If your paper has a white side and a colored side, place the white side face down. It will help you keep track of the folds you need to make. Bigger pieces of paper are easier to work with. Try using an oversized sheet of origami paper for your first elephant.
Leave the paper folded after rotating it.
Avoid creasing the paper while you make this fold.
If you did all the folds correctly, you will see a square in the center of the paper. The bottom part of the square will have 2 fold lines. The diagonal pinch mark will be below the square’s upper edge.
Avoid creasing the paper when performing these folds. When you’re done, the paper will have a little mark near its center.
Make sure both sides of the paper look identical. The creases are guidelines for the next folds. After finishing them, you can begin folding the paper into the shape of an elephant.
This fold is called a mountain fold. The 2 creases were made with valley folds. Valley folds fold inwards, forming valleys, while mountain folds are the opposite.
Make sure you reverse the fold in the lower crease for both corners, not the higher one.
Use the crease on the right as a guideline when folding the corner tip back up. The second fold needs to be perpendicular to it. Make sure the second fold looks horizontal and parallel to the upper edge of the page when you’re done.
The rabbit ear will rise up off the page until you flatten it.
When this part is done correctly, the small, triangular flap will be on the right side of the paper. A larger, folded triangle will be on the left side.
Make sure the paper collapses evenly. You will need to open it up with your finger as much as possible. The collapsed parts to the left and right of the centerline need to look identical.
Use your finger to push in the paper as you fold it. This will help you achieve a smooth, even crease. If you did everything correctly, the front and back sides of the paper will now look even.
When this fold is done correctly, the paper flap will form a sort of tube. It will align with the diagonal edge of the paper beneath it. As you move the bottom edge up, you will see a small flap in the center of the page. Press it down so you can fold the paper to the left evenly.
Use your finger to push in the interior parts of the paper, ensuring you get quality folds.
You will notice a piece of paper inside the flap. Place your finger over that piece so you can reach the center of the flap. The tip of the flap will align with the right edge of the rectangle after you flatten it.
Make sure the flap of paper doesn’t get tucked inside the fold. It needs to be on the outside.
The finished fold will leave a triangle on the left that will form the trunk and a flap on the right for the back end of the elephant.
The corner on the bottom edge will align with the corner on the top edge. The paper will look symmetrical if you did everything correctly.
When this part is done correctly, the flap will point down past the bottom edge of the page. It will have a horizontal crease near its center. This part can be tricky. Take your time and make sure the folds are good before moving on.
Hold the rest of the paper with your other hand to keep it in place as you pull the flap.
The top edge of the paper will be flat when you’re finished.
A good elephant looks symmetrical on both sides. Make sure the leg flaps, which are the big ones pointing downwards, are stacked on top of one another.
Flip the elephant over and repeat the fold with the flap on the other side.
Turn the elephant over and repeat this with the other leg.
Flatten the paper after you collapse it to get good creases on the legs.
You will be folding several layers of paper at this point. Go slowly to get clean folds.
Folding the trunk multiple times gives it additional wrinkles that make it look more detailed.
This will round the front part so the elephant’s head doesn’t look too square.
If your paper has a white back, the flap will be white and easy to spot. After you do this, your elephant will be able to stand on its own.
