Origami Walrus Bookmark V2

Last summer I designed my first original origami model—a walrus bookmark (for my wife, a walrus fan). I was quite proud of the design, but I always felt like a cleaner and simpler model should be possible. The original model folded down rather small compared to the starting paper size and had many layers, and as a result it was a bit thick for a bookmark (especially if folded with normal copy paper instead of origami paper).

I spent some time this winter experimenting to find an alternative, and after many different prototypes and tweaks I finally have something that I think fixes most of the flaws in the original design and looks just as good (if not better).

The two designs can be seen side-by-side in the second picture above. The new version (on the left) is noticeably larger, much thinner, and even has proportionally larger tusks.

Start with any square piece of paper. For this instructables I used a 6" piece of 2-sided kami, but the model also works great with copy paper and smaller paper (4" is my favorite size).

If you're using 2-sided paper, start with the tusk side up.

Valley fold corner to corner in both directions, creating an X on the tusk side. Fold the paper down into a triangle.

From the mid-point, fold down the points on either side, leaving a small gap at the bottom (see the first picture). There's no reference point here, but you can use the image as a guide, and try to make the two sides symmetrical. These will become the tusks of your walrus.

Unfold each side and then perform an inside reverse fold along the same creases, bringing the point down in between the front and back of the model (see image 3).

Fold the bottom triangle up creasing to the points on either side.

This flap will be slightly larger than the the triangle behind it. You're going to need to tuck it in to that space eventually, so you'll need to fold down the edges to make it small enough. Images 2 and 3 here show creasing to match the edge behind, but you can also fold a bit more if that's easier—just as long the flap is now smaller than the triangle behind it.

Unfold with the slightly narrowed flap on the top.

Reverse the crease and fold that flap down, and then fold the bottom point up to the center (the edges won't match the creases on the side, that's ok).

Fold the bottom right edge to the center line, and then repeat with the bottom left edge.

Crease well and then unfold.

Fold the bottom edges to the creases you just made, and leave them there.

Collapse the model back down. The first photo shows the collapse in progress, the second shows what it should look like when you're done. Flip the model over to the back.

This is the trickiest part of the folding sequence. We're going to narrow the tusks and lock the front and back of the model together while we do it. Start with the left tusk:

Fold the back flap over along the edge of the front flap. (image 1)

Tuck it behind the back of the head (image 2)

Fold along the crease from Step 5, tucking the paper up and inside the head. This fold will start on the tusk and continue along the diagonal crease on the back of the head. Image 3 shows what this should look inside the head with the model opened up a bit, Image 4 shows it collapsed back down.

Repeat these steps on the right side. Fold the back flap over along the front edge, tuck it behind the back of the head, and then fold along the second crease from Step 5, tucking the paper up and in to the head.

Turn the model over and flatten it thoroughly (it can help to leave it pressed in a heavy book for a few hours).

Enjoy your finished walrus bookmark!