Paper Pop-Ups Workshop

Introduction

When you here pop-ups or paper engineering, What comes to mind? Can you remember a pop-up book from childhood? Have you ever received or sent a pop-up greeting card? Have you ever made your own pop-up?

This workshops will introduce you to some basic mechanisms and templates. that you can then combine and/or use with illustrations. You can easily reproduce them at home with tools you probably already have (see Tools section below).

We will also see how some of the tools in the Makerspace can help turn a single prototype into an edition by using digital fabrication for cutting and scoring.

Examples

Paper engineering has a long history in art & design.

“Elements of Geometry” by Euclid. Pop up version by J.Daye (England, 1570).

“The Model Menagerie with Natural History Stories” by L.L. Weedon, Evelyn Fletcher, and Ernest Nister (1895)

“Red riding Hood” by Czech artist Vojtěch Kubašta (1956). Trained as an architect, he was one of the most prolific pop up books creators. 

Peter Dahmen is a contemporary designer and artist who uses pop ups in his personal work as well as for commercial packaging

“ABC – 3D” by Marion Bataille (2008)

“Shamrock – Clover” by allNickyPopUpCards. One of the many pop up cards you can find by searching the term on Etsy.com

Tools

Here are some suggestions for tools to have on hand for creating pop-ups and other paper-engineering projects:

  • Glue (glue sticks are great for prototypes. For more final versions something like UHU – All Purpose Adhesive is great!)
  • Double-sided tape
  • The ideal paper is around 160-220gsm (60-80lb cover)
  • pencil and eraser
  • Scissors and X-acto knife
  • Bone folder or non-marking pen for scoring
  • Conventional rules, bevel, square and protractor
  • Cutting mat
  • Split pin (for the rotating wheel mechanism)

Basic pop – up mechanisms

Here are a few simple pop-up mechanisms. You can create more complex ones by combining them.

1. Counter folds

You can create counter folds with a single piece of paper and no glue or precise measuring. They can serve as the main sculptural element of your design or as a mechanism to push another part of the pop up when you open the card.

a. Converging creases

  1. Fold a piece of cardstock in half (crease it thoroughly)
  2. Make one cut from the folded edge
  3. Fold it onto itself in both directions.
  4. Open it and push the shape through

Note: This makes a great mouth for a character

B. Parallel

  1. Fold a piece of cardstock in half
  2. Make two parallel cuts from the folded edge
  3. Fold the shape in between the two cuts onto itself in both directions.
  4. Open it and push the shape through

Note: You can easily glue illustrations to parallel fold to create a scene.

2. V-folds

In a V-fold, the sculptural elements are cut and glued to a base sheet with tabs. You can create interesting designs by changing the silhouette of the pop up from a simple rectangle to something fun (i.e: tree, flower, cat etc.)

  1. Select a piece of cardstock for your base sheet and fold it in half.
  2. Select a piece of cardstock for your pop up element and fold it in half (it should be smaller than your base sheet).
  3. Create your tabs by folding one of the sides perpendicular to the fold onto itself and cutting its end at an angle.
  4. Open the pop up sheet, stand it upright, bend its tabs at a 90 degree angle and align its crease to the crease of the base sheet.
  5. Open the pop up at a 90 if you want the shape to stand upright. You can vary the aperture angle to get different results. Just be mindful that the angle should be even on each side of the base sheet.
  6. Glue the first tab.
  7. Apply glue to the second one and fold the base sheet over it (this way you wont have to calculate the exact location of the second tab).

3. Parallel folds

In parallel folds, the glue tabs are located on the outer edge of the pop up shape (rather than next to the base sheet crease).

  1. Select a piece of cardstock for your base sheet and fold it in half.
  2. Select a piece of cardstock for your pop up element and fold it in half (it should be smaller than your base sheet).
  3. Create your tabs by folding the side across from/parallel to the fold onto itself. Cut both ends at an angle.
  4. Open the pop up sheet and play around with how tall you want it to stand on the base sheet (the wider the distance between the tabs, the lower the pop up)
  5. Decide if you want the tabs to stick out or fold in.
  6. Glue the first tab.
  7. Apply glue to the second one and fold the base sheet over it (this way you wont have to calculate the exact location of the second tab).

Combining elements

Anytime you create a parallel or v-fold you create a new crease which can be used to glue another element, adding another pop up an element to the project.

Flap Pull-Tab Mechanism

This flap pull tab mechanism can allow you to create fun “reveals”.

Use this template PDF to get started, but you could change the size for the base cards and flaps with a little experimentation.

Rotating Wheel Mechanism

This rotating wheel mechanism can allow you to create interactive/changing illustrations (i.e: different expressions for a face, different flavor ice creams etc.)

Use this template PDF to get started, but you could change the size for the base cards and the location and number of holes with a little experimentation.

Using the Vinyl Cutter

For more intricate designs (and/or if you want to create several copies of your pop up, using a vinyl cutter can make the process quicker and more accurate.

Please follow these guidelines for preparing files and materials for the Cricut and the Silhouette cutters. Here is also a guide for preparing DXF files in Illustrator.

Templates

Here are a few Illustrator templates you can use as is or for inspiration.

Silhouette Pop up creator

The Silhouette software has a pop up creator feature. It basically simply adds tabs and fold lines to your 2D designs. You can customize the length and span of the tabs.

Here’s a video tutorial

Web Resources

Here are some great videos/resources for exploring more paper engineering projects:

The Pop-Up Channel has dozens of great video tutorials – from basic pop ups to more complex mechanisms.

The Movable Book Society is a nonprofit organization that promotes pop-up and movable books.

Poposition press is a great independent and NYC-based publisher specializing in pop-up books

Kelli Anderson is a Brooklyn-based artist and paper engineer, and the author of two incredible paper-engineered books: This Book is a Camera & This Book is a Planetarium)

Follow Julia Yus’ IG page for some fun inspiration!