TEXT / Kiki Bai
PHOTOS / Kiki Bai、John Leong
In addition to being used for writing, a piece of paper can also be transformed from a two-dimensional to a three-dimensional form and then made into a book. The moment the page is turned, the reader will be led to a magical journey of knowledge. The “Pen and Paper Is More Than One Possibility” is a Pop-up Book Workshop held by the public libraries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), in which participants could carefully observe the pop-up books with a hidden universe, and then complete the paper sculpture and structure of the book by putting the pieces together to create their own ingenious and unique pop-up books, making reading more than a possibility!
Mira Lao believes that the built-in mechanism of the pop-up books will help stimulate people’s interest in reading.
Pop-up books are a comprehensive presentation of paintings, paper sculptures and structures which contains different mechanisms and designs, and the pop-up patterns also make reading more interesting and diverse. Mira Lao, the instructor, said that pop-up books can have different layers of structure and are widely used. Complex information can be clearly presented, in a three-dimensional way, in relatively more practical books such as popular science books, making it easier for readers to understand the content. In addition, the atmosphere of other interesting books such as picture books could be presented in the form of three-dimensional illustrations, which can help children explore the fantasy world and imagination space of the book. These all give pop-up books a different sense of intimacy. “Readers have actually become participants the moment they open the pop-up book, they would discover different surprises everywhere during the process, and the drawing is also more colorful and lively than ordinary books”, Mira claimed.
Mira Lao is showing the libraries’ pop-up book collections to participants.
Participants are making their own pop-up books attentively.
The workshop was specially divided into adult sessions and parent-child sessions. According to Mira Lao, the content design of the adult sessions focuses more on the process and structure, which is composed of three-dimensional elements of different parts whereas the production of the parent-child sessions focuses on free creation, and participants can fold a piece of paper to create different three-dimensional effects, which is more simple and interesting for children. Pop-up books are various and diverse, complex and changeable. As they set the themes and draw sketches at the very beginning, the creators already have to first think about what three-dimensional effects are to be put in the book. Then, they have to create samples and study how materials are used in the mechanisms. This process tests the creators’ patience and carefulness. “Sometimes the idea can be perfect, but how creators put different parts together to achieve the desired three-dimensional effects is extremely challenging. Although the production is not easy and different mechanisms can be added during the process, which is also the interesting part of making pop-up books.”
Mira Lao suggested that pop-up book lovers should first read different types of pop-up books to carefully observe the internal structure, and remember more example designs of pop-up book structures. Starting with the most basic elements, they could also try and practice repeatedly to master the skills. “There are not many types of pop-books being sold in Macao, and their prices are also relatively high. In fact, the libraries have many collections of pop-up books which can be used as references for everyone to find their inspiration for creation.”
Miss Lok experienced the making of pop-up books in the workshop for the first time and thought the process was very interesting.
As a member of the education sector, Miss Lok said that although she often comes into contact with pop-up picture books, it was the first time she made a pop-up book in the workshop, which are valuable memories and experiences for her. She also believes that the design of pop-up books is more diverse than ordinary books, which can help stimulate children’s reading perception and their motivation to read. For adults, they are more curious about the skills of making pop-up books. Therefore, it can be seen that pop-up books are very popular among adults and children.
Miss Chou hopes to apply the techniques of pop-up book making to greeting cards.
Miss Chou, who often goes to the libraries with her son, said that the content of pop-up are vividly displayed, which can arouse the reading interest of adults and children and break our stereotype of books. For her, the most difficult part of making a pop-up book is the process of bringing the pieces together. If a certain piece is not passed correctly, it will affect the production and needs to be fixed from the beginning. However, with the patience and step-by-step guidance of the instructor, the process was very smooth. In the future, I will borrow more relevant books and apply the techniques of pop-up book making to birthday cards.
