Tips and tricks I have come across making pop-up cards
Before we look at construction tips for making pop-up books, we should first understand the
various mechanisms used in pop-up books.
Technically, what we call 'pop-up books' should be called 'movable books', since they all
share the fact that paper elements of the book 'move' as we read the book. This movement can be
triggered by turning a page, or by manipulating the book somehow, perhaps pulling a
tab, or lifting a flap. Of course, a single movable book might use several types of mechanisms. As such, 'pop-ups' are only
one type of movable book. So what are some of the common types of movable book mechanisms?
Panorama books
Probably one of the oldest forms of movable books is the panorama book. Here we see an example from Lothar
Meggendorfer originally published in 1887 (there is a first edition copy in the MET). Each scene (ie page)
folds down to reveal several layers, that in composite make a 3D representation of a circus scene. As an aside, the highest award
given in the pop-up book world (to my knowledge) is the Meggendorfer Prize given every two years at the Movable Book Society
convention. Go to my link for more info on the Movable Book Society.
(pictures from Lothar Meggendorfer's International Circus - Lothar Meggendorfer)
One of my favorite panorama books is Ruckus Rodeo by Red Grooms. Grooms prefers his books be called
sculpto-pictoramas, and I'm fine with that. He makes big sculpto-pictoramas (some can even be walked through, or so I've heard).
This one has rodeo scenes, and he adds a new wrinkle by having the front half of the Brahma bull in one scene, and the rear
half of the bull in the adjoining scene, so when you fold both down the bull is complete. Kind of cool...
(picture from Ruckus Rodeo - Red Grooms)
Pull tab books
Pull tab books are very common. They consist of a 'pull tab', usually of another color and perhaps with an
arrow to indicate the direction of pull, and when the reader pulls the tab the motion is translated to a movable part of the
image, and that part rotates, or goes up and down, depending on the design. Pull tabs typically do not survive very well, with
the tab getting creased or just wearing out from repeated use. This happens (usually) as the tabs are pushed back to their original location, and if the
tab paper is not strong, the tab will crease. Notice on the Meggendorfer image that as the man plays the horn and bends down, at
the same time the cat in the window subtly nods his head, and the dog's mouth closes like he's barking at the cat0
(you nay need to expand the image to see this).
The mechanisms required to form these various motions at different places
in the scene are very complicated, and some of Meggendorfer's images still astound modern paper engineers.
(picture from a modern reproduction of The Genius of Luthor Meggendorfer with comments
from Maurice Sendak)
Another of my favorite pull tab images is from Ahoy There Little Polar Bear in which
a baby polar bear gets separated from his parents. After many adventures he finally reunites with them in a pull-tab scene,
which I figured was
broken because it didn't seem to do anything. The tab was connected to several levers and pivots (behind the scenes), and I
finally figured out that pulling the tab in and out caused the litte polar bear's tail to wag up and down, because he was happy
to see his parents. A very complicated mechanism to make one small, but very meaningful movement. Paper engineering at its best!
(picture from Ahoy There Little Polar Bear - Hans de Beer)
Lift the flap
Lift the flap books are very simple - you lift the flap, and reveal what is underneath. Often the act of
lifitng the flap will cause the scene below to move, or even pop-out. Gnerally the flap reveals text, or drawings underneath.
For instance, the flap could be a cupboard door, and lifting the flap reveals whats in the cupboard. I have seen some clever uses
of lift the flap designs, but I'm not a big fan of the style. For one thing the flaps are often hard to get a fingernail
under in order to lift the flap. And often the flaps tear.
(pictures from frank gehry in pop-up - Jinny Johnson and Roland Lewis)
Revolving pictures
Another old form of movable books are the revolving books. These have a circular image on a page, and when you slide a
tab around the circumference of the image you get a different, but related, image. The transfer between scenes looks a bit like the shutter in a
camera. This technique is used rarely in modern books, but still does show up from time to time.
(picture from a modern reproduction of Revolving Pictures originally published in 1892 - Ernest Nister)
Fold-out books
Fold out books are typically large format, and after unfolding all the interconnected pages a large
image is formed. For instance, a giant (that folds out to 4 or 5 ft tall), or an alien, or the human body. Often the image
(after folding out) has hidden movable parts such as pull tabs, flaps, or even folded pop-ups. I like these books, probably because
as a kid I used to make similar 'books' by taping various drawings together to form a scene, and try to have different, intermediate scenes
reveal themselves as the pages were folded out. Needless to say these usually ended up as a big tapey wadded up ball of paper...
(pictures from frank gehry in pop-up - Jinny Johnson and Roland Lewis)
Pop-up books
And finally that brings us to the classic 'pop-up book' These books feature complex folded paper
mechanisms that unfold as the page is turned (or a flap is lifted, etc). The artists that design movable books are called
paper engineers, and many of the folded mechanisms in pop-up books require sophisticaed engineering concepts (levers, fulcrums,
angular movements, etc). It takes a lot of mechanical
energy to unfold a large pop-up, particularly if that scene has several pop-ups that depend on each other. This energy has
to come from the reader turning the page, and heavy card stock is used to transfer that energy to the mechanism, and to prevent
the pop-up from flopping over instead of
standing out from the page. The engineered designs must also be constructed at a publishing house, which usually involves
hand-gluing of all the attachment tabs and folds required in each scene.
(pictures from frank gehry in pop-up - Jinny Johnson and Roland Lewis)
