Cut-and-fold Paper Giraffe

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Every step, at a glance

Compare your paper with each diagram after completing the action. Blue and gold track the original left and right parts of one sheet. Gray is discarded card. Orange marks cuts or the moving leg and hinge. Cutting is a tracing schematic; folds show continuous rigid paper motion. No spots or eyes are needed.

0. 0. Mark the body and long neck
1. 1. Complete the measured outline
2. 2. Cut out the connected giraffe
3. 3. Split the two leg blanks
4. 4. Bend the outer rear leg forward
5. 5. Bend the inner rear leg backward
6. 6. Bend the inner front leg forward
7. 7. Bend the outer front leg backward
8. 8. Present the complete giraffe

0. PREPARATION · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Mark the body and long neck

   Place the 6-inch edge horizontally. All measurements are inches from the bottom-left corner: x goes right, y goes up. Lightly draw a torso rectangle from (1, 2.5) to (4.5, 4), and a neck rectangle from (3.5, 4) to (4.5, 7.5). Keep their shared edge uncut. The diagrams are not full-size templates.

   Layers: One flat 6 × 9-inch rectangle. Draw shapes on the same sheet, not separate pieces.

   Check: The neck is 3.5 inches long above the 1.5-inch-high torso.

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1. STEP 1 · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Complete the measured outline

   Add these rectangles by opposite corners: head (3.5, 7.5)–(5.5, 8.25); horns (3.75, 8.25)–(4, 8.75) and (4.5, 8.25)–(4.75, 8.75); ear (3, 8)–(3.5, 8.25); rear leg blank (1, 0.5)–(2, 2.5); front leg blank (3.5, 0.5)–(4.5, 2.5); tail top (0.5, 3.5)–(1, 3.75); tail drop (0.5, 2.75)–(0.75, 3.5). Trace only the outside boundary of this joined shape. Erase internal rectangle edges except the two hip lines at y = 2.5.

   Layers: Every rectangle joins an adjoining rectangle along an edge; none is pasted on.

   Check: One connected outline has two broad leg blanks, a tall neck, a right-pointing head and two small horns.

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2. STEP 2 · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Cut out the connected giraffe

   Cut around the outside outline, including between the horns and between the two leg blanks. Discard the surrounding gray card. Do not cut the neck root, the head connection, either hip line or the tail joints. Work slowly around the small head details.

   Layers: One retained piece plus discarded scraps. The fading gray area is a cutting schematic, not a folding motion.

   Check: The head, neck, torso, tail and both broad leg blanks are still one piece.

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3. STEP 3 · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Split the two leg blanks

   Cut straight upward from (1.5, 0.5) to (1.5, 2.5), then from (4, 0.5) to (4, 2.5). Stop precisely at the hip lines. Each 1-inch-wide blank becomes two 0.5-inch-wide legs. Do not extend either slit into the torso.

   Layers: Four single-layer tabs remain joined along their top edges. No strip is removed by these slits.

   Check: There are four separate 2-inch-long leg tabs, each with an uncut half-inch hip.

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4. STEP 4 · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Bend the outer rear leg forward

   Hold the torso flat with the head pointing right. Bend the far-left leg tab, x = 1 to 1.5, toward you along its horizontal hip at y = 2.5. Use a protractor to stop at 25 degrees from the original sheet plane.

   Layers: Move only that half-inch-wide rear tab; keep the adjacent rear tab and torso still.

   Check: The tab projects toward you, with its full hip edge still attached.

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5. STEP 5 · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Bend the inner rear leg backward

   Bend the adjacent rear tab, x = 1.5 to 2, away from you by 25 degrees at the same hip height. Do not bend both tabs together.

   Layers: Move only the second rear tab. The first tab stays forward.

   Check: The rear pair opens to opposite sides of the torso.

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6. STEP 6 · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Bend the inner front leg forward

   At the front of the body, bend the tab from x = 3.5 to 4 toward you by 25 degrees on its hip at y = 2.5. Match the first rear leg.

   Layers: Move one front tab only; keep the long neck straight.

   Check: The two forward legs have equal length and equal fold angles.

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7. STEP 7 · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Bend the outer front leg backward

   Bend the remaining tab, x = 4 to 4.5, away from you by 25 degrees. Match the rear backward leg. Keep the head, horns and neck in the original plane.

   Layers: Move only the last single-layer leg tab.

   Check: Four actual legs extend on alternating sides; no legs are drawn onto the torso.

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8. STEP 8 · Original measured cut-and-fold design

   Present the complete giraffe

   Hold the torso upright, with the neck above the body and the four feet below. Try resting all four lower leg edges on a level surface; recheck equal angles if it rocks. Do not add a crease through the neck. The cut horns, projecting muzzle, long neck and four legs complete the giraffe without spots.

   Layers: One connected cut-and-fold model. This display check adds no fold.

   Check: All four mathematical foot edges are level. Real-card standing balance and crease retention have not been tested.

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