Pop-up Cards: Kirigami Folded Art
This Article was adapted from: Kirigami Source Center, “Kirigami”, http://www.origami-resource-center.com/kirigami.html
Pop-up art is based on a Japanese form of art called kirigami. Kirigami is a technique similar to origami, but instead of just folding paper you also cut it. It allows you to beautifully create and give movement to wonderful three dimensional sculptures.
It All Starts With Paper Snowflakes
Believe it or not, Christmas is the time when most people do kirigami. Paper snowflakes fall into this category of art. In order to give the hexagonal shape typical in ice crystals, you have to fold a square paper in half, then in thirds. Once it is folded in thirds, you are free to cut to your hearts content creating something as unique as the original frozen wonders themselves.
Most of us have been doing kirigami art by making these snowflakes since we were in diapers. This is because of their simplicity. They work on just two dimensions and have only three steps: First, fold your square paper in half, second, fold it into thirds, and third use the scissors on your paper not your neighbor. If you do not know what thirds are you can just fold it in half four times. The only downside is that now you have eight sides instead of six. That is ok though, even mutant paper snowflakes are beautiful!
There Is So Much More
Let us move on. Two dimensional snowflakes are neat and all, but what about adding a third dimension? Now things become more complicated. Pop-up cards are paper sculptures that require more thought; you cannot just grab some scissors and “Let it Go” like you can with paper snowflakes. The five steps for making a pop-up template are: First, draw your design, second, separate the different shapes that compose your design by depth, third, place them into layers, fourth, determine positive and negative folds, and fifth, cut and fold according to your diagram.
But Why Pop-up Cards?
Well the real question is why not. As anyone with depth perception issues in the greeting cards aisle can tell you, pop-up cards are very popular. Store bought cards are so unoriginal. Why not make your own pop-ups? It will be fun to make your own christmas cards with Saint Nicolas inside. Nobody would expect an obese elderly man to pop out of a card you made yourself! I have been using this folded art to make cards for my family and friends for years. Everytime they get one from me, they feel very excited. It is a thrill because it keeps them guessing.
Images Sources:
- Image 1: www.omiyageblogs.ca
- Image 2: www.origaminut.com
- Image 3: www.moddidaypeople.com
How to make your own Pop-up template
As I mentioned in my previous article, there are five steps to consider when making your own pop-up template. Those familiar with arts and crafts will be better prepared to follow them.
Steps
- Draw your design
- Separate the different shapes that compose your design by depth
- Place them into layers
- Determine positive and negative folds
- Cut and fold according to your diagram
Draw Your Pop-up Kirigami Diagram
On a cardstock paper of the color of your choice draw your desired figure. Cardstock makes the best artist greeting cards. There are many things you can do, from architectural, like buildings or cathedrals, to animals like birds, mammals, or even politicians. After all, someone has to love the reptiles. If you do choose to do an animal, for example a reindeer, pay attention to the individual parts of its body, like the legs, antlers, ears, etc. The reason this is so crucial is that later you will be placing each part of your design in a different depth.
Separate Shapes That Compose Your Kirigami diagram by Depth
Once you have decided how many parts compose your design, select the most meaningful ones, and decide which ones go first, second, third, fourth, etc. When you have done this step, you are ready to place them into different layers that can be connected through lines with different depths.
Place Them into Layers
This step is the most complicated of the process of making a kirigami diagram. It requires the ability to interpret depth. Going back to the example of the reindeer, you should determine the difference in depth between the front and back legs with respect to the position of the head and the torso. In case of a geometrical designs, such as cathedrals, you should consider the difference in depth between the pinacle, the pillars, the doors, etc. Failing to do this will result in a mutant design (like an octagonal Paper Snowflakes, only less acceptable).
Determine positive and negative folds
Folded art like origami is based on dozens to hundreds of positive and negative folds. They are technically called mountain and valley folds. You can draw them on your design with dotted and dashed lines, where dotted lines represent mountain folds (positive ones), and dashed lines represent valley folds (negative ones). You may also wish to add Full lines in your design to tell you where to cut.
Cut and Fold Your Pop-up Template
Finally, the fun part. With the help of a precision knife, cut all of the full lines. Once your design is fully cut, proceed to fold according to your mountain and valley fold indicator lines. First crease every fold softly, then fully. Fold your card in half, and finally open it to reveal your wonderful pop-up card. If the process is too tedious, try first with someone else’s diagram. There are many card making websites out there with tons of pop-up card templates.
Images Sources:
- Kiripopup Portfolio
All You Need To Make Pop-Up Cards
Materials and Tools
All the projects shown in kiripopup.com can be made with simple materials and tools that you probably have at home. However, your hands and head are the most important tools. So please don’t even think about doing this if you are drunk. Kids need adult supervision. You might too, if you’re clumsy. The following materials and tools are required for the best results.
Materials
|
|
To make the 90° pop-up card:
90° pop-up cards are the most common and complex ones. They usually require more thinking and many more folds than other pop-up cards. So being flexible, patient, and Japanese are your keys to success. In fact, If you combine this art with finger yoga you get better results. This kind of pop-up card requires the least amount of paper: One piece of cardstock for the the pattern, and one sheet of construction paper for backing (colored construction paper is recommended to improve contrast).
To make the simple 180° pop-up card:
This kind of pop-up card relies on the cleanliness of the cut of your pattern. Beautiful silhouettes full of details are recommended for those who want to achieve an artistic result. But don’t worry, if you are not as talented as Edward Scissorhands you can always start with a simpler model. This kind of pop-up card generally creates beautiful symmetric figures, that you can easily get by folding a paper in half, in order to cut both figures at once. Then using construction paper of a contrasting color of your choice, create the back.
To make the complex 180° pop-up card:
In addition to the materials listed previously, this complex 180° pop-up cards also needs a white cotton thread and two pieces of construction paper for backing to reinforce the card. This kind of pop-up cards is composed of many different pieces, which are assembled strategically to create a 3D figure. The following image shows a Christmas tree, composed of several pieces, that closes like an accordion. You keep the pieces together with small pieces of transparent tape, and keep the figure attached to the card with a piece of thread.
About the paper
Not every pop-up card needs the same size or amount of paper. For example, If you are working on a long figure, like the Eiffel Tower, then you’ll probably need two pieces of paper to make it long enough. However, most of the pop-up cards you can see at Kiripopup are made with cardstock paper 5 by 7 inches in size. You can always break a Guinness world record if you want by making something enormous, but we recommend the standard greeting card sizes.
Make a 90° Pop-Up Card
If designing your own pattern is too complicated you might try using one from the internet. There are many free ones out there. It is important to carefully interpret the meaning of the different lines in the diagram. The following is an infographic that explains what to do with solid, dotted, and dashed lines.
How to cut the pattern:
Place a traced pattern on a sheet of cardstock paper and transfer the pattern by perforating with a stylus pen. Using a cutting knife and a steel ruler cut along the perforated lines. If you don’t want your mother or significant other to kill you, I recommend doing the cutting over a piece of cardboard to avoid cutting the table. When cutting a sharp angle, cut each side toward the point. For curves, use a circle cutter or draw curves with a pencil and cut along pencil lines freehand. Make sure that cutting is done exactly along the lines.
How to handle paper properly
Both cardstock paper and colored construction paper are used for making pop-up cards in kiripopup. The finished cards look neat when you handle them properly. Wood fibers have a tendency to run lengthwise in the process of making paper. Thus, most of paper has a grain. When you make the 90° pop-up card, use the paper whose grain runs along the long side of the paper. If the paper is folded against the grain, it is at its best and stands well. On the other hand, if folded with the grain, it will curl and bend down. To find out the true grain, bend a sheet of paper of 4 inch square. If the sheet is easily bent, it has a lengthwise grain. If not it has a crosswise grain.
How to crease:
A stylus pen is usually used for creasing. For a valley fold line, score on the front side and for a mountain fold line, score on the back. Failing to do this will disturb the pattern shape, the folding process, and world peace. Remember, valley fold are indicated by dashed lines, mountain fold by dotted lines, and cutting lines by solid lines. In order to make a neat fold line, cut at a depth of one-third of the thickness of paper on the right side. If you don't fold exactly, you may not obtain the desired shape. Begin folding from the corner of the longer fold lines using both hands. For the shorter fold lines, if necessary, use the point of your tweezers to fold exactly.
Backing:
All the 90° pop-up cards are made of a sheet of paper with a pop-up design. You can add an interesting effect to your card if you use another sheet of cardstock paper, either of the same or a contrasting color, for the base it just depends how hip your feeling. Paper that is the same size as the card is often used for the base, but if you glue two sheets of paper separately onto each half of the card then you don't have to crease the center fold line. Another benefit is that you can more easily open the card. Use all purpose glue for attaching the base to your design. Carefully apply glue to all the corners.
Make a Simple 180° pop-up card
It is sometimes difficult for a beginner to picture a completed three-dimensional design. However, I can say the simple 180° cards encompass all the most interesting features of pop-up designs. Try making your own original cards following the instructions below.
Cut out parts:
The pattern for each part’s unfolded shape and ground plan are shown for the 180 pop-up card. Cut out the required number of parts as indicated.
Assemble the parts:
Assemble the parts following the photo. The points for assembling are given for each project, but study them carefully before you start.
How to print:
There are many ways of printing your name and address on the card. Of all the methods, I advise you to use the ready-made lettering set. This will give it a neater finish and easy handling. It will also give you a variety of styles to choose from. Out of all these options you can select the most suitable one for your card. You may also use a typewriter or a word processor, but in this case you should print before you assemble the various parts into a card. It is good idea to write with a pen, crayon, or watercolor paint. Neatly calligraphed cards will surely impress your friends, or at least the ones with class.
Attach cotton threads to the assembled parts:
The assembled parts are attached to the base at three to four places with cotton threads. Each thread is hooked onto the concave part and tied or glued with a small piece of cardstock paper. The places for attaching thread are indicated by the patterns. After assembling the individual parts, place them on the base and make sure of they line up with the points where the thread should be attached. Then glue each thread in place with a small piece of cardstock paper.
Insert threads into holes and fix:
Insert the ends of thread (6-)2% 234) into the holes of the base, pull thread and fix onto the base temporarily with clear adhesive tape. Check whether the assembled parts pop up when the card is opened. If it works well, finish attaching the end of each thread with glued cardstock paper. Trim off excess thread.
Attach another sheet of paper for backing:
Using another sheet of white cardstock paper, back the base for reinforcement and for a neater finish. If you use two sheets of paper, the card can be more easily opened . Glue a small piece of cardstock paper onto each of the thread points as a final touch.
To make the complex 180° pop-up card
To make the complex 180° pop-up card, cut out all the parts, assemble and attach them to the base with cotton thread and small pieces of cardstock paper. However, to make the new type, cut two halves of the base using a pattern and attach it to the backing paper. A symmetrical shape is easier to make, but if carefully designed, you can make almost any kind of shape. Just fold responsibly. For this type of card, prepare one sheet for backing and the other i for the base and cut-out shape. Be sure to score along the fold line of the backing paper for easy opening.
Robert Sabuda: A Kirigami Genius
If you thought that kirigami patterns were hard to understand, try to create your own. Once you create your first functional pattern, try to create a book. Yeah, that’s exactly what a reduce number of artists have been able to achieve. Robert Sabuda is probably the most famous in the world of pop-up books. He took the challenge, and his collection of books has grown over the years, creating numerous fans and collectionists.
List of Robert Sabuda Pop-up Books:
- The Mummy's Tomb: A Pop-Up Book
- The Knight's Castle: A Pop-Up Book
- Creepy, Crawly Halloween Fright
- Help the Animals of North America (A Pop-Up Book)
- Help the Animals of Asia (A Pop-Up Book)
- Help the Animals of Africa (A Pop-Up Book)
- A Kwanzaa Celebration: A Pop-up Book
- The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Pop-Up Celebration
- Cookie Count: A Tasty Pop-Up
- ABC Disney Pop-Up
- The Movable Mother Goose
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Pop-Up
- Brooklyn Pops Up
- The Night Before Christmas Pop-up
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: A Pop-up Adaptation
- America the Beautiful
- Winter's Tale: An Original Pop-Up Journey
- Beauty and the Beast: A Pop-up Book of the Classic Fairy Tale
- Chanukah Lights
- The Little Mermaid
Early Life
Robert Sabuda was born in Pinckney, Michigan, in 1965. He inherited his ability on crafts from his woodworker dad, who taught him the art of building a three-dimensional structure with incredible accuracy. He never thought his son would in the future an incredible profit.
Mobile books were also an important part of his infancy, and another motivator to his creativity. His mom continually invited him to read, at any occasion. Plain books, with no pictures or any sort of interactivity never caught his attention.
At the age of eight Sabuda made his very first pop-up book (we assume in great part because the iPad wasn’t invented yet). He also made several pop-up cards to all friends, siblings, companions, instructors, who continually encourage him to keep developing his great talent. While in school he also satisfied his teachers through his making of innovative announcement sheets (flyers, posters, etc.). Because of his ability on design and crafts, and his insatiable creativity, sabuda was able to earn a scholarship in communications design from the Pratt Institute in 1987.
Professional Career
In 1988 Sabuda released his first professional work, with the publication of The Fiddler’s Son, by Eugene Bradley Coco. His motivation for creating original work grew even more. Then he realized that his focus should be on books for children, with big illustration and different levels of interactivity. Above there’s a list of all his publications from 1994 to 2013. Today, Sabuda has his own studio in Manhattan. There with his partner, Matthew Reinhart, have create some of their most popular books, that can be easily found in Amazon.com. One of the most remarkable ones is Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs : The Definitive Pop-Up, an astonishing piece of artwork, with amazing dinosaurs like the tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops, etc. (You can find a review on this pop-up book on the link “Reviews” at kiripopup.com).
