CallMeIshmael

Got your sheet handy? Let's do this.

 

Lay your square on a flat surface. Any way round is fine. The side facing down will form the outer part of the whale.

 

Fold the paper in half, open it, and fold it in half the other way. Rotate the paper until it looks like a diamond with 1 corner pointing towards you. Bring the bottom point to the top point and flatten the page. Afterwards, open the paper and repeat the fold with the opposite corners.

 

 

Fold the top edges to the center crease. Start with the right side. Bring the right edge over until it aligns with the vertical center crease. Carefully flatten the paper to create another crease. Repeat this with the top left edge without opening the paper back up.

 

Flip the paper over and bring the tail to the top point. Your paper will look like a kite at this point. Position it so the thin tail points toward you. Then, bring the tail up until it is over the uppermost corner and crease the fold.

 

Turn the paper over and open the pockets with your finger. The folded kite will have 2 little pockets along its bottom edge. Grasp the flaps by their free edges in the center of the paper. Use your finger to move the pockets away from the table. Push against their free edges to make them stand up.

 

Bring the pocket’s tip over to the center and flatten it. When you lift the pocket flaps away from the page, the paper’s left and right corners will also lift up. Push against the outside edge then, smooth them out to form a crease.

 

Fold the paper’s top layer straight down. Slide your fingers around the edges of the paper. Separate the top layer from the paper underneath it, then bring the point down. The paper will have a crease about ¼ of the way up from the bottom, level with the diamond’s left and right corners. Fold the paper down along this line

 

 

Flip the paper over and push the fin flaps to the left. After you turn the paper over, orient it so the diamond’s longer corners point to the right and left. The flaps are in the middle. Push them over and flatten them against the paper.

 

Turn the paper over and fold the left point to the center. Flip the paper vertically, keeping the fin flaps pointed towards the left. Then, grab the left corner and align it with the paper’s center point. Crease the fold to finish it

 

 

Fold the bottom edge about ⅓ of the way up the paper. Hold the paper still with the sides of your hands. Carefully bring the bottom edge up slightly, pushing it onto the whale’s body and flattening it. This fold determines how wide the whale’s body will be

 

Bring the top half of the whale down over the bottom half. Fold the entire whale in half along the horizontal crease running through the center. Once you do this, you will be able to see the shape of the whale's body

 

 

Turn the overhanging top edge down and tuck it into the whale. Flip the whale over so pointed edge is on top and the flat edge is on the bottom. Grasp the pointed edge and fold it down against the whale’s body. Then, unfold it and open the whale’s top edge. Put the fold inside the whale to finish its basic shape

 

 

Move the whale onto its back and pull the fin flaps out. The whale’s back is the shorter side. You will see 2 flaps of paper near the whale’s head. Move each flap back away from the head at a diagonal angle, taking care not to pull them too far. Pull them about ⅔ of the way towards the whale’s body and down

 

 

Fold the whale’s tail straight up. Grasp the tip and move the tail up, away from the whale’s body. When you do this correctly, the tail’s inner edge will form a perfect diagonal. Press down hard on it to make a good crease

 

 

Open the whale and cut a slit in the tail. Unfold the tail, then spread apart the whale along its top edge. Look for the crease in the tail you made with your last fold. Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut along the center of the tail to that crease.

 

Fold the whale’s tail flaps up against one another. Close the whale back up, then separate the tail flaps. Grasp the flap closest to you, folding it so it points up towards the ceiling. Fold the other flap in the opposite direction until it is behind the first flap, perfectly aligned with it.

 

 

Open the tail flaps up and crease them in place. You can adjust the tail flaps to whatever angle you like. Separate them, bringing each flap down so it points out towards the side. When you get them where you want them, press them between your fingers to crease them and hold them in place.

There you go! You've either got a limited edition whale, or a tear-laced ball of fancy paper.

 

Credit: Wikihow Staff Editors (link)