Origami Bat Diagrams

Here are my diagrams for an origami bat.
There are many different origami bats out there, but most of them either suck or are impossibly difficult (and don’t come with diagrams of their own).
But here is a bat that is easy to fold (no more difficult than my griffin diagrams) and I think it looks cool.

Ordinary printer paper cut into a square works well for this model.

This took half an hour to fold, including the time I spent taking pictures at each step.


[?=1-5]1.
Make a preliminary base. Make sure the color side is on the outside, if you are using origami paper.

2.
Preliminary base.

3.
Squash one flap over so that its crease lines up with the center line . . .

4.
. . . and flatten it out.

5.
Do that to the other three sides. [/?]


[?=6-10]6.
Open the whole thing up.

7.
Fold the edge from one corner to the diagonal crease. Only crease this fold sharply until it reaches a previous crease.

8.
These are the creases you make. Do them to all four corners of the paper.

9.
Fold it back up so that it looks like step 5 again.

10.
Fold the creases you just made in step 8 again. [/?]


[?=11-15]11.
And flatten out the top area so that it forms a 90 degree point.

12.
Fold this point down. Next you will reverse-fold the point in the circle so that the point will now be folded up and inside of the paper . . .

13.
. . . like this.

14.
Flatten it out. Repeat steps 10-14 on the other three sides.

15.
Fold this little flap upwards as far as it will go . . . [/?]


[?=16-20]16.
. . . so when you flatten it out it sticks out like this.

17.
Do that to the other three sides.

18.
Now fold the little flap over the edge that covers it, like this.

19.
And reverse fold the little flap inward, so it doesn’t stick out anymore.

20.
Do that to the other three little flaps. [/?]


[?=21-25]21.
Reverse-fold two of the four lower large flaps as high as they will go. The top edge of the fold should be perpendicular with the centerline of the model.

22.
And fold up the other two flaps as well. The black line indicates where the fold in the next step will be.

23.
Fold on that line, swinging the top flap so that it flattens out like this.

24.
The black line and the crease in the paper indicate where the next fold will be.

25.
Fold on that line. Part of the model won’t lie flat yet . . . [/?]


[?=26-30]26.
. . . until you smash it down. Note that this fold you will make to flatten the model will lie right along the center line.

27.
Repeat steps 23-26 on the other side.

28.
Flip the model over. You are now looking at the bat’s back.

29.
Fold the model in half. The black line indicates where the next fold will be, bisecting the angle at the head.

30.
Fold the wing up along that line. You will only be able to flatten the head area of the model. [/?]


[?=31-35]31.
Fold the other wing up in the same way.

32.
Fold this flap forward as much as you can. Try to make the obtuse triangle that appears above my thumb as flat as you can. The wing will become concave and will not lie flat.

33.
Fold the other wing like that, too.

34.
A view from the front.

35.
Now we will work on the legs and ears. Fold the flap upwards, like this. The dotted line will be where the next fold goes. [/?]


[?=36-40]36.
Like this. Then fold on this dotted line.

37.
Like this.

38.
For the ear, fold the front part of this little flap backward as far as it will go, then fold it back forward on the black line.

39.
So it looks like this.

40.
Unfold the ear and then crimp-fold it back and forth, so it stays in place. [/?]


[?=41-45]41.
Repeat steps 35-40 on the other side.

42.
Looking at the bat’s back.

43.
Fold the back edge of the wings underneath, so it looks like this . . .

44.
. . . from the underside.

45.
Optional step: Unfold the fold made in step 43, and sink-fold along the creases. [/?]


[?=46-51]46.
So now it looks like this.

47.
Side view again. Fold the leg forward as far as it will go.

48.
The paper is really, really think at this point, so instead of frustrating yourself by worrying about bisecting angles so precisely, just shape the leg until it looks right to you.

49. [
Don’t forget the other leg.

50.
Prayer may help here.

51.
Once you’re satisfied with the legs, crimp-fold the head and the muzzle to shape the head to your liking. Fold the leading edges of the wings back to make 'arms'.
[/?]





Finished bat.

Ah! Here is another good-looking bat, and complete diagrams to boot!

http://www.progonos.com/furuti/Origami/Diagrams/Files/bat_NM_050908A.pdf

^
This is what origami diagrams usually look like; not actual photographs. Of course, I like actual pictures, too, because you can see that it can be done in real life.

I will have to try this model tonight and I'll see about posting pictures of what I make.

If anyone folding my model has any questions about anything, feel free to ask. I want to correct my instructions so that they're as good and clear as possible.