Real-Looking Paper Figures Catapults This Origami Artist To Fame

Mariano Zavala, based in Lima, Peru, has taken the Japanese traditional art of origami a notch higher. This amazing artist creates life-like animals, birds, insects, mythological creatures and what not. And what’s surprising is he’s completely self-taught.

So, what attracted Zavala to origami. Says he, “With origami, I discovered a way to develop the skills in the art that I have. I love three-dimensional sculpture, to work with my hands, the figures. And origami has all that, besides it gives me benefits, such as concentration, patience, creativity, motor skills, mathematical theories, etc.” However, the greatest benefit that he has gained from this art is to know and value nature.

From his childhood days, art always attracted Zavala and he tried his hand at clay sculpting. However, it was in 2009 that he discovered origami and was completely smitten by it. Says he, “It’s a simple craft to pursue and doesn’t require much investment.” Needless to say, origami has now become his lifestyle.

According to him, origami looks easy but is not. It needs analysis and a study of a subject’s structure to make it look as real as possible. And it takes a lot of time designing a figure. Some can even take as long as a week to finish.

Zavala doesn’t believe in keeping his origami secrets to himself but strives to share it with the world. He has conducted origami workshops for high schools and universities. Currently, his origami tutorial videos have become popular on YouTube.

Does Zavala have any preferences in his origami subjects? He explains, “I love insects in origami, like beetles. They look so real. I also like mythological characters, like Mahoraga or Makora Taisho or my design Hatsune Miku from the Japanese culture.” However, one of his most well-known creations is the bulldog.

Zavala has many more origami ideas up his sleeve that he longs to display. Watch his Instagram page to know what he does next!