Origami artist Chris Conrad folded a complex angel figure without the help of scissors or glue. The single sheet of paper, which has a marbled finish, features the figure with wings outspread, a halo above its head, and a book and staff in either hand. The level of detail is impressive, as Conrad has articulated each element of the angel all thanks to strategic folding. Coupled with the paper’s gray swirl, it looks as though this figure is a tiny stone statue.

The angel took Conrad 15 hours to fold. Working off a design by Matthew Winnagun, he gave the figure his own interpretation. “I changed the hair, staff, wings, and torso from the original designer's fold to make the model my own,” Conrad shared with My Modern Met. “I also managed to stretch out some of the limbs to make the angel have adult proportions (the original designer had [created] more child-like proportions).”

Aside from the time spent folding, shaping the angel using water proved to be the most challenging part. “Most people (including me) typically use glue to “finish” complex origami models,” Conrad explains. “For the angel, I decided to experiment with using water instead, which made the process more difficult and time-consuming. I used custom homemade double tissue paper painted with black acrylic.”

This angel is far from the only design that Conrad has worked on, and his process is akin to other creative pursuits; there's some trial and error involved. “I usually go through at least two or three iterations before I find proportions and details that I'm satisfied with,” he admits. “Sometimes I get it right the first time and the whole design process takes only a couple hours, other times I've worked on-and-off for a month or more to get something to work just how I want.”

Scroll down to see incredible details from the angel origami as well as more of Conrad’s work.

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