Q&A for How to Fold a Traditional Origami Swan

I often employ a technique where I use my thumb and fingernail, with the tip of my pointer finger, to run along the crease line. It's not exactly pinching the fingernail together but rather using the fingernail and the tip of the finger to align and define the crease sharply. Simultaneously, I secure the paper with my other hand to prevent any potential shifting that might occur while dragging my thumb and pointer finger along the fold. This ensures precision and stability in the crease.

If you were use a rectangular paper instead of a square, your swan will end up uneven. The extra paper will stick out and could ruin your swan.

Yes it does, if you have the bottom part spread a little bit.

It is probably because you are folding it too shortly, or folding it too long. Remember to keep practicing. If that doesn't work, try doing it again on a new sheet of paper. Also don't use rectangular papers.

Try to redo it using the same paper first. If the paper is still not folding correctly, try another sheet of paper. Make sure that the paper is thin, and square (not rectangular).

The tail is included - it's the pointed end of the swan. Swans don't have very long tails, so there's no extra steps for the tail.

You may be trying to stand it up on the wrong side. Make sure that it is standing on the part closest to the swan's neck. Also, make sure that you stretch that part a bit outwards.

You may have folded it too much. I would suggest either starting over or inserting a toothpick into the neck to prop it back up.

The paper's dimensions don't matter, the paper just has to be square.

Origami isn't supposed to be realistic because it's just paper folding. What you can do, however, is draw or paint on the features, such as the feathers, eyes, beak, and markings.

Don't give up! Origami is tricky at first, but practice more and you'll eventually get it.

To make the swan face look down, you could push the beak part down gently and fold as desired.

Just keep practicing, and you'll get the hang of making a more balanced swan.

No. Just make sure that your paper is not so thin that it will get torn, and that it is square in shape before starting the folds.

Maybe you made the neck too heavy, which could be causing it to stand on its neck.

If there is a base, like a small pocket that can be opened up on the bottom, then slightly open it up and it should stand by itself. My favorite method of adding a base when there is none is to fold a flat part at the bottom of the model and make it stand.

You should be able to get it to stand if you spread the bottom out a bit.

You should probably just start again if you can't smooth it out.

No, you do not need staples. This can just be folded with regular origami paper. It does not need to be stuck together with a staple.

Yes, just make sure you fold it into a square first. This can be done by first folding it diagonally so that the paper looks like a triangle with a rectangle above it. Cut off the rectangle, and unfold the triangle to get a square shape that you can use as the beginnings of your traditional swan.

You cannot use a rectangle paper instead of square because the dimensions will not work out. If you have rectangle paper, you can easily make a square sheet of paper from it and then use that shape.

Yes, but it has to be square-shaped.

Just do your best. If you practice and try hard, you will be able to create an almost perfect swan!

You need to work on getting the creases right, because even if it is a little off, it can change the shape of the whole thing.

If it is your first time, it might be difficult, but if you keep trying, it will become easy. Just do your best.