Paper Engineering for Pop-up Books and Cards

The media could not be loaded.  I was dubious about ordering this due to some of the previous comments.. no, there are no pretty pictures to attach lol. On receiving it today I am very happy with it and and the 10 projects given, so much so I'm here leaving a review already, I think it will give me a good introduction to making my own pop up designs. The layout of the book is quite straightforward and seems clear and easy to follow if you're good with pictures as there is not much in the way of a written explanation on how to stick things together... a little previous YouTube knowledge might be useful here 😉 (although there is considerations included for making your own which is very helpful). It might look a bit boring to some but if you want to learn the basics of paper engineering to take into your own designs like me then you will be very excited to start the projects 👍👍

I have to say as a complete beginner to pop-ups, I found this book quite disappointing. On the plus side, it is printed on good quality thick paper/card, making it easy (if you choose) to cut out and adhere the examples. However, I was hoping it would have had some colour photographs of the designer's own application of the mechanisms, that would clearly show how the mechanisms have been used and for some inspiration. There are line drawn examples following each mechanism, together with some 'technical considerations' text. Each template has printed letters/instructions on the reverse to make it easier to follow the assembly instructions. - But, because there aren't any measurements provided and as an absolute beginner, I have found it difficult to reproduce the mechanisms on other cardstock/thick paper. I attempted to make the dissolving scenes mechanism 3 times and failed miserably to reproduce it without the original template. It has also been doubly disappointing that the examples are just plain flat colours. I would have found it more personally rewarding if the examples had resulted in making something interesting, like a pirate ship or houses as in the hand drawn illustrations. So for me, there is no sense of satisfaction at having achieved/created anything. As another reviewer commented, it is best to photocopy the mechanisms, or you lose understanding of the original instructions.This isn't a book I can recommend.

Whilst the text can be a little intimidating for the absolute beginner, it is possible to make the projects with barely a glance at that text. Obviously, the book is intended as more of a learning resource, though, so it's best to read through a couple of times before embarking on any of the projects. Ideally, you'll want to somehow transfer the projects to card, to perfect them - this could be done by scanning, then printing (if your printer will handle cardstock), or the old-fashioned way, by tracing paper.

Does exactly what it says on the tin! This book is entitled 'Paper Engineering for pop-up books and cards' and this is exactly what this book is all about. If you've ever wondered how those clever pop-up books and cards work, then this is the book for you! In the past, I have always had to re-engineer cards and books I have purchased in order to understand the mechanism behind the magic. Mark Hiner's book unveils these mysteries for you. This book is not a picture book but a 'how to do it' book. The book starts off by stating its purpose and then very briefly covers a bit of the history of 'pop-up'. It is clearly laid out and well organised with explanatory diagrams and notes. Ten mechanisms are discussed and card templates provided for all of them. The idea being that you use these templates to produce actual working models of each mechanism and store them inside the book for future reference. This way you get valuable 'hands on' experience and success is virtually guaranteed!For each mechanism, Mark Hiner discusses the technical considerations, what could go wrong and the 'do's and don'ts'. This is extremely useful and is almost as good as having Mark sat at the side of you. Mark also suggests possible uses for each mechanism which is a great help to those of us that are somewhat creatively challenged! I can thoughly recommend this book, my only grouse and it is an entirely personal one, is the format, which is landscape and I find this difficult to accomodate on my bookshelves without it looking untidy.

A superb introduction to different ways of creating pop-up, with practical exercise that you glue back into the book!