In this collectors interview, we meet Massimo Missiroli from Italy. He started collecting pop-up books back in 1978 and now owns an impressive collection of classic pop-up titles that has been seen by over 70.000 people. Massimo, who is also an expert in the education of the image, worked for many years as an advisor for school projects and councils.  Massimo started with designing pop-up books in 1991 and created his first published book in 1997 “Iciest day ever”, illustrated by Richard Scarry. He also created pop-up books for Schreiber Verlag (German) the pop-up editions of Struwwelpeter and Max und Moritz. In June 2001, he was awarded, for his paper-engineering work, with the prestigious Andersen Prize assigned by the homonymous magazine. And another highlight worth mentioning, Massimo’s Pinocchio pop-up was nominated for the 2004 Meggendorfer prize. 

Interview

BPUB – What’s the first pop-up book you bought?
MM – I bought my first book 42 years ago. It was the reprint of The Children’s Tableaux, A Novel Color Book for children by Ernest Nister. The reproduction was printed by Intervisual book Inc. and the Italian title was I gatti di Gattolica. After a few years I also bought the original from 1895 but I have always been fond of my first book. Without buying that pop-up book, I would never have started collecting.

BPUB – Who are your favorite pop-up book authors or paper engineers?
MM – My favorite author is definitely Vojtech Kubasta. I like all his books, from the small books with numbers to the theater tales. In particular, the panascope series that I also have in multiple copies and in various editions. For those who find it interesting, I photographed them in stereoscopic and it’s possible to see them on my website in three dimensions with red and blue glasses.

“I photographed them in stereoscopic and it’s possible to see them on my website”

Massimo Missiroli

BPUB – What are your favorite books in your collection and why?
MM – In addition to Kubasta’s work, I also like the French series of Lucos and Bookano and also, of course, Lothar Meggendorfer’s movable books.

BPUB – How many books are there in your collection?
MM – I stopped counting them when I reached 4,000. Now I think I am approaching 5,000 pop-up books. In the last few months alone, I have received over 200 responses on eBay and purchased just as many on Amazon.

BPUB – What book is missing or will be the first one you’ll order next?
MM – I would like to buy a scenic book because it is missing from my collection. I have about thirty Father Tuck, Nister and Meggendorfer pop-ups but a scenic is missing so I’m waiting for the right time to buy Lothar Meggendorfer’s “Internationaler circus“.

BPUB – If you could choose a subject for a new pop-up book by your favorite author, what would it be?
MM – I like the surprise of seeing new titles. Paper engineers are very creative and always know how to make new things to amaze collectors.

BPUB – Is there anything else you would like to share with other pop-up book fans?
MM – My collection has become a traveling exhibition since 2017 and has also been staged in the United Arab Emirates and at the Shanghai Book Fair. (Visit the popupshow.net page to find out more…) In two years, the exhibition has been seen by more than 70,000 visitors which I have fascinated with a selection of my most interesting pop-ups.

BPUB – Thank you Massimo, for sharing your pop-up book collection with us!

Massimo engineered this beautiful pop-up page
that was included in the 40-anniversary photo book by Kenzo

Useful links
Massimo’s website
Massimo’s YouTube channel 
Massimo’s Instagram
Stereoscopic pictures of pop-ups

WANTED: Pop-up book fans and collectors

Do you have a pop-up book collection you would like to share with other fans? Do you have special items like a signed book or special edition? Let us know and send us a picture and answer the questions below and maybe, you’ll find your collection on this page!

How it works

Send us a high resolution (landscape crop) picture of you and your pop-up book collection and a short introduction of yourself. Don’t forget to include the answers to the questions from our Fan interview. You can send it to fans@bestpopupbooks.com

Het bericht Pop-up Book Collector Massimo verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

In this collectors interview we meet Reinhard Tenbrock. Reinhard has been collecting pop-up books since 1983. He is a retired teacher for German literature and economics. First, when Reinhard started collecting, he bought books to read them with his five daughters. After a few months he was infected with the collector´s virus and since that time, pop-up books have been an important part of his life.

Interview

BPUB – What’s the first pop-up book you bought?
RT – My first pop-up was Lothar Meggendorfer´s Doll House. On the backside of the German edition, there is a text from Hildegard Krahé. She tells the reader a lot about the author and his creative work. I was astonished that the Doll House was first published in 1889 and how many other kinds of movable books were created in the 19th century. I started doing some research on these kinds of books in the bookshops in Düsseldorf where I lived at that time (1983).

BPUB – Who are your favorite pop-up book authors or paper engineers?
RT – I love them all. The pop-up scene is so versatile. There are always new artists who surprise me with their own style and creativity. Meggendorfer was my first “pop-up hero“. But Ernest Nister, Louis Giraud and Vojtech Kubasta are important artists, too and take up a lot of space in my bookshelves. Today artists like Robert Sabuda, Matthew Reinhart, Kees Moerbeek, David A. Carter, David Pelham, Sam Ita, Philippe UG, Gérard lo Monaco, Anouck Boisrobert, Louis Rigaud and many others impress me.

“I am in contact with many other collectors and artists. That enriches my life and brings me so many happy hours.”

Reinhard Tenbrock

BPUB – What are your favorite books in your collection and why?
RT – One of my favourites though is Lothar Meggendorfers Zum Zeitvertreib from 1885. It was my first original Meggendorfer and I love the ironic movements, especially the drunken old man in “Der vergessene Hausschlüssel”. Another one is Hilde Langen’s Ziehbilderbuch Schneewittchen from 1947 with paintings like watercolor and wonderful typefaces for the text. I am also proud to own one of the few handmade samples of Kees Moerbeek’s book Rumpelstiltskin, made in 2002. I love the book Birdscapes (2008) by Miyoko Chu and the paper engineering by Gene Vosough, Renee Jablow and Andy Baron. This book combines artwork with science-based information and a realistic stereo sound. That is a great project.

BPUB – How many books are there in your collection?
RT – Nearly 5.000 pop-up and movable books, and this may be the largest collection in Germany.

BPUB – What book is missing or will be the first one you’ll order next?
RT – I would like to have the other 25,000 movable books that were published in the last 150 years. Unfortunately, my “pocket money“ and the space in our house will not be big enough to complete the collection.

BPUB – If you could choose a subject for a new pop-up book by your favorite author, what would it be?
RT – My favorite subject for a pop-up book is Goethe´s “Faust”. There is the fight between the good and the evil. Mysterious things are going on like the bedevilment and there is the tragedy of the love and death of Gretchen.

BPUB – Is there anything else you would like to share with other pop-up book fans?
RT – I am in contact with many other collectors and artists. That enriches my life and brings me so many happy hours. I do not want to miss one of them.

BPUB – Thank you Reinhard for sharing your pop-up book collection with us!

WANTED: Pop-up book fans and collectors

Do you have a pop-up book collection you would like to share with other fans? Do you have special items like a signed book or special edition? Let us know and send us a picture and answer the questions below and maybe, you’ll find your collection on this page!

How it works

Send us a high resolution (landscape crop) picture of you and your pop-up book collection and a short introduction of yourself. Don’t forget to include the answers to the questions from our Fan interview. You can send it to fans@bestpopupbooks.com

Het bericht Pop-up Book Collector Reinhard verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

Simon Arizpe, who started his career as a Paper Engineer in the studio of Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart, recently won the Meggendorfer Prize for engineering Hamid Rahmanian’s Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King. Simon, who also illustrates, worked on famous pop-up titles like the Star Wars pop-up book and the DC Superheroes pop-up book. He started a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2016 for his pop-up object/paper toy “THE WilD” and also engineered one of the most wanted and collectible pop-up books of all times, Mister Babadook.

We had the opportunity to ask Simon a couple of questions about his work, his career as a Paper Engineer and also about how Zahhak was created. Read all about it in this exclusive interview! Below this interview, we will list some video reviews of Simon’s work!

The interview

BPUB – First of all, congratulations being last years Meggendorfer prize winner with the Zahhak pop-up book. You must be really proud?

SA – Thank you. Yes, Getting the Meggendorfer Prize is a huge honor! My collaborator Hamid Rahmanian and I worked on Zahhak for over 3 years so getting this recognition is really exciting for us. The award is voted on by paper engineers, collectors, and people in the publishing industry, so receiving this award from my peers and colleagues makes it that much more meaningful. For me personally, it is a really good reminder to keep taking bigger risks in my paper engineering moving forward.

BPUB – How did the idea of making a pop-up book about Zahhak start and how did you get involved in this project?

SA – Zahhak is part of a larger project that Hamid has been working on and developing for several years. Zahhak is one story in an ancient Persian epic poem called the Shahnameh written by the poet Ferdowsi around 900 CE. Hamid originally created an illustrated book of the Shahnameh that is over 500 pages long, full of beautiful illustrations detailing all the stories of the Shahnameh. Aside from these two books, he has created several shadow theater performances based on the Shahnameh, an audiobook, as well as other incarnations of the story.

When we decided to work together on this project we met up and talked about which story from the Shahnameh we thought would translate best into a pop-up book. There are a lot of beautiful stories in the book but we decided on Zahhak because we felt it was a really exciting story with very powerful, action-packed visuals.

BPUB – Can you tell us about the process of combining the artwork by Hamid Rahmanian and your paper engineering for Zahhak?

SA – Every time I collaborate on a pop-up book project is very different. Working with Hamid we wanted to stay true to the art he had already created while making sure the paper engineering was able to bring a new aspect to the project. I think our two art styles go well together because they are both so detail focused.

Hamid has created this amazing image library of shapes, creatures, and figures that we were able to draw from when creating the pop-up book. If something from his original art didn’t fit in 3D we were able to draw from this well of images and create new art that would match our needs. Every dragon, person, or tree you could ever wish for is at your disposal if you needed a new element. It was a really cool way to work.

“I am always looking to nature for inspiration. Seeing how nature creates physical structures to achieve specific goals”

Simon Arizpe

BPUB – This book contains a lot of detailed and complex pop-ups and paper animation. Can you tell us more about some of the techniques used in this pop-up book?

SA – I strived to make the paper engineering of the book as complex as Hamid’s original artwork. With his original illustrations there are many layers and repeating shapes weaving in and out of the frame. I tried to capture that same movement, and feeling of weightlessness in the pop-ups. Like you are never sure where you are looking.

For each of the spreads we really looked at what aspects of the page needed to be animated to tell the story, and also be the most eye-catching. For example, in the castle spread on page 8, we really wanted to make it as big and imposing as possible, whereas in the dream spread on page 5, our goal was to make the whole page have movement and feel surreal and dreamlike.

We also wanted to create mechanisms and side flaps that were very unusual. In the last spread the hero sits alone on a pillow off to the left of the page. As you open the side flap the page transforms around him and the same figure is suddenly in a scene of celebration. These smaller surprises add to the overall tone of the book.

BPUB – We were impressed by the size of Zahhak which is a huge book with nine very detailed spreads. How long did it take you to make such a big and complex pop-up book?

SA – The book is super heavy too! The whole project took over 3 years. Some of the pages were very straightforward and I had a clear vision of what I wanted to make pop-up as soon as I saw Hamid’s artwork. Other pages were much more murky to figure out at first and took several rounds of revisions. Some times having to start over altogether a few times. We really wanted to make sure to do the story and the artwork justice.

BPUB – Which pop-up in Zahhak was the most fun and challenging to work on?

SA – For me, the most challenging pop-up to create was probably spread 5, “The Dream”. It shows the evil king Zahhak being visited by the vision of the young hero Fereydun, who will one day overthrow him. This spread was really challenging for me because there are a lot of separate moving parts to it. All of which are being asked to do a lot of very specific movements. The young Fereydun turns a full 180º in the middle of the page as it is opening. This movement is based on 5 or 6 V-folds on top of one another, that make the start pop-up and end point of the rider switch directions. Figuring out that mechanism kept me up for about a week. Also in that spread the king’s eye is meant to open just as the viewer has finished opening the page. It is meant to appear as though he is waking up from the dream. Motions like these are really hard because you are asking the paper to show a very specific moment, which has a binomial: yes or no. It’s not like making a pop-up of a mountain or something, where if it doesn’t work right it is still a mountain. If the eye doesn’t open at just the right moment then the scene won’t work correctly.

Narratively this is also the part in the story where the point of view shifts from that of the evil king Zahhak to the view and inner life of the hero Fereydun. In that sense it was very important for me to have both figures appear on this page in equal size and complexity.

Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King, created by Iranian award-winning artist and filmmaker Hamid Rahmanian and Meggendorfer Prize winner Simon Arizpe

BPUB – As a paper engineer, where do you find inspiration for your designs and techniques?

SA – I am always looking to nature for inspiration. Seeing how nature creates physical structures to achieve specific goals. I live across the street from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and I go there a lot when I need to think. I also look at the work of the illustrator Charlie Harper any time I am feeling uninspired. His work is really good at distilling down complex shapes right to the line of abstraction, while still retaining a recognizable narrative quality. He is basically my patron saint of design.

When I start designing a pop-up spread I try to get inspiration for the engineering from the concept of the story itself. If it is a wild storm, then the pop-up should be wild and chaotic. If it is a quieter scene than the pop-up should feel sparse and intimate. Hopefully you can understand the tone of the story just by looking at the pop-up without reading the text. Double points if the pop-up can speak to you with just white paper before there is even art on it.

BPUB – How did your love for creating pop-ups start and how did you develop yourself as a professional Paper Engineer?

SA – I was always drawing and making things as a little kid, and I really don’t think I had any other option than to keep making art when I grew up. I moved to New York when I was 18 to study illustration at the Pratt Insitute. For my senior project I tried to make a pop-up book, (it was really bad, like really). My classmate Jess Tice-Gilbert, who is herself a great paper engineer and art director, told me she was an intern at a pop-up book studio and I think I basically begged her to get me an interview there. I started as an intern working for Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart right out of college. Eventually, they hired me on full time and I learned every aspect of the field from them, as well as Kyle Olmon, Shelby Arnold, and Jess, who also worked at the studio. Matthew and Robert are always supportive of their employees developing their own careers.

I started working on my own projects during nights and weekends. Getting the Babadook pop-up book project was a really big deal for me and helped me get my name out into the world. About 5 years ago I was able to branch out and start my own pop-up book studio. I try to take on projects that are interesting to me, either conceptually or in how I can design the pop-ups. These days I work out of a nice little studio space in Brooklyn that I share with a few other artists. It’s a really great spot with a big window right next to my desk.

BPUB – You teach about paper engineering at The Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design in New York City. Can you tell us more about your classes and teaching methods?

SA – This is my 2nd year teaching the pop-up book class at Pratt and it is a really fun course to teach. Each week I have the students start off the class by learning a new mechanism of paper engineering, and the mechanisms get more complex as we go through the semester. By the end the students have made their own pop-up textbooks that they have been adding to each week. The larger assignments throughout the semester allow the students to apply what they are learning and explore new ways of creating pop-ups for themselves. It is really exciting to see their skills and confidence evolve over such a short amount of time.

The course I teach at Parsons is called “Seminar in 3D illustration”. While it does have a section in it about pop-up books, I also have the students design lights, 3D spaces, and even create their own forms of currency. I introduce the students to new concepts and artists each week that I think exemplify the overarching themes of the section we are working in. Sometimes it starts up really interesting discussions on art, design, and social responsibility. I try to lead the discussions in a productive way while letting the students come to their own conclusions.

BPUB – This summer you will be a teacher for a two-week course in paper engineering in Sienna, Italy. What can we expect when we join in?

SA – It is going to be a really exciting program, all skill levels are welcome! The course is a two-week intensive where students will learn the fundamentals of paper engineering all the way through to combining them into advanced techniques, and use them to create their own pop-up books. It is basically the class I teach at Pratt distilled down into its most concentrated form! The class size is small enough that I can really work with each student one-on-one to get them to the level they are trying to achieve. Registration ends May 22nd, and there are discounts and scholarships available. We still need to get the minimum number of students signed up for the class or it will be canceled. Which would be a real shame. Check out this website for more info on the class.

THE WilD Pop-Up Object by Simon Arizpe

BPUB – Why do you think it’s important to share your knowledge about creating pop-ups with upcoming Paper Engineers?

SA – I think it is really important to demystify how pop-up books work to the next generation of paper engineers. When you show someone a pop-up book they either freak out and back away slowly, or look at it intensely and try to figure out how it works. I love when that happens. I think if someone is trying to understand the mechanisms behind a pop-up book, it is important to give them all the information I have already learned if I can.

In a certain way it is totally selfish too. Teaching helps me see things in a fresh perspective. Having to explain concepts and mechanisms I take for granted, really reminds me how powerful some of them can be.

BPUB – Do you have any plans for a new pop-up book soon? Or maybe any other plans or projects for 2019 that you would like to share with us?

SA – I have a few projects in the works right now that I am really excited about. The biggest one coming up is a pop-up book of house plants in collaboration with the photographer Daniel Gordon and the Aperture Photo Foundation. His work is really surreal so I think we are going to be making a really wild pop-up book, in a good way! I have another project in the works that is still in the development stage. It is a work of original content that I am writing, engineering, and illustrating solo, something I have not done all together in a while. I am excited to show it to you in a few months when it is finished.

BPUB – Thank you, Simon, for this interview! We can’t wait to see your next pop-up book!

SA – Thank you!

If you would like to know more about the work of Simon Arizpe, make sure to check out his website simonarizpe.com and to follow Simon on Instagram. On our website, you’ll also find more about Simon’s work like reviews, video’s and photo galleries.

Order at Amazon: Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King

Concept, art & design by Hamid Rahmanian
Paper Engineering by Simon Arizpe
Text by Ahmad Sadri & Melissa Hibbard
Published by Fantagraphics Books

Video reviews

Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King
Mister Babadook Pop-Up Book
The Hearthstone Pop-Up Book
THE WiLD Pop-Up Object

Pop-up books engineered by Simon Arizpe

Het bericht Interview Simon Arizpe verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

2018 is an exciting year for Artist and Paper Engineer Shawn Sheehy. His upcoming pop-up book Beyond the Sixth Extinction will be released on October 9th and he recently followed up Ann Montanaro Staples as the new director of the Movable Book Society. We did a full review of Beyond the Sixth Extinction and had the opportunity to ask Shawn some questions about his new book and about his role as director of the MBS. 

The interview

BPUB – Congratulations! We have heard that you’ve followed up Ann Montanaro Staples as the new Director of the Movable Book Society.

SS – I’m proud, delighted (and a bit intimidated) to be following Ann as the next MBS director. We’ve been transitioning for a couple of months, so it’s going smoothly. Ann has positioned us well for this moment!

BPUB – Can you tell us what your role as an MBS Director is about?

SS – My first job is to divide the labor. Ann was a tireless leader who shouldered many of the responsibilities. The future of the organization will depend on getting others involved in the operations. I’ll continue to serve as conference chair (or maybe co-chair). I’ll oversee the board and the various positions, such as membership, treasury, and newsletter editor.

BPUB – How did you get involved in the MBS and what was your first introduction?

SS – My first meeting was in Milwaukee in 2002. I believe I was asked to join the board in 2012, and if I remember correctly the board’s primary interest was including someone who made pop-up artist books.

Pop-up “MUDMOP” from Beyond the Sixth Extinction

BPUB – Can we consider you a pop-up book collector or creator? Or maybe both?

SS – I’m definitely more of a creator. I have a study/teaching collection of about 150 titles, and they are well-worn.

BPUB – We have noticed that over the last decades, Paper Engineering has developed really fast and many new talents have joined this profession. Are there any highlights you would like to share that you believe are part of this development?

SS – It seems reasonable to think that—especially in the U.S., where I am most familiar—the DIY movement (together with increased availability of book arts instruction) is partly responsible. Crowdsourcing also has had a big impact. So has improved networking through the internet and social media. All of these factors help to draw in, draw together, and support individuals who might otherwise not get traction in commercial publishing.

BPUB – With the past in mind, how could the future look like for pop-ups and paper engineering? Any thoughts about that?

SS – Sam Ita asked me this question in an interview last week. My immediate response was “France!” Today, my immediate response is “Women!,” especially after last week’s conference. I loved seeing the work of up-and-coming engineers like Vanessa Yusuf and Amy Nayve (both from Southeast Asia.) This once-male profession has definitely integrated—if you consider paper engineers for both limited editions and trade editions, we had nearly twice as many female engineers in attendance at the conference as male (of 42 total).

“Many things could be evolutionarily possible, given enough time.”

BPUB – Talking about looking into the future, we would like to know more about your latest book: Beyond the Sixth Extinction: A Post-Apocalyptic Pop-Up. It’s beautiful! You must be really proud of the result?

SS – Very proud. Chris Paul (Candlewick creative director) and Andrea Tompa (Candlewick senior editor) were phenomenal.

BPUB – How did you come up with the idea to create a pop-up book about this subject?

SS – Somewhere around 2005, I stumbled on The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin. For those who know my other books—including my artist books—they all have an ecological bent. I easily feel distressed about losing ecological diversity. That feeling is augmented by recognizing all that we don’t know about the many unnamed species we are losing. I was deeply inspired to explore this topic; and especially to think through to the other end of the extinction event, when species diversity will be restored. It gives me hope to consider that even if humans kinda mess this up in the present, the ecosystem knows how to correct itself in the future.

BPUB – The artwork by Jordi Solano looks gorgeous! Based on what criterium did you select an artist for the artwork?

SS – Jordi was hired by Chris Paul. She found him through an agency and gave me the opportunity to offer an opinion. We were pretty lucky to have him on board. His illustrations are just right.

BPUB – It’s a fictional book but what logic did you use to develop the creatures in this pop-up? In your opinion, how realistic would it be for animals to survive and emerge into your designs?

SS – All of the creatures in the book are based on something that currently exists. Many of these creatures are comfortable around humans, and thrive in human-made environments. Most are omnivorous, and therefore possess a certain level of intelligence. (Omnivores have to be smart enough to not eat something deadly.) Nearly all of the adaptations were inspired by looking at the characteristics of other varied creatures. For example; the rotrap was once a house mouse, and I was influenced by the anatomy of a sea anemone when I evolved it forward. I leaned heavily on science to invent the creatures—ecologically, it made sense to make pigeons larger, fiercer, and with brood pouches—but it’s still fiction. Who knows? Many things could be evolutionarily possible, given enough time.

Pop-ups from Beyond the Sixth Extinction

BPUB – You also did all the writing. Did your profession help in any way to write about this subject?

SS – I have written a fair amount academically, and that probably shows in the style of this fiction-written-as-a-field-guide. But I also write all of my artist books. I like to write. It’s an integral part of the concepting of a project, and it’s probably my favorite part.

BPUB – From an engineering perspective, what was the biggest challenge and the hardest pop-up to design?

SS – No question: the clam fungus required the most revising to get the mechanism to work smoothly and consistently. But I really love it–it’s so satisfying.

BPUB – It looks like you’ve found a style that fits you? We recognize it from Welcome to the Neighborwood!

SS – For sure! All of my artists books are created in cut paper, and I brought that style over to the trade books. It’s one of the reasons (I am told) that Candlewick got interested in my work. They liked the handmade paper out of which everything was made.

BPUB – Do you have any plans for a new pop-up book that you would like to share with us?

SS – My most immediate next big thing is my next artist book. But it’s far too shapeless to discuss yet…

BPUB – Thank you Shawn for this interview! We can’t wait to see what your next pop-up book will be about!

SS – Thanks for the interview, and thanks for featuring the book on your site! You two do great work!

Useful links

Our full (video) review of Beyond the Sixth Extinction: Click here

Order at Amazon: Beyond the Sixth Extinction: A Post-Apocalyptic Pop-Up

Website Shawn Sheehy: www.shawnsheehy.com
Website Jordi Solano (illustrator): www.jordisolano.com

Het bericht Interview Shawn Sheehy verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

The newly released Necronomicon Pop-Up Book by Skinner is another successful collaboration between an Artist and Paper Engineer Rosston Meyer from Poposition Press. Skinner created the Necronomicon book as a fan of H.P. Lovecraft’s work. The combination of Skinners detailed illustration style and Lovecraft’s horror stories are a match made in heaven. Or should we say hell? It’s pretty dark and evil, that’s for sure. We’ve just published a review and video of Necronomicon and we also got the chance to ask Skinner some questions about this project and how he managed to create such suitable artwork for the notorious Necronomicon, also know as Al Azif’ or the Book of Dead. Read all about it in this interview!

The interview

BPUB – Congratulations on your first pop-up book! Have you ever thought that you would be involved making a pop-up book?

SKINNER – I never thought I would do it, I always filed it under “projects I’d like to do but am logistically impaired from doing” then Rosston came around, and all of a sudden it was possible!

BPUB – Before working with Rosston from Poposition Press, were you familiar with the concept of pop-up books and paper engineering?

SKINNER – I always loved them growing up! Seemed like pop up books were popular in the 80’s maybe. Monster ones and dinosaurs and stuff, but I never understood how it worked. I was small and preoccupied with popsicles probably.

Pop-up Spread “The Shadow Out of Time” of the Necronomicon Pop-Up Book

BPUB – Can you describe how it is to see your artwork come to life through animations or pop-ups?

Skinner – Well, it’s a bit like Christmas I guess! Haha, it’s a surprise! But it’s actually incredibly rewarding to see how much of a quality product the NECRONOMICON became. I never would have thought that an independent project made by two people would be this good in its final form!

BPUB – Is there any difference in the way you find inspiration for a flat illustration compared to an illustration for a three-dimensional paper structure?

SKINNER – Reserving a space in my mind for the logistics of paper engineering definitely steers the idea of how it will look as a design or drawing. I work in multiple mediums and I approach them all from the actual logistics of the medium itself… it’s the easiest and most fluid way of getting the project done to me. Inserting the weirdness into the parameters of the thing itself is the fun part.

BPUB – Do you have a favorite monster in this book? Maybe one that freaked you out while working on it?

SKINNER – Haha well, I am actually proud of the fact that I think I have a favorite, until I look at the other pages… I mean to say, that I feel really content with the quality of each page as a presentation of the story, and the monsters juxtapose well against each other. The Cthulhu is probably the most intricate main monster, but the Dunwich horror may be my favorite!

“This was just something that needed to happen!”

BPUB – Does it happen that you surprise yourself when you see what monsters and scenes come out of your own imagination while drawing horror stories like these?

SKINNER – It’s kind of surprising that I have the discipline to stay focused for each page! Haha, the stories are very specifically their own story with their own details, and I tried to incorporate those details.. I guess I’m surprised that I maintained the details, although it’s best to fully commit to them in any nerdy genre so you don’t ruffle the feathers of people that are well versed in them. I know from first-hand experience how it will perturb me when people get facts wrong around any kind of nerdy stuff I’m into! Hahaha!

BPUB – Have you always been a fan of H.P. Lovecraft’s work?

SKINNER – Since high school, I have been, and then it kind of expanded outwardly. There are so many incredible weird horror writers besides him too!

BPUB – So this theme must have been on your mind for a while? Was it your intention to save your “translation” of the Necronomicon for something special like a pop-up book?

SKINNER – Well, Rosston asked if I wanted to do a pop-up book, and I could have done one of my own art and story or something, but it wouldn’t have been as indulgent as a Necronomicon with seminal Lovecraft tales in it! This was just something that needed to happen!

Pop-up spreads of the Necronomicon book

BPUB – As a fan of Lovecraft’s work, is there some kind of limit for you on how far you can go by using your own imagination to translate his detailed storytelling into artwork?

SKINNER – Not really, I could have gotten as weird as possible… I think anything could have worked, barring abstract triangles piled on each other or something.. but even then, maybe!

BPUB – If you could pick a soundtrack for this pop-up book, what song would it be?

SKINNER – Maybe, Dopesmoker by Sleep.

BPUB – We would love to see a Dungeons & Dragons pop-up book created by you. Any thoughts about that?

SKINNER – Oh shit I would love to do that!!!!

BPUB – If our followers would like to know more about your work what would be the best place to find you?

SKINNER – Probably my Instagram @theartofskinner. I gotta find someone to help me update it. I’m too busy and ridiculous to maintain my internet responsibilities!

BPUB – Thank you Skinner for this interview!

SKINNER – My pleasure! Humbled to be asked!

Skinner (L) and Rosston Meyer (R) posing with both editions of the Necronomicon Pop-Up Book.

Click here to go to our full (video) review of the Necronomicon Pop-Up Book

Order the Necronomicon Pop-Up Book: necronomiconpopup.com
Website Skinner: theartofskinner.com
Website Poposition Press: poposition.com
Skinner’s shop: Critical Hit

Het bericht Interview Skinner about Necronomicon verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

Ever since we started collecting pop-up books, the work of Artist and Paper Engineer Yevgeniya Yeretskaya immediately caught our attention. The Snow Queen was one of the first pop-up books we bought and soon after that Snowflakes and many more followed. Her work can already be considered as collectable and that being said, it is hard to imagine a pop-up book collection without a book created by Yevgeniya.

We first wanted to introduce her as the “Queen of Winter pops” but we’ve just discovered that she already owns the nickname “The Dreaded Snowflake Woman”. This and more in our interview where we ask Yevgeniya about her work, her job at Up With Paper and how her career as a professional Paper Engineer started. She also reveals some details about an upcoming Christmas pop-up title that is going to be out in the fall of 2018. Read all about it in this exclusive interview!

The interview

BPUB – How did your love for paper engineering and creating pop-ups started?

YY –  When I was three years old, I had this beautiful pop-up book in Czech. It was Sleeping Beauty by Vojtěch Kubašta. Everything about it seemed surprising and magical to me: it had highly colorful, detailed illustrations of a different time and place, and every page held a dimensional scene, whose parts moved with pull-tabs and clever mechanics. I was enchanted, and really wanted to know how this was achieved… so of course, I took the entire book apart. I kept the pieces of it for years, and every once in a while I would make a clumsy pop-up, trying to recapture that sense of wonder I felt when I saw that book. I think since then I’ve subconsciously been trying to reestablish a sort of karmic pop-up balance in the world by creating my own pop-up books to share, in place of the one I deconstructed long ago.

BPUB – Can you tell us how you developed yourself as a professional Paper Engineer?

YY –  It was a comment from a friend of mine in college, which set me on the path of a professional paper engineer. He looked at one of my little pop-up projects and said something like: “You know there is a pop-up making class you can take here? You would probably enjoy it.” First lesson in, it was clear to me that I found my preferred medium, and after I brought in my first homework assignment (I was a bit of an over-achiever), my professor recommended me for an internship with Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. I spent an entire semester in their studio, hungrily absorbing all the information I could, all the while working on my senior project, which was, of course, a hand painted pop-up book. In years that followed, I worked on as many freelance pop-up projects I could get my hands on. I mostly assembled pop-ups for others and then tried to use what I had seen and learned to work on my own cards and books. The Elements of Pop-Up by David Carter and James Diaz was my constant companion at that time, it still is. Honestly, I do not know any paper engineers, who do not own that book! Eventually, I joined Up With Paper, and that was when I was truly able to immerse myself in everything pop-up related and explore all the facets of paper engineering to the fullest.

BPUP – Are there other Paper Engineers or Paper Artists that inspire you?

YY –  Of course! I have already mentioned that Vojtěch Kubašta, Robert Sabuda, Matthew Reinhart and David Carter were pivotal in my paper engineering life. I would also like to acknowledge Renee Jablow, whose precise engineering and pop-up construction have taught me so much, Brittney Lee, whose bright paper illustrations captured my imagination, and Dario Cestaro, who’s love of pop-ups and all things paper is almost palpable. There are so many others who inspire me, that I cannot possibly list them all. As a Director of Paper Engineering at Up With Paper, I am incredibly fortunate to be in a position to work with so many talented paper engineers. I have benefited hugely from the experience, and I am lucky to call many of them my friends!

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“The fun part about my job is that every day brings something different”

Yevgeniya Yeretskaya

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BPUB – Up With Paper looks like a fun company to work for! How does an average day at the office of Up With Paper look like and can you tell us more about your function at Up With Paper?

YY –  The fun part about my job is that every day brings with it something different. I am not certain that there is such a thing as an average day, because with constantly changing demands in the industry, new printing techniques and the variety of different product lines we produce, there is always something new and exciting to work on. My main function at Up With Paper is to oversee different aspects of paper engineering work: from directing our freelancers to looking over the art files, from checking the assembly on the in-house prototypes to communicating with the overseas vendors, who produce all our complex hand-made product, and from making adjustments when something unexpected happens to engineering or developing an idea for a new project myself. The possibilities are endless, so I am never bored.

BPUB – The pop-ups you create are surprisingly solid. Is that something you pay extra attention to?

YY – A lot of my work is geared towards a younger audience. Since children often learn by repetition, a card or book needs to be able to open and close as many times as they need it to. Whether they read a book every week, or every night, or say “again!” and go through it eight times in a row, it needs to last. I know paper is a fragile medium, but I endeavor to make it solid enough to make a lasting impression.

BPUB – We know you make the most beautiful illustrations. Any chance you’ll make another pop-up book with your own artwork like The Snow Queen anytime soon?

YY –  Oh, thank you so much for a lovely compliment! I really hope to illustrate another book someday soon. I’ve always loved fairy-tales, and would be thrilled if I were asked to use my own styling of artwork, before giving it a three-dimensional spin.

Illustration shared by Yevgeniya during this years #inktober event.

BPUB – You have made several holiday and winter pop-up books. Are the holidays and winter themes you like the most to work on?

YY –  I like fairy-tales and the possibility of magic. Working on the winter and holiday themes allows me to do both, so yes I really do love it! Even though there is a certain sense of wonder in this season that appeals to me, working on the winter themed books began by chance. Snowflakes: A Pop-Up Book was my first published pop-up title and the complexities in production earned me an “endearing” nickname with our production vendor — The Dreaded Snowflake Woman… I sort of love that, and embrace it!

BPUP – Are there any other Christmas subjects or stories that you would like to make a pop-up book about?

YY –  Actually, I am working on a new holiday title at the moment. The Nutcracker: An Enchanting Pop-Up Adaptation is going to be out in the fall of 2018. I am very excited about this subject matter, because it combines my love of strange fairy-tales with a life-long appreciation of theater and ballet. With an enchanting retelling of this holiday story by Jessica Southwick and charming illustrations by Neiko Ng, we hope it will be a Christmas pop-up to remember! Keep an eye out for it!

BPUP – What kind of Christmas cards do you send to family and friends? Do you make your own?

YY –  I do a few Christmas designs for Up With Paper every year — those are the ones I usually send to family and friends. I am really lucky that the cards I design are mass-produced. If I tried to hand-make my own, it would be so time consuming that my family and friends would not receive those Christmas cards until June!

BPUP – Thank you for this interview!

YY – It was my pleasure. Thank you for sharing my books!

Snowflakes, engineered and illustrated by Yevgeniya Yeretskaya – This book is all about the beauty and diversity of snowflakes and is both educational and entertaining for the whole family.

Het bericht Interview Yevgeniya Yeretskaya verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

Pop-up book creator and author Chuck Fischer is our personal hero. He creates the most beautiful artwork and has been a pop-up book author for more than 15 years. Chuck has many books to his name including classic Christmas pop-up titles like Christmas Around the World, Christmas in New York, A Christmas Carol and his latest Christmas release The Gingerbread White House. He has collaborated with some of the best Paper Engineers like David Hawcock, Bruce Foster and recently with Robert Sabuda for their joint pop-up venture campaign at Indiegogo called LegacyPop. We’re honored that we had the opportunity to ask Chuck about his work and how his career as a pop-up book creator started.

The interview

BPUB  – You make the most beautiful artwork for pop-up books but there’s so much more that you design. Can you tell us something about all the things you create as an artist?

CF – I started my career in New York City as a muralist and decorative painter, in the world of high-end interior design. I then started licensing my art and designs and created various products for the home. I continue to design wallpaper and fabric, and one of my china collections for the American brand, Lenox, has been in the marketplace for 15 years.

BPUB  – What was your first introduction to the World of pop-ups and how did you get involved creating pop-up books?

CF – I had a few pop-up books as a child, but I became interested in them in the late 1990’s when I discovered Robert Sabuda’s all white paper pop-up books. Robert’s books were so sculptural and inspiring as design objects, but I didn’t think about creating one. I did have an idea for an illustrated book based on my decorative painting and architectural renderings. A friend of mine wanted to be a literary agent, and I needed one, so we started sending out my book proposal.

“Out of the blue he asked if I would consider creating a pop-up book”

Chuck Fischer

I received many “complimentary” rejections, but the publisher at Rizzoli USA liked my artwork, just not my proposal. He visited me in my studio and saw some three dimensional pieces I was working on for one of my china collections and out of the blue he asked if I would consider creating a pop-up book. Of course I said yes, and he put me in touch with paper engineer David Hawcock and about a year and a half later my first pop-up book, Great American Houses and Gardens was published by Rizzoli/Universe.

Chuck Fisher posing in front of beautiful blow-ups of his Christmas in New York pop-up book for The East shopping mall’s holiday decorations in Hong Kong a few years ago.

BPUB – You have to love Christmas to create such beautiful Christmas artwork?

CF – I do love Christmas and I grew up in a family that celebrated Christmas in a very big and traditional way.

BPUB  –  Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from for your artwork?

CF – I like to travel and visit historic house museums, art museums, and libraries and I like to tailor my trips to have a general focus on some current project I’m working. For instance when I created Great American Houses and Gardens I visited all of the places in the book before I started any sketching, thanks to this I realized how important it is to design your outdoor living spaces to feel comfortable in your own space. I worked on the outline for my pop-up book Angels in Rome, and I did some research at the Charles Dickens museum in London before I started working on A Christmas Carol Pop-up book. I also do a lot of research at libraries and on the internet.

BPUB  –  Of all pop-up books you’ve created so far, what is your dearest and why?

CF – If I have to choose, I would say Christmas in New York, because I love Christmas, I love New York City especially a Christmastime and it reminds me of Christmas traditions from my childhood.

BPUB  – Wouldn’t it be great to create a classic pop-up Christmas advent calendar?

CF – I would love to create a Christmas Advent calendar. I have an advent calendar from the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I put out in my living room every year.

BPUB – You and Bruce Foster have created many pop-up books together. Can you tell us how the cooperation between you and Bruce Foster started?

CF – I had a great time working with paper-engineer David Hawcock, who lives in Bath, England on my first three books, but my publisher, Little, Brown & Co. asked if I would look in to finding a paper engineer who lived in the US for my next book. I had recently received an pop-up invitation to an exhibit of Ellen Rubin, The Pop-Up Lady’s book collection and I really like the engineering. I asked Ellen who made it and she told me about Bruce so I called him. We hit it off and started our collaboration with Christmas Around The World, A Pop-Up Book published in 2006.

Chuck Fischer’s work represented in a Chinese item about pop-up books.

BPUB  – When you design a pop-up spread, do you already consider the way the pop-up is constructed?

CF – I do consider construction when I’m designing a spread for a book. I sketch and paint a rendering of what the general shape, type and height of the pop-ups will look like before Bruce starts his paper engineering magic.

BPUB  –  How does this work? Do you design them flat or in the form of a three dimensional pop-up?

CF – I sketch a spread as I envision it will look in the finished book before doing any of the original art.

BPUB  –  We’re just curious, do you also create pop-ups yourself?

CF – I create simple pop-ups all of the time to send as cards and I have lectured and led workshops for adults and children about the history of pop-ups, etc.

BPUB  –  Do you have plans for a new pop-up book anytime soon? Or maybe any other plans or projects for 2018 that you would like to share with us?

CF – I’ve been working with Robert Sabuda on a pop-up stationery company, LegacyPop. I will continue to work on LegacyPop in 2018 as well as other movable book ideas I want to show my publisher when they are ready. (Click here for more info about the LegacyPop project.)

BPUB  –  What kind of Christmas card are you going to send this year?

CF – I am adapting some of the LegacyPop architectural pop-up cards with paper wreath and ribbon designs to make them more Christmasy.

BPUB  –  Thank you Chuck for this interview!

Het bericht Interview Chuck Fischer Pop-Up Book creator verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

In this collector interview we are going to meet Elisa Gozzi and her pop-up book collection. Elisa, who also won a prize with our Giveaway event, is a student of Art History in Bologna, Italy and in her free time she’s helping associations that organize pop culture and comic events. 

Elisa has been collecting pop-up books for 10 years now and collecting pop-up books probably is something she took from her family. Elisa’s family also likes to collect all kinds of beautiful things for their “Wunderkammer” like antique objects, furniture and paintings.

Interview

BPUB – What’s the first pop-up book you bought?
EG – I didn’t actually bought it, but I received my very first pop up book from my dad when he went to Paris 10 years ago and he gave me Alice’s adventures in Wonderland by Robert Sabuda as a present. He was amazed by this book and he wanted me to love it as well. It ended up being a true passion for collecting pop up books.

BPUB – Who are your favorite pop-up book authors or paper engineers?
JY – I’d say the most popular Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart, their books are true masterpieces, but I’d mention Junko Mizuno too, who’s not really a paper engineer but her TRIAD pop-up book is amazing.

“My idea about pop up books: they’re not books for children, they’re art”

Elisa Gozzi

BPUB – What are your favorite books in your collection and why?
EG – It’s not easy to pick a few books since they’re all works of art but if I had to choose I’d say Jeux t’aime by Appert Carole and Vidaling Raphaele because it faces the theme of love and sexuality in a delicate and artistic way, for example in this book we find a large map of love where every part hide a particular subliminal image, there is also a page that opens on a giant naked woman that could be dissected and inside of her we find pieces of poetry. It’s visionaire and unique and I think that explains perfectly my idea about pop up books: they’re not books for children, they’re art.

BPUB – How many books are there in your collection?
EG – Since I received the lovely Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pop up book from your giveaway, I’ve got 44 pop up books.

BPUB – What book is missing or will be the first one you’ll order next?
EG – Definitively Skinner’s Necronomicon. I am a huge Lovecraft fan, so when I heard about this pop up book and saw the sneak peeks I immediately loved them. Also, I went to New York Comic Con a few days ago and I could see and touch the amazing This Book is a Planetarium by Kelli Anderson: it’s such a great book and soon it will enter my collection.

BPUB – If you could choose a subject for a new pop-up book by your favorite author, what would it be?
EG – Please make an Adventure Time pop up book! It’s such a colorful and surrealist tv show that if it turned into a pop up it would be truly amazing.

BPUB – Is there anything else you would like to share with other pop-up book fans?
EG – I would like to say that you should stop and think how incredible pop up books are: in a society where paper books are disappearing and everything is becoming just a file in our kindle, pop up books can’t be replaced in any technological way and I’m sure they will share their magic in the future. Last but not least, I thank Best Pop Up Books for their incredible work and passion, the idea of a pop up books related website is pure genius.

BPUB – Thank you Elisa for sharing your pop-up book collection with us!

WANTED: Pop-up book fans and collectors

Do you have a pop-up book collection you would like to share with other fans? Do you have special items like a signed book or special edition? Let us know and send us a picture and answer the questions below and maybe, you’ll find your collection on this page!

How it works

Send us a high resolution (landscape crop) picture of you and your pop-up book collection and a short introduction of yourself. Don’t forget to include the answers to the questions from our Fan interview. You can send it to fans@bestpopupbooks.com

Het bericht Pop-up Book Collector Elisa verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

Yoojin Kim is a Paper Engineer and Artist living in New Haven Connecticut. She studied Printmaking, Graphic Design and Book Binding. Yoojin now works as a designer of dimensional paper products for UWP LUXE and Up With Paper. She’s also a sloth enthusiast and it’s her dream to hang out one day with a bunch of Sloths. Yoojin recently won a Louie Award with her “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry” Christmas greeting card. The brand new “Leaves: An Autumn Pop-Up Book” is her first published pop-up title and we had the opportunity to ask Yoojin some questions about her work and this wonderful book.  

BPUP – Congratulations with your first published pop-up book Leaves! You must be very proud?

YK – Thank you! Yes, I’m very proud of how the book came out. Autumn is my favorite season so it’s exciting to be able to work on a theme that I really enjoy. I wanted to design a book that is informative and interactive for children, and also visually resonate with adults. The beautiful illustrations by Lindsay Dale-Scott really helps the book stand out. Designing my first book turned out to be a very tedious process, but I had a lot of fun and  learned so much from the experience and I hope to carry them onto my next projects!

BPUB – What inspired you and your team to create this pop-up book about autumn?

YK – Autumn is such a beautiful and brilliant season, and I wanted to capture the vibrance of the season in the book. I’ve always loved to working with nature inspired themes so creating a book full of colorful leaves and adorable animals came to me naturally (no pun intended!).

BPUB – Can you tell us how you, Janet Lawler and Lindsay Dale-Scott worked together on Leaves?

YK – It was a big collaborative effort for sure! I had a concept and lots of ideas, but I needed help from a professional writer to condense and consolidate everything into a writing that fits into seven pages. Janet Lawler turned my scribbles into a lyrical poem that flows through the pages. Working with Lindsay Dale-Scott was charming- I shared my pencil sketches with her and I received stunning illustrations in return! I think we all had the same vision of what we wanted in the book, which helped in binding the text, illustrations and the pop-ups together.

“I wanted to capture the vibrance of the season in the book”

Yoojin Kim

BPUB – The colors of Leaves are beautiful! How was it to see both the artwork and your pop-ups as a final result for the first time?

YK – It honestly feels quite surreal. I still remember receiving the flat artwork from Lindsay and feeling the pressure of dissecting and converting the work into pop-ups.

BPUB – We’ve discovered a new 2018 pop-up book by your name titled Shells: A Summer Pop-Up Book. Can you tell us more about it?

YK – This is my new book project, coming out in Summer of 2018!  I hope to turn this nature-inspired title to be filled with colorful shells, animals and interesting facts. Luckily I’ve been working with Janet and Lindsay again, and am excited to explore a new color palette that captures summer ambience. Stay tuned!

BPUB – Are Leaves and Shells going to be part of a pop-up book series of all seasons?

YK – Yes, we’re continuing the four season series, all focused on nature themes!

BPUB – As a paper engineer, where do you find inspiration for your designs and techniques?

YK – I’m a very visual person so I take bits of inspiration from my surroundings. When I’m working on a pop-up of a specific object/theme, I really like to study the structure and how that object functions, to incorporate those details into the pop-up. For example, the idea for the hedgehog pop-up from one of the spreads of LEAVES came to me when I saw my pet hedgehog lay on her belly! I also refer to David Cater & James Diaz’s Elements of Pop-Up a lot- seeing the physical pop-up models help me visualize how I can work with certain mechanisms.

The UWP Luxe team at the 2017 Louie Awards

FLTR: Yevgeniya Yeretskaya, Yoojin Kim, Brette Guilmette, Monika Brandrup, Jackie Chakar and Nicole Yen

BPUB – You also design beautiful pop-up cards for UWP Luxe. Can you tell us more about UWP Luxe and the products that you make?

YK – UWP LUXE is a luxury/boutique division of Up With Paper. Our aspiration for UWP LUXE is to transform paper into beautiful paper designs and explore the possibilities of the modest medium. Our design team is always tuning into current design trends, so that we can turn our passion into cards & paper designs that resonate with the recipient.

Pure Alchemy cards are my personal favorite, where we get to use delicate laser cutting and try new printing techniques. One of our Christmas designs, Eat, Drink, and be Merry (illustrated by Brette Guilmette & I engineered) card won a LOUIE award this year, which gives us more drive & encouragement to continue to push the envelope.

BPUB – Will there be a pop-up book about Sloths from your hand anytime soon?

YK – Oh I’m sure there will be one down the road. Sloths are such fascinating animals and I love them too much to not make a book about them!

BPUB – Thank you Yoojin for this interview!

YK – Thank you so much for sharing the book. I look forward to seeing many more exciting books on Best Pop-Up Books!

Click here to go to our full (video) review of Leaves: An Autumn Pop-Up Book

Website Yoojin Kim: yoojinkim.com
Up With Paper: upwithpaper.com
UWP Luxe: uwpluxe.com

Image credits: Instagram Yoojin Kim

Het bericht Interview Yoojin Kim verscheen eerst op Best Pop-up Books.

Tina Kraus from Germany is a freelance Illustrator and  Paper Engineer who creates the most wonderful pop-up books, paper toys, pop-up cards, displays and packaging for promotional products. Tina is also the creator of the beautiful Circus Zingaro: A Pop-Up Book. We already did a review about Circus Zingaro last week and we now had the opportunity to ask Tina some questions about this book, a new project and her work as a Paper Engineer.    

BPUP – Why did you choose the circus as a subject for this book?

TK – I don’t really remember, but I’ve always liked the mood of these mysterious carnivals from the past. I also liked the the Idea of a sweet little girl meeting all these odd characters and that she will find a new family with them.

BPUB – Can you summarize what the public response was to Circus Zingaro in the past seven years?

TK – The video has been watched more hat 100.000 times and I regularly get emails where people ask me how they could buy the book. I was in contact with a French and a German publisher who were interested in publishing the book, but after many considerations and even after I made some simplifications compared to the first version of the book, it turned out to be too expensive for them. Due to the many different and sometimes difficult techniques they would need to print more than 10.000 books (?) for the first edition to make it affordable, and the French and German market is too small for that. I would need a big international publisher to make it happen.

“I need a big international publisher to make it happen.”

Tina Kraus

BPUB – All movables and pop-up techniques fit very well with the type of circus acts you have chosen. Was it a challenge to choose which technique to use for which act?

TK –    Sometimes! But other times I thought of something and it just clicked immediately. Or I went through other pop-up books or the Elements of Pop-Up by David A. Carter and saw a mechanism and thought “This would be perfect for…”

BPUB – Can you tell us how the process of designing and engineering of Circus Zingaro is done?

TK – I start with a rough scribble and then I make a first simple model just to try out whether my Idea would even work. When it does, I start to draw a vector template in Adobe Illustrator. I then print it and cut it out or use a silhouette cutting machine to do that and refine the model more and more, adding details with every step. Sometimes I make more than 10 or 15 dummies of one mechanism until it all works.

For a complex page like the first one where you can see the whole circus, I need to figure out how the wagons can be pulled up even when they are not centered on the page. I work on each mechanism individually first before I combine them to such a spread. If I get stuck, I go through the books of the great masters like Reinhart or Carter and look for inspiration. When I’m satisfied with the blank paper models, I print the templates very lightly on watercolor paper and start illustrating. Then I go back and adjust the templates to the scanned illustrations. Finally I do a test with the finished templates before I start nesting the printing sheets. Then printing and cutting of the final book can begin. A cutting machine or knowing someone with a laser machine helps a lot at this point!

BPUB – Have you ever considered making a crowdfunding project from Circus Zingaro?

TK – Yes, and some people have suggested it to me too. However it seems to me that it would be a full-time job or even more work than I alone could handle if I would do that since I don’t have any experience in dealing with a printing company that specializes in pop-up books or handeling the logistics of such a project. So right now I’m still hoping for a conventional publisher who already has the know-how to realize such a project.

BPUB – Is this the final version of the book?

TK – Yes, kind of. But if a publisher would decide to go ahead with the project, I might need to do some more adaptations to make sure it can be mass produced or to reduce the cost.

Paper Toys for the Chinese New Year by Tina Kraus

BPUB – In addition to pop-ups, you also design pop-up cards, paper toys, displays and packaging. How did your interest for working with paper started?

TK – I started to craft with paper as a young child and spent many afternoons crafting and painting. When I was older I got some instruction books for crafting with paper and also for making pop-ups (It was by Paul Jackson I think) In the book were instructions and templates to many basic mechanisms but I soon started to take it as a challenge to recreate the pop-ups that were only shown as examples without any template or instruction. In my last year of high school I made my first pop-up book. It contained 4 spreads with pop-up stages for famous theatre plays or musicals. (Die Zauberflöte, Hamlet, Die Dreigroschenoper, Grease)

“I soon started to take it as a challenge to recreate the pop-ups that were only shown as examples without any template or instruction.”

Tina Kraus

BPUB – You and Florian Biege also created a wonderful pop-up theatre (play) book titled “Rittergeschichten – Ein Pop-Up Theater“. Can you tell us more about it?

TK – It was a spontaneous idea we had last year. The concept of the stage was perfect because I wanted to make a pop-up book that would be easier to mass manufacture. We are hoping this will make it easier to find a publisher. The machanisms now are pretty simple, but still add a nice effect to the book. The final book is planned to contain 6 stages, 8 characters, 4 plays and a lot of possibilities for your own stories. We could also imagine it would work as a series with more settings like a pirate ship etc.

BPUB – Are you all caught up now and can we expect more pop-up books in the future?

TK – I would love to do more pop-ups and hope I will get the opportunity!

BPUB – As a Paper Engineer, do you also have other Paper Engineers who inspire you?

TK – Yes, of course. Where can I start? Probably anyone of whom I have a pop-up book in my bookshelf has inpired me somehow! As I mentioned I started with a book by Paul Jackson. Then David A. Carter with his Elements of Pop-Up. It is so helpful! Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart probably inspired me most to test out what is possible to make pop up.

BPUB – Do you also collect pop-up books?

TK – I have for a time, so now I have a small collection. But since there is no space left in my bookshelves, I stopped and only buy books that I feel are really special for some reason. But I still get more books as presents sometimes!

BPUB – Thank you Tina for this interview and the opportunity to review your work!

Click here to go to our full (video) review of Circus Zingaro: A Pop-up Book

Website Tina Kraus: tinakraus.com
Portfolio Tina Kraus: faltmanufaktur.com
Blog Tina Kraus: faltmanufaktur.wordpress.com

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