What's Popped Up: Max's Machines

Willy Bullock's Max's Machine (Scholastic 1999) is more than a pop-up book; it's an engineering feat. Max is a mechanic who pulls levers and pushes buttons he probably shouldn't, including the ejector button on his plane! On each spread vehicles pop-up and, with the help of giant pull tabs, lift, tilt, and fly.  My favorite is the dump truck. Pulling the tab makes the back of the truck tilt back and "dump"  the dirt out. It's a nice big book for curious little hands.

Word of the Day: Melismatic

melismatic \mi-liz-MA-tik\ adjective

Characterized by the singing of several notes to one syllable of text, for emotional impact, as in blues or other musical styles.

Melismatic comes from the Greek word melisma "music"

Artist Watch: Edholm Ullenius

Edholm Ullenius is a studio of two people, Sissi Edholm and Lisa Ullenius.  They are based out of Stockholm and have worked with a wide range of clients like Ikea and Paul Smith.  Their work is graphic but incorporates whimsical little line drawings and sometimes it's reminiscent of Matisse's paper cut outs.  Edholm Ullenius' work has been on multiple surfaces including fabric, bottles, packaging, and tote bags.  Check out more of their work on their website.

 

 ~ Jess

What's Popped Up: National Geographic's Undersea Animals

Undersea Animals is one of my all-time favorite pop-up books. First published in 1987 by the National Geographic Society, it was engineered by John Strejan and James Diaz, illustrated by award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney, and written by Jane H. Buxton. I particularly like the pop-up of the giant kelp; two plants slide past each other as the page opens, and it's a nice effect. The book has lots of fun pull tabs and wheels that make the creatures move.  Pinkney's art is stunning. This one is a pop-up classic!

Word of the Day: Tutelage

Tutelage \TOO-tuhl-ij\ noun

1. The act of guarding or protecting; guardianship; protection.
2. The state of being under a guardian or tutor

Artist Watch: Carl Samson

Gifted portrait painter Carl Samson began is training at the age of 14 and never looked back!  He's won numerous awards for his work along the way.  One of our favorites is his stunning rendition of Queen/Senator Padmé Amidala from the prequel Star Wars films (a popular subject here in the studio). 

Take a peek at this article on the Artist Network about Samson's process here.

And to learn more about Samson and his amazingly real portraits, click here!

~Jess

Word of the Week: Flibbertigibbet

Flibbertigibbet \FLIB-ur-tee-jib-it\ noun

A silly, flighty, or scatterbrained person, especially a pert young woman with such qualities.

Artist Watch: X3 Productions

"What forces shape you?" That is the question at the heart of Star Wars Identities: The Exibition now showing at the Montreal Science Centre. The exhibit, developed by the Centre and scientific advisors, explores the factors that make us who we are, including genetics, friends, and many other components. The artists at X3 Productions created amazing portraits revealing the identities of your favorite Star Wars characters.

The exhibit is in Montreal until September 16, 2012, and at the TELUS World of Science in Edmonton October 27, 2012 through April 1, 2013.

Artist Watch: Bernadette Pascua

Bernadette Pascua is a NYC based illustrator.  Her work has been featured in many fashion magazines.  Pascua's style is really refreshing in the illustration world (to me at least) with the use of watercolor, ink, and digital touches.  She uses the uncertainty of the watercolor and ink to her advantage creating pieces that are reminiscent of early Andy Warhol's advertisements.

Check out more of Pascua's work on here website:

http://www.bernadettepascua.com/

 

 

 ~Jess

Word of the Day: Perspicacious

perspicacious \pur-spi-KEY-shuhs\ adjective


1. Having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning.

Artist Watch: Garth Britzman

Designer Garth Britzman created a beautiful and ingenious use for plastic soda bottles. At first his car canopy design looked to me like floating flowers. But look carefully and you'll see that each flower is actually a bottle filled with a little colored water. What a creative way to reuse materials!

DIY Pop Up: Mother's Day Cards

Mother's Day is around the corner!  Why not try your hand at creating a special card for the mothers in your life?  We have a few on matthewreinhart.com to choose from!  Click the photos below for the steps and the printable templates!

Artist Watch: Malin Koort

Malin Koort is an illustrator/designer living in Stockholm, Sweden.  Her art ranges from mini paper figures, collage, and ink drawings.  I'm totally in love with her paper people, each one has so much emotion and tells their own story.  And there seems to be a bit of humor in there as well.  Also her collage work is is beautiful.  Definitely explore more of Koort's work on her website!

 ~Jess

What's Popped Up: Carol Barton's Newest Book!

Here at the studio we're always looking for new pop up books, and I have to say we're very excited for Carol Barton's newest book, The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume 3: V-Folds (it comes out in May!)!  Ms. Barton has created many pop up books and instructional pop up books that I recommend to people who want to learn more about making pop ups.

This third volume deals with V-Folds and how to create and integrate them into your pop ups.  This book is filled with tutorials and has ten do-it-yourself projects that are inside the book!  You can check out more about this book and pre-order it on Ms. Barton's website.

~Jess

Artist Watch: Joel Cooper

Joel Cooper's work is mind boggling.  He creates tessellations and intricately folded masks out of single sheets of paper!  It's really incredible!  Joel has also been kind enough to share some of his secrets on his website.  His pieces look like they're woven out of paper.  See for yourself!

~ Jess

Artist Watch: Leagas Delaney Group

The internet is filled with so many great images!  Check out these ads that the Leagas Delaney Group created for Plant for the Planet campaign.  The leaves appear to be hand cut, leaving incredibly detailed images behind.

The campaign is about planting trees to help lessen carbon dioxide and also planning for the future of the Earth.  You can find out more on their website.

~Jess

What's Popped Up- Nomad Brush

I am always blown away with digital painting-- how realistic they can be!  Mimicking the way paint smudges or how a crayon is a little rugged.  I've now just discovered the Nomad Brush, which is a digital brush that works on iPads and iPhones (and possibly other tablets).  Check out the video below to get a sense of what I'm talking about!


Nomad Brush: A Portrait from Don Lee on Vimeo.


~Jess

Artist Watch: Riusuke Fukahori

When I saw these goldfish I couldn't believe that they were made of paint and resin!  Artist Riusuke Fukahori meticulously paints between layers of resin to create three dimensional objects that appear to be floating in water.

Check out the video below to see him in action!



To see more of Fukahori's work check out his website!

~Jess

Artist Watch: Lauren Clay

Thanks to a fellow paper engineer Shelby,  I have discovered Lauren Clay's amazing paper sculptures.  Clay has a background in painting and her sculptures have blossomed from them.  She mainly uses papier-mâché and painted cut paper for the sculptures.  Check out some of my personal favorites below and be sure to go to her website to see more!

~Jess