Some folds you learn once and use for the rest of your origami life. The inside reverse fold is one of them: it is the workhorse behind most bird beaks and animal tails, and this tutorial runs it twice on a single sheet - once to make a beak, once to make a tail.

You will prepare a few creases first, then work through two near-identical reverse folds that differ only in the final display. If you unfold the model before folding, the whole thing becomes much easier to control. And since the details here are clearer than in most other instructions, it is a great place to learn the move properly.

This is one of the most common basic folds in origami, and it needs only two inside reverse folds. It is usually used to fold the mouth and tail of origami animals. The final result is shown here in perspective so you can understand how it fits together. In most origami instructions, folding details are not shown this clearly, so learning them here will make all kinds of origami much easier to complete.

Step 1

Make a crease by folding the top corner to the bottom corner, then unfold.

Step 2

Fold both edges to the center line, as shown below.

Step 3

Fold the top edge to the bottom edge along the dotted line.

Step 4

Make a crease.

Step 5

Make another crease, then unfold.

Step 6

Make an inside reverse fold on (b) and pull out (a). If you unfold the model, it will be easier to fold it.

The black dotted line (b) is the mountain fold line.

The red dotted line (b) is the valley fold line.

Step 7

Two inside reverse folds are done - these are usually used for making an origami bird’s beak. In the next step, we will learn another inside reverse fold.

Step 8

Make an inside reverse fold on (b) and pull out (a). If you unfold the model, it will be easier to fold it.

The black dotted line (b) is the mountain fold line.

The red dotted line (b) is the valley fold line.

Step 9

This fold is usually used for the tail of an animal. It is the same as the fold of a bird’s beak, but the final display is different.