by a previous fold and unfold.
Now, push against the center, creating mountain folds on both sides.
The completed Inside Reverse Fold.
The Waterbomb Base is an important starting point.
Mountain fold and unfold diagonally.
And again, in the other direction.
This will leave you with creases that form an “X.” Fold in half, away from you.
Push in the corners.
The completed Waterbomb Base.
The Squash Fold is common in origami and paper planes.
The Outlined Arrow means “push.” It means to apply pressure to the paper along a given path. In this case, it refolds a previous valley fold, while creating two new mountain folds.
The completed Squash Fold. Continue on the following page to form the Square Base.
Turn the paper over.
And do the same thing on the other side.
The completed Frog Fold.
The Swivel Fold involves moving a flap of paper around a set point, then resquashing in another position. This fold begins with the Square Base.
The completed Swivel Fold.
The Petal Fold can begin with a Square Base. There is more than one way to perform this sequence.
Fold the bottom edges in to the center. Unfold.
Push in the flaps and reverse the creases.
Fold the flap up.
The completed Petal Fold.
The Frog Fold can also begin with a Square Base.
Fold a single flap half way up.
