The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume 2: Platforms and Props: How to Make Pop-Ups Step-by-Step [Spiral-bound]

Carol Barton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2008

From simple greeting cards to intricate paper creations, this engaging workbook thoroughly explains the mechanics of pop-ups while teaching paper artists of all skill levels to create 10 different designs. Step-by-step, full-color instructions coupled with detailed illustrations enable vibrant floating platforms, tabbed props, and miscellaneous other pop-up effects to be easily constructed. As each section includes perforated pages with preprinted designs and directions, scissors and glue are all one needs for nearly instantaneous pop-up creations. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Carol Barton's pop-up workbook is glorious! Unique and delightfully playful, her work continues the time-honored tradition of movables in books."  —Robert Sabuda, author, Winter's Tale: An Original Pop-Up Journey

"To find a book that truly lays out the complex steps in understanding three-dimensional design and geometric thinking is a true blessing. The book's beautifully illustrated step-by-step instructions gradually build a knowledge base of the subject."  —Sally Blakemore, award-winning paper engineer, owner of Arty Projects Studio

"Have you ever turned the pages of a pop-up book and wondered 'How do they do it?' With The Pocket Paper Engineer, you, too, can learn the time-honored craft of paper engineering! Even a quick glance conveys that this is no ordinary 'how-to' book."  —Andrew Baron, recipient of The Meggendorfer Prize, paper engineering's highest award

From the Publisher

This second volume of THE POCKET PAPER ENGINEER promises to be another hit with both children and adults who want to learn more about the craft of making pop-up cards and pages. Written in clear, simple language and generously illustrated with 91 full-color photographs and over 100 instructional drawings, the book is easily accessible to the novice paper engineer at the same time it offers design tips and ideas to the professional graphic artist and designer. The book's hardcover case is protected with a matte varnish that resists moisture and dirt, and the inner wire-O binding allows the book to lie flat while the reader progresses through the step-by-step directions for the projects. Each of the book's ten interactive projects introduces a basic principle of pop-up paper construction. The project pages can be pulled directly from the book, then cut and assembled with a pair of scissors and a glue stick. Information on tools, formats, adhesives, and web resources are also included.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 72 pages
• Publisher: Popular Kinetics Press (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962775223
• ISBN-13: 978-0962775222
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Barton is a book artist and paper engineer known for her how-to books and classes on making pop-ups and sculptural books. She is on the faculty at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and holds workshops and lectures at art and education centers across the U.S. and internationally. She curated the Smithsonian Institution's show "Science and the Artist's Book," and her illustrations were featured in National Geographic's article "Zip Code: 20812, It's Only a Paper Moon." Her artist editions are included in collections around the world, including the Getty Museum, New York MOMA, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pocket Engineer by Carol Barton, July 31, 2008

By 

DAVID M. LAPLANTZ "DDDeco" (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume 2: Platforms and Props: How to Make Pop-Ups Step-by-Step (Spiral-bound)

Carol's Pocket Paper Engineer book is fabulous!
The information, illustrations, inspirations, index and references are exceptional.
I appreciate the clear, concise and witty presentation, which is exactly like Carol is, in person!
Having recently taken a pop-up workshop at the Santa Fe Art Institute with Carol,
I was eagerly looking forward to this new book. My anticipation was well rewarded.
This book is so very much like Carol is, in person, infused with passion, pizazz, humor, integrity and jam packed with stimulating challenges to delight the paper engineer of any age, background or expereince.

The size and scale of Carol's book is perfect. It is large enough to study with ease and small enough to
carry and peruse when traveling, riding the bus or standing in a check out line. In case you wonder, I find life more interesting if I carry a book to study, when life gets boring or I need to maximize my time, while waiting to accomplish life's silly, time consuming details.

I absolutely love the spiral binding which allows the book to lie perfectly flat on your bench
while creating your art images and pop-up wonders. The periodic quotes send shivers up and down my spine!
The directions are clear and easy to follow and once you have created the exercise, you are eager to push the new visual information further using your own personal, artistic imagery.

The Pocket Paper Engineer is a meticulous, well researched and written, illustrated and executed
creative art tech book. Besides the aspect of the pop-up structures (platforms and props) the reader
is creatively challenged, stimulated and well rewarded. We are encouraged to think in all (different) directions in order to go past our own personal limitations, while working through the exercises in a well planned and executed order of events. This book will "pop-up" and ignite your grey matter in ways that will lead to more creative "pop-ups!" Enough said!

Mini-disclaimer:
This review has been respectfully written from the following prospectives:
I am not a book artist, as such, but I have spent a lot of time around a fabulous book artist!
Yes, I am the late Shereen LaPlantz's husband, David.
From the vantage point of living with a book artist, I feel that I have an intimate understanding of book arts, their creators and the magic contained within them.
Therefore, by osmosis I have lived with incredible artists' books all around me. I feel so fortunate!
My art life revolves around making metal jewelry and assemblage, mixed media sculpture
in the form of "Art Microphones."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You CAN make pop-ups, continued., June 5, 2008

By 

Aeleen Frisch "aeleen" (Wallingford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume 2: Platforms and Props: How to Make Pop-Ups Step-by-Step (Spiral-bound)

This book is an excellent follow-on to volume 1, which I enjoyed very much. This second volume covers platform and tabbed pop-ups of various sorts: structures which are cut separately from the main pop-up card or paper and are attached to it by hidden glue tabs, slots and other devices. These are the structures used by paper engineers like Robert Sabuda in their fabulous books.

Like the first volume (which features many of the various pop-up structure you can make by folding and cutting into a single piece of paper or card) this book includes samples of each structure that you make yourself. Following the directions--which are very clear and well illustrated--and actually cutting and gluing the pop-up yourself is a great way to learn and remember how to make it. In addition, as a bonus, you have a nice, fully-illustrated pop-up card you can keep or give away when you're done (much nicer than practicing with just a plain piece of paper).

Carol Barton is both a first rate paper engineer and a capable writer, a combination of talents which results in a great book that anyone interested in pop-ups will enjoy. If you master the techniques in this book and volume 1, you will be well on your way to becoming a pop-up expert. I highly recommend this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This will enhance your creativity, August 7, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume 2: Platforms and Props: How to Make Pop-Ups Step-by-Step (Spiral-bound)

If you have always loved pop-up books and cards, then this is a craft book for you!

This is a beautifully illustrated and packaged book. The interior is a heavy-duty spiral binding that enables the book to lay flat and the pages to turn easily. Around the spiral binding is a hardcover that protects the contents. Author Barton has clearly and plainly explained terms you may need to know, supplies you may find helpful, and even supplied suggestions for gluing, folding, and cutting that will make your projects look professionally done.

The book provides a number of projects you can simply pull out of the book, follow the instructions, and complete a beautiful finished project in almost no time. But you are not limited to the provided projects; this book will spark ideas that you can do with your own materials for a number of fun uses. My ten-year-old son and I have made cards, a Lego background scene, and are designing our own pop-up book from ideas we found in this book. You will only be limited by your imagination once you know the secrets of how to construct the various forms of pop-ups explained in this book!

I do not have Volume 1 of this series, but that is something I intend to remedy very soon. These books are both a marvelous resource and a project book all in one. With book one; you are able to purchase the project pages separately so that you do not have to remove them from the book if you don't wish too. I really hope this package of project pages will also be available for the second book for those of us who hate to tear anything out of a book.

Anyone, of any age, who loves to create with paper whether it is for card making, scrapbooking, or other imaginative paper art projects, will love this book!

Armchair Interviews says: See our earlier review of The Pocket Paper Engineer-Volume 1: Basic Forms by Carol Barton.