Introduction: 3-D Paper Swan

By Portfolio
About: Hey, I'm Jerry! I love making innovative things that change people's lives.

Ever wonder how they make those 3-d paper swans? It may look complicated but hope this instructable will clear it up. This can make a nice gift to your mom or grandparent and is also very economical. Don't forgot to look at the pictures for clarification. Good luck. If there are any questions, leave a comment below.

Step 1: What You Need

The things you need are regular house hold items:
*Letter opener
*13 sheets of letter size paper, not too thick(preferably colored)
*Patience

Step 2: Cutting Pieces

The swan is made from tiny pieces that are put together. To make a piece, hold the paper landscape style. Then, fold the paper in half from left to right. Cut. Then fold top to bottom. Cut. Next fold left to right. Cut. Then fold top to bottom. Cut. Finally fold left to right and cut. Do this for the entire paper. You should get 32 pieces per page. All together, you need about 400 pieces.

Step 3: Folding Pieces

Take one of the small pieces. Fold this in half from top to bottom. Then fold from left to right. Unfold. Now make sure the fold is on the bottom. Take the bottom left corner and bring it up. The side should be parallel to the middle line you folded. Do the same with the right side. Next take the top most left corner and fold it down so you make a tiny triangle. Then fold in so it is now back on the triangle. Do the same with the right side. Repeat for the rest of the pieces. You can always do this while watching TV so you don't get bored.

Step 4: Making the 1st and 2nd Layers

This step is hard to explain in words. You will need 30+30 of the folded pieces for the first two rows. 30 pieces for the first row and 30 pieces for the second row for a total of 60. Take a piece and stick one of the flaps into the fold. Do the same with the other side. you will need to do this for all 30 pieces and then join the pieces together to make a circle. The triangles should be alternating front, back, front, etc. They should also be facing up, then side, then up, etc. You are basically inserting "leg" to "mouth"


Step 5: 3rd Layer

You will need 30 pieces. The goal here is to use one piece's mouth to connect two legs together. Do this around the whole perimeter.

Step 6: 4th-6th Layers

For the 4th, 5th, and 6th layers repeat what you did in step 5 with 30 pieces for each row for a total of 90 pieces.

Step 7: Wings

Attach a piece like you did for step 6 and do this for 11 more pieces. Then, on top of the 12 pieces, do 11. Next do 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 using the same method. This is one wing.

Go to the first piece from the 12 row and count over three. Repeat the process with the other wing.

Step 8: Tail

For the tail, start with the space with 3 pieces and decrease (2-1).

Step 9: Head

Start your head with what you did with step 6 on the other side. Then attach a bunch of pieces together to form a long slender shape. Attach this to the body. You can also attach a different colored piece to make a beak. This step is flexible. You can add or decrease pieces to your liking so you can have a long or short neck. You can also make the neck more or less bent.

Step 10: Finish

Congratulations. You have made yourself your very own swan. Hard work can make a beautiful masterpiece. If you have any questions, leave a comment below.

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