After looking long and hard at the legs, I felt they were too fat. But I forged ahead.
I remembered a website where you can download paper patterns to fold and found the giraffe pictured above. It took me three days to assemble her. Then I had one of those AHA moments and knew what to dd: use the nip/tuck folding techniques that is used in paper engineering.
I stripped all the paper and tape off the legs, and cut off several inches to make them thinner. About that time I recalled the rolls of cardboard which shapes easily.
Next I made the neck and then attach the legs to the torso.
You might wonder why I haven’t made the hooves yet. Two reasons: the feet will have to be weighted, and I want to be sure they are in proportioned to the rest of the body.
I’m on the eighth roll of masking tape.