How to Make a Paper Car

By Kate Miller-Wilson

Learning how to make a paper car can help keep the kids occupied while you're waiting for the mechanic to finish working on the minivan!

How to Make a Paper Car: Basic Version

Although complex origami vehicles can require dozens of folds, you can make a simple origami car in just a few steps. This is a perfect project to try if you're just learning origami, since it's easy and rewarding. This car can be a perfect embellishment for scrapbooking or card making.

Things You'll Need

Sheet of square origami paper or scrapbook paper
Flat surface for folding
Creasing tool if you use one

What to Do

Place the origami paper flat on the surface in front of you. The "right" side of the paper should be down. It's fun to use paper that has a car pattern or other fun design.
Bring the top edge of the paper down to meet the bottom edge, and crease the paper to fold it. You should end up with a rectangular shape, and the crease should be on the edge farthest away from you.
Fold each upper corner down to create a triangle fold. You can experiment with the angle that best suits your design. Create creases to mark these folds.
Next, unfold the triangle shapes, and then tuck them down into the rest of the car. This will make the car look the same on both sides. The ends of the triangles will stick out through the bottom of the car. Thoroughly crease the folds to make sure they stay.
Fold the ends of the triangles over to create a rough wheel shape. Generally, a single additional fold will give the impression of a round wheel, although you might prefer the look of multiple folds. Crease the folds, and then unfold the triangles. Tuck the ends up inside the wheels, and crease the folds to make them stick. Your car now has wheels.
Adjust the height of the car's sides by folding the paper up. You'll want the wheels to show enough to make it obvious you've created a car.

Elaborate Origami Cars

Once you've mastered the basics of how to make a paper car, you can move on to more elaborate designs. The Internet has several amazing car origami videos and tutorials that can help you create your own three-dimensional paper car.

Origami Car Videos

The following YouTube videos can show you how to make a beautiful paper car. Many of these videos are based on instructions for making a Volkswagen Beetle.

Origami Car Tutorials

These tutorials provide step-by-step origami instructions for making vehicles, which can vary in complexity from simple to extremely elaborate. Most include photographs or diagrams to help you understand what to do in each step.