Folding Paper Zoo Animals
Print, color, cut out and fold our zoo animal printables into fun three-dimensional paper figures. Paper animals you can make include bears, tigers, big cats, hippos, and elephants.
Featured Crafts
Supplies Needed
- A4 or Letter size cardstock
- Colored pencils, markers or crayons
- Scissors
STEPS
1Print out the animal template.
Print out any of these Folding Zoo Animal templates on cardstock. You can use white cardstock or choose a color that is close to the animal's main body color.
2Color and cut out the animal.
Color the animal with crayons, colored pencils, or colored markers. Cut out the animal.
3Crease in the middle.
You will need to properly crease your paper animal to make it stand upright. First, fold the animal along the middle and unfold.
4Crease above the legs.
To allow the animal to stand on its legs, fold both sides near the start of the legs inwards. Unfold.
5Crease at the neck.
Notice the kite-shaped dotted lines on the neck? Fold the neck outwards along the middle line so that it is fully bent back.
6Crease at the base of the head.
While keeping the neck folded, starting at the base of the head, fold the head back inward.
7Fold the animal in the middle.
Unfold. Fold the paper animal again along the middle like in Step 3.
8Fold along upper diagonal line.
While keeping the paper animal folded along the middle, fold along the dotted diagonal line closer to the head. Fold to one side.
9Fold same line to the other side.
Then to the other side.
10Fold along lower diagonal line.
Again, keeping the paper animal folded along the middle, fold along the dotted diagonal farther from the head. Likewise, fold to one side.
11Fold same line to the other side.
And then to the other side.
12Unfold.
Unfold. With the creases in place, you are now ready to position your paper animal.
13Fold the neck back.
Fold the neck outwards again so that it is fully bent back.
14Set the neck in place.
While pinching the creased triangular area in the neck, push the torso inwards along the middle. This should cause the head to pop up slightly.
15Fold the head to the front.
Starting at the base of the head, fold the head back inward.
16Curl the tail.
If your paper animal has a tail, curl it either upwards or downwards.
Place your paper animal on a flat surface to allow it to stand on its legs.
More Ideas
Create different kinds of bears.
Color the bear template a different color to make different types of bears. You can make a black bear, a brown bear, a polar bear, or a panda.
Make several types of wild cats.
Color the printable big cat template black to make a black panther. Make spotted wild cats like the leopard, jaguar or cheetah by coloring the animal yellow or light brown and making small black spots. Finger painting or using a Q-tip to paint the dots is a fun idea! Add iconic features like a pair of black lines starting from the cheetah's eyes to its jaws.
Create a pride of lions.
To make lions, color the big cat template light brown or tan. Create a mane for a male lion with crepe paper. After assembling the cat following all the steps above, cut orange or dark brown crepe paper into very short strips and glue these all around the back of the cat's head.
Use the animals for a diorama.
These three-dimensional paper animals are great additions to a habitat diorama or a zoo craft project. Check out these ideas:
