Dragons are the undisputed superstars of origami, and a good dragon starts with a great head. This little model is the perfect warm-up: from a single square you'll collapse the paper into a base, shape the snout with a few corner folds, and then—the best part—pop it open with your fingers so it puffs into a rounded, three-dimensional head. It's over in about nine steps, so it's a great one to fold with kids or to mass-produce for a whole legion of paper dragons. Grab a square, give it a shake, and let's bring a little fire-breathing friend to life.

STEP 1. Start with a square piece of paper, colored side up. Fold it in half in both directions.

STEP 2. Turn the paper over to the white side. Fold it in half, crease well and unfold, then fold in half in the other direction.

STEP 3. Using the creases you have made, bring the top three corners of the model down to the bottom corner, then flatten.

STEP 4. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner.

STEP 5. Fold the uppermost outer corners toward the center line.

STEP 6. Now fold the top corner down.

STEP 7. Turn the model over and repeat steps 4-6 on the other side, as shown.

STEP 8. Now the dragon’s head is folded—all you need to do is pop it open!

STEP 9. Open it out by gently pulling it apart from the sides, as shown.