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How to Make an Origami Dragonfly

When I was a girl my mother would say that a dragonfly appearing in our garden foretold the arrival of a visitor. Today you are visiting this page thanks to a dragonfly! Welcome!

This lovely origami dragonfly joins a growing group of other origami insects already shown here on Origami Spirit: a bee , a fly, a swallow tail butterfly, and a butterfly messenger.

The origami dragonfly is a design of Nguyễn Hùng Cường (Vietnam) whose exquisite origami work can be viewed on his Flickr page.

This handsome model is made from two pieces folded from an isosceles triangles (two halves of one square, cut diagonally). One piece forms the head and front wings and the second piece forms the hind wings and tail.

Many thanks to Nguyễn Hùng Cường for giving permission to present his model in this step-by-step video.

Tips and suggestions for making the origami dragonfly

  • In the video the dragonfly is demonstrated using thin kami paper, known in the U.S. as “origami paper”.
  • Any other thin paper –such as gift-wrapping paper or printed paper from old magazines, is suitable.
  • For a striking effect, the colors of each side should be different.
  • Look for papers which are dark on one side and light on the other.
  • A good size for paper to begin with is 6×6 inches (15×15 cm).
  • The square has to be cut in half diagonally to make two triangles.
  • This model requires use of a tiny drop of glue to secure head and tail together. If you are an origami purist, you might want to be flexible with your high paper folding standards.
  • The folding process is beautiful, but not too simple. The two pieces of the model fit cleverly to produce a lovely origami dragonfly.

Here are photos of other origami insects

If you make one of these models,
  post it on our OrigamiSpirit Facebook page!

Origami Bee

origami-bee-500

. . . . . . . .
Origami Fly

origami-fly-426

. . . . . . . .
Origami Swallow Tail Butterfly

origami-butterfly-500

. . . . . . . .

Butterfly Messenger  

origami-butterfly2-500

. . . . . . . .

Also check out this origami tree
another wonderful design of Nguyễn Hùng Cường.

origami-tree-500

. . . . . . . . . .

19 thoughts on “How to Make an Origami Dragonfly”

  1. Dear Leyla,
    Thank you so much for the dragonfly tutotial. It is a wonderfully beautiful and delicate model with a lot of shick.The way of making the eyes is pure genius.
    I am sorry to say that I could not make the Mondrian cube of 5 colors although I managed it with three colors after a lot of trying. May be you can help me out with some tips. I would be very grateful.
    In general I like your tutorials very much and fold all of the models you send.

    Reply
    • Hi Hanna,
      Congratulations for trying and having success with the 3-color Mondrian cube! I know that making it with 5 colors can be a little frustrating. I had to work at it several times before I was successful.
      My only other recommendation is to minimize the diversity of colors in each group of four papers. Try, for example, making it with the arrangement as follows:
      Group 1:
      red, blue, red, blue
      Group 2:
      black, black, yellow, black
      Group 3:
      white, yellow, white, white

      I hope this helps you!

      Reply
  2. Mil gracias por tan hermosa libelula. Cuando era nina y viviamos en Neiva me encantaba correr detras de ellas para ver si las podia coger cuando se posaran en cualquier lugar.
    Hermosa :-)

    Reply
  3. As always, the talent out from Vietnam creates wonderful models. Gracias por enseñar este modelo, profesora. Sobre todo ahora que tengo un proyecto para un mural con libélulas.

    Reply
  4. What a beautiful model! A crystal- clear tutorial once again, Leyla. Beautifully done. Thank you so much and many thanks to Nguyễn Hùng Cường for his lovely creation.

    Reply
  5. In Japanese culture a dragonfly is a symbol of the soul of someone who has passed on. Coincidentally, I just saw my first dragonfly of the season today.

    Reply

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