I have no idea how or why, but sometime in the middle of painting Panda Man parts for another one of those automatons, the urge to to make a popup book about a man-bear going on strange adventures took hold.
It sounds overly dramatic, but trust me when I say that ‘obsession’ would be to put it mildly. I’ve scoured every nook and cranny of the internet for tips and have amassed a pretty nice collection of references to work from, including real live books full of weirdo techniques.
I posted the first one here, it was a really simple fold cut-out, just to try and see if learning pop-up techniques would even keep me interested. Obviously it worked, because no sooner was I done with it that I was ready to just quit everything so I could learn ALL OF THE TECHNIQUES NOW.
My next try was something slightly more challenging: a pull-tab. Once I figured out the mechanics (with the help of this wonderful book), it was a matter of finding the right illustration for it.
What I’ve learned from this one: mind where your tab is. Nobody slides into a pool sideways, not even pandamen. Forethought is not my forte.
I really wanted to try a wheel next, and I had the perfect idea for it: Panda MN from womb to tomb. Alas, there was only room for four vignettes, so the tomb part was dropped. That’s okay though, I still managed to squeeze in the spermatozoa stage. Yes, it made me feel like the cleverest person in all the land. No regrets!
Another lesson learned here, too: mind which direction your progression goes. People will want to turn the wheel clockwise, not the other way around. Again with this forethought malarkey.
With the holidays coming up, I’m really looking forward to be able to work on this project more.
RIGHT?! Amazing!
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