We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.

Advertiser Disclosure

Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

How We Make Money

We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently from our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.

What Are the Different Types of Traditional Origami?

By G. Wiesen
Updated Feb 11, 2024
Our promise to you
WiseGEEK is dedicated to creating trustworthy, high-quality content that always prioritizes transparency, integrity, and inclusivity above all else. Our ensure that our content creation and review process includes rigorous fact-checking, evidence-based, and continual updates to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

Editorial Standards

At WiseGEEK, we are committed to creating content that you can trust. Our editorial process is designed to ensure that every piece of content we publish is accurate, reliable, and informative.

Our team of experienced writers and editors follows a strict set of guidelines to ensure the highest quality content. We conduct thorough research, fact-check all information, and rely on credible sources to back up our claims. Our content is reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy and clarity.

We believe in transparency and maintain editorial independence from our advertisers. Our team does not receive direct compensation from advertisers, allowing us to create unbiased content that prioritizes your interests.

Traditional origami can be used to make a wide range of different shapes and creatures, and they are typically categorized based on what is created and how difficult the project is. Animals are some of the most common and popular origami creations, and these include various birds and insects as well as foxes and frogs. There are also a wide range of shapes and designs that can be made with traditional origami, including stars, boxes, and hats. The folds used to create origami shapes can be fairly simple or quite complex, so different designs are often organized based on the level of experience that is recommended for someone to make them.

Different types of traditional origami are often based on the various shapes that can be made through certain applications. Animals, for example, are some of the most popular types of origami, and many different creatures can be made using only a single sheet of paper. The paper crane is quite well known and relatively easy to make, though it does require numerous steps and many different folds. Foxes, bears, and frogs can also be created with traditional origami, and these animals can take only minutes to create through various folds and combinations of methods.

There are a number of non-animal shapes and objects that can also be made through traditional origami, some of which can have very practical applications. Throwing stars, for example, are quite popular and can be made using two sheets of paper, which are folded carefully and fit into each other to create a single shape. Boxes, including those with both a top and bottom, can also be made through traditional origami and used for giving gifts or keeping various objects within them. Different styles of hats and even drinking cups can be created using paper, and these can be worn or used to drink from as appropriate.

Many types of traditional origami are categorized based on the difficulty of making the object created through them. Beginner objects are usually quite simple and often require fairly basic folds, even with multiple steps, to make. Intermediate items can be more difficult, potentially requiring numerous pieces of paper that fit together, and folds that are more intricate and complicated. Difficult varieties of traditional origami can take quite some time to complete and often require folds that must be practiced numerous times before they can be made quickly and easily.

WiseGEEK is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Discussion Comments

By pastanaga — On May 24, 2014

@browncoat - We had some Japanese exchange students living with us for a few weeks and I was so blown away by their origami skills. One of them made me these two little figures that I still have somewhere and they tried to teach us how to make cranes as well.

But it actually seemed to have the opposite effect on me. They just made it look so complicated I was afraid to do it myself because I figured I would get it wrong.

By browncoat — On May 23, 2014

@pleonasm - I always liked making flowers for my mother when it was her birthday or something like that. She particularly liked irises, which I thought were fairly complex back then, although I don't know whether I would think that now.

We kind of went through a stage in my elementary school when origami was all the rage and everyone was trying to outdo each other with different shapes. I don't know if we ever did anything more complex than a lotus flower though, seeing as there was no internet back then and we all had access to the same books.

By pleonasm — On May 23, 2014

My favorite kind of origami is the little stars that you can make from scraps of paper. I used to make boxes of them for my friends at high school when I was supposed to be working on assignments.

The funny thing is, that I must have made hundreds of them, but I don't think I could remember how to do it now. It didn't seem to stick in my memory.

WiseGEEK, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGEEK, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.