#illustration tutorial

1. planning and sketching ideas

I usually start by sketching the illustration I want to turn into a pop up. In this case, it will be for one of my favourite quick recipes, which is mug cake. And I've made some tiny sketches for the main pop up with the ingredients.

We’ll have a bif pop up that will sit at the back of the pages, and this is where some small mugs will be attached. I also want to add two flaps on the bottom corners, which will have the recipe and ingredients written on the inside.

I also made a few detailed sketches of the ingredient, mugs and jars, and also defined a warm colour palette.  

2. making prototypes

I definitely recommend you make some tests before jumping into the final pop up. This will ensure you already know the correct angles and measurements before drawing your illustrations.

For my sketchbook size, I begin by folding an A5 paper sheet in half.

The first angle you need to pay attention to, is the angle between the bottom (base) of your pop up and the middle crease. 

You can go for a 90º angle, which will make your Pop Up sit at a 90º angle on your pages. However, when you look at your sketchbook, most often you’re not really at the same level. You’re usually looking from an upper angle, specially if the book is sitting on a table. 

So I personally like to go for a smaller angle, like 80º, which will tilt your pop up a bit backwards and is more comfortable to look at.

But please, keep in mind this is just my preference, so please go for any angle you like!

After setting your angle, cut the base of your pop up, leaving some tab that you’ll use to glue it to the pages.

The next step is to figure where you want your pop up to sit and mark where it meets the center of the pages.

From there, trace a 20º angle, which is the angle to how your pop up will be glued to the pages.

Next, place your pop up vertically, aligning it with the 20º angle. Close it down, making sure it’s still aligned with the angle. I’ll just mark where the pop up goes off the pages of the sketchbook and trim that excess off.

You’ll get the maximum dimensions of your pop up, so you can draw what you want within that area. 

I also made tests for the flaps at the bottom of the pages.

Now this is an example from one of my previous pop ups. As you can see, the front piece is paralell to the pop up on the back and has a small tab, which is the same size as the distance between both pieces. So, when the pop up closes, this tab pushes the front piece down, making it lay on the page. When it opens, it pulls the piece backwards, making it stand up. 

And this is the same method I'll be using for the front pieces with the mugs.

3. making the pieces

After getting all the prototypes, I transfer them to a mixed media paper. I’m using a paper that’s a bit thicker than printer paper, but is thinner than watercolour paper. I don’t want my sketchbook to get too chonky!

I paint everything with gouache and cut all the pieces.

4. attaching the pieces

This is quite a long tutorial, so I hope Tumblr allows me to post all the photos! 

Now that we have all the pieces ready, is time to glue them to the pages. We’ll start with the pop up at the back.

Firstly, apply glue to on of its bottom tabs. Align it with the 20º line on the corresponding page and press it down.

Then close the pop up and apply glue on the other tab. Close the corresponding page and press it down, to ensure your pop up gets nicely glued.

Open the pages and your main pop up is done!

Glue the tab to the pop up and then glue the front piece to the page and the tab.

Close the pages and make sure the front piece lies down correctly, making any small adjustments if needed. Repeat the same to the other piece.

Finally glue the pieces to the bottom of the pages.

And your pop up is finished!

5. a look at the final pop up

This was a simple tutorial which can help if you want to start experimenting with pop ups. Make sure to check the video on my Youtube for any questions you might still have. But feel free to send me DMs and comments with your questions!