Have you ever seen those cool little cranes or swan shaped folded pieces of paper and wished you could make them too? Origami, or “paper folding” as some people call it isn’t that terribly hard to learn, though there are more intricate designs that can take years of practice.

Though origami can be challenging, it can be quite easy to learn some of the intermediate designs. Most people start out by making paper airplanes but even these can have long drawn out instructions, well, for the really realistic ones they do. The simple airplane you made as a child just takes a few simple folds.

Looking for designs can be a little frustrating for the beginner as many of the directions are complicated and usually are written for the serious paper folder. The best way is to look for the beginner instructions that often show the previous mention airplane and the crane.

Practice makes perfect. One you have found instructions, the best way to get better at origami is by practicing the folds until you can make those designs in your sleep. Then you can move onto the next design and so on.

An even better way to learn is to find someone who knows how to make origami and watch them as they do it. If you don’t know anyone who does origami then look online for instructional videos? Watching someone make the folds and practicing along with them is the easiest way to learn and the best thing is you can stop and replay the video if you get lost.

If you watch these videos and practice, over time you’ll be making more complicated models and perhaps even conjuring your own designs.

Learning origami is best with instructions, whether book, person or video, it is wise to never go it alone. There are intricate folds that need to be learned and then only then will you master this art.