Discovering there are not many models of a scaled crocodile in origami, I decided to take this opportunity and design one myself.
Probably the most important aspect when designing a model with such a big amount of details is having a good overview. That´s why I used a diagonal symmetry: It keeps the big underlying structures simple.
Having drawn a sketch, I started the design with the transition between the head and the neck. That´s the most difficult part to design, because I needed many small scales on the one side and big surfaces on the other side. Afterward I moved on to the forelegs and the hindlegs. Last but not least, I planned the tail and the belly.
The crease pattern mostly consists of transition units in different sizes and scopes. That´s also visible in the grid. I used a 84 diagonal grid for the underlying structure. The scales however are formed from 336ths of the diagonal. That´s why I needed transitions from one unit to the quarter of a unit. The scaled part is three units wide, which made some transitions even weirder. The teeth are in fact formed from (mostly) 168ths (half a unit) and are therefore less problematic than the scales. Even though the creasepattern has become too detailed to export it directly from Oripa in a readable quality, it´s not my hardest design. Due to the scales, you need to use a really big sheet, which makes the collapse more simple as well.
For the folding, I used a 100cm square of Alios Kraft paper from origami-shop.com. This model was my hardest shaping challenge yet, but I think I did well. The finished crocodile is 48cm long.
