Finally, after 4 years of making dolls I do a tutorial! Dial-up users should probably go for a long walk while this loads though, considering there are over 150 images (if I counted correctly)! Anyway, this is a tutorial for a basic male origami doll plus a basic outfit (t-shirt, pants, and Converse-ish shoes). I did this because my friend's little sister wanted another origami doll for her birthday (she already got one on Christmas), so I figured I might as well do a tutorial while making it! Thanks go to Maarten Van Gelder for basically designing the human model (though I do a variation to make the dolls), his model can be found here:
http://dev.origami.com/images_pdf/wheelchair_new.pdf. Thanks also go the Jeremy Shafer, for designing the basic pants that I use (though I have to cut them to fit the doll), as well as whoever designed the basic shirt (found it in an origami calender). Now, without further adue, on to the tutorial!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
-Colored Pencils (colors for hair, skin, eyes, blush if you wish, shoes, and shoe soles)
-Inking pen (I use Sakura Micron)
-Mechanical Pencil
-Glue (I use quick dry tacky glue, but regular tacky or Elmer's works fine)
-Colored paper for pants/shirt (I use pre-cut origami paper that is white on one side and colored on the other)
-Tape
-Scissors
-One sheet of letter/printer paper
-A knowledge of at least intermediate origami! *IMPORTANT*
1. Take the printer paper and fold it in half "hotdog" style.
2. Unfold the paper and fold the corners to the center fold you just made.
3. Cut off the folded end (should look like a triangle with flaps, and should be a rectangle when unfolded). Don't throw away any of the paper, it will be used later!
4. Cut the bit you just cut off in half (so when unfolded you have two squares).
5. Set aside one of the squares for now and pick up the other.
6. Fold a bird base from the square you did not set aside (if you don't know how to make a bird base, you probably shouldn't be doing this tutorial as it only gets harder from here!).
7. Fold the top front point down.
8. Turn the model over.
9. Valley fold the bottom points so they line up and make a straight line at the top. Crease well.
10. Unfold the points and inside reverse fold them.
11. Valley fold the bottom edge of the points to meet the top edge (top layer only).
12. Squash fold along the crease you made in the last step, pulling the side edge to meet the center.
13. Step 12 Finished. Repeat 11 on the other side.
13. Both sides squashed.
14. Flip the model over.
15. Fold the bottom point as if you are making a kite base while squashing and thinning the side point.
16. Repeat on the other side.
17. Flip the model over and rotate so the tall thin point is facing the top.
18. Valley fold the top point down as far as it will comfortably go.
19. Fold the top point back up about a centimeter, thus making a pleat.
20. Flip the model over.
21. Pull out the layer in the middle as far as it will comfortably go.
22. Repeat on the other side.
23. Fold in a little bit of the edge, thinning the head.
24. Repeat on the other side.
25. Turn the model over.
26. Using your thumbnail, push in a small corner to round out the head.
27. Step 26 completed.
28. Repeat on the other side.
29. Flip the model over and fold to top point to meet the bottom of the head.
30. Further round out the head by folding the top corners in a bit.
31. Turn the model over. This will be the front, where the face goes!
32. Using the mechanical pencil, draw a light line across the face about 1/3 the way down. This is where I mark to start the eyes.
33. Draw on the eyes and other facial features using the mechanical pencil.
34. Take what remains of the paper you cut the two squares from and lay the doll on it.
35. Using the mechanical pencil, trace the head on this paper roughly 3-5 inches from the edge. This will be used to make the bangs or front part of the hair.
36. Once you have traced the head, move the doll down an inch or two and trace the head again. This will be used to make the back part of the hair.
37. Remove the doll from the paper. This is what the tracings should look like.
38. On the top tracing, draw the bangs or front part of the hair. It can be any style you wish, though if you have trouble try to lay the doll on top or next to the hair and try to see how it looks.
39. On the bottom tracing, draw the back part of the hair. Again, it can be whatever style you want, just keep in mind that not much will show when looking at the doll's face. It's a must that you draw a little bit over the traced edge to give the hair volume. If you have trouble, do the same thing as the bangs and lay the doll on top of the hair to see how it might look.
40. When you're happy with the hair and face, ink it with your inking pen.
41. Turn the paper you drew the hair on over.
42. Hold the paper up to a window, or if you have one, a light box, and trace the outline of the hair on this side with the inking pen.
43. Color in the hair using colored pencils. I don't usually shade (I'm horrible at it), but if you can if you want to. You don't have to color in the lines as you will be cutting the hair out later.
44. Flip the hair paper over and if you haven't already, erase the pencil marks.
45. Color in this side as well.
46. Return to the main part of the doll again and set aside the hair paper for now.
47. Using colored pencils, color in the eyes, blush spots (if you drew them), and any other facial features you want (makeup, etc).
48. Now here's where it gets a bit weird. Carefully unfold the top part of the doll completely. The only inked facial feature on this side should be the nose. Color around it using the colored pencil you want your doll's skin to be.
49. Flip the paper over. You should see the doll's eyes near the bottom on the sides. Color in the whole square using the same skin tone colored pencil.
50. Refold the doll back to step 47. It will look the same, except the skin should now be colored.
51. Set aside the part you've been working on (the top half of the doll) and grab the second square you cut. This square will be used to fold the legs.
52. Using the skin tone colored pencil you've been using, color in one side of the square.
53. Once your done coloring, fold a kite base from the square with the colored side up. Crease well.
54. Unfold this kite base. The color should still be up.
55. Without rotating or turning the paper, fold a kite base from the top point. Crease well.
56. Unfold. The creases should look like this.
57. Turn the paper over so the white side now faces you.
58. With the white side on top, fold the edge to meet the line formed from folding the kite bases.
59. Repeat this fold four times. This is what the creases should look like.
60. With the white side still out, fold the paper in half diagonally. Crease well.
61. Unfold, though still make sure the white side is facing you. Begin to collapse along the existing creases.
62. The collapse in process.
63. The finished collapse.
64. Repeat on the other side.
65. Rotate the model so the top points up.
66. From behind, pull the top point down like a hinge. The model should be white on the outside.
67. Put your fingers into the left pocket and squash everything, including the center.
68. The squash almost done.
69. The squash complete. The bottom of the legs should now appear colored.
70. Now return to the top half of the doll.
71. Open out the flaps on the chest of the doll.
72. Fold the bottom point up like a hinge.
73. Valley fold the side in like so.
74. Repeat on the other side.
75. Fold the point down again as far as it will comfortably go.
76. A view of the model from the side. Fold the flaps in to thin the waist.
button to nominate it!
