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Origami is known worldwide as the art of paper-folding, and while most people associate it with Japanese culture, it also has history in China and Europe as well. We’re not sure what it is, but there is something strangely satisfying about turning a flat piece of paper into a three-dimensional model resembling anything from flowers to animals to vehicles.

One particularly fun shape to make are ninja throwing-stars, like the ones you see above. If you’re in the mood for some crafts and would like to give it a try, follow us after the jump to get started!

Shuriken, or throwing-stars, are a fairly simple and popular origami shape to fold. The problem, though, is that most origami paper is either brightly colored or printed with cute graphics, which don’t make for very convincing shuriken.

▼The colorful ones are fun, but they’re not very suitable for serious ninja action

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Image: RocketNews24

You could make your throwing-stars out of just black, white, or grey, but then you’re still left with nearly a full pack of all the other colors of paper. What to do, what to do?

Well, for all you ninja enthusiasts out there, here’s a special treat for you: printable instructions and a template that allows you to make these awesomely-detailed shuriken… for free!

▼The shading gives them a realistic 3-D look

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The template is available for free download on here on the Tsutomu BOOTH website. The instructions are only in Japanese, but the pictures are generally easy enough to follow on their own. Origami purists would probably argue to call this “kirigami” instead of origami, though, since it does involve cutting the paper as opposed to folding a whole piece to produce the shape.

The owner of the website, Tsutomu, also posts other things he has made for fun. There are only a few items up now, but hopefully there will be much more to come! Maybe some 3-D printable nunchaku next?

Source and images (unless otherwise stated): Tsutomu BOOTH