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Pop-Up Perfectionist

Robert Sabuda talks about creating pop-up books

Robert Sabuda transforms white paper into three-dimensional adventures.

Scholastic Art: What is your job?

Robert Sabuda: I am a children’s book illustrator and pop-up book designer. 

SA: How do you make a pop-up book?

RS: I always write the story first. Then  I think about the book visually—almost like I’m watching a movie. I visualize what will happen with each turn of the page. Will it be a big moment—like a car chase in a movie—or a quiet moment? After planning the book, I start making the pop-ups.

Robert Sabuda Studio

SA: How do you make the pop-ups?

RS: I cut hard stock paper and fold and glue the pieces, building the scenes so that they will pop up when the page is turned. I start with a rough version of it  to get the mechanics down. Then I make a more finished version. 

SA: Then do you illustrate them?

RS: Not yet! After all the pop-ups are refined and working properly, I take them apart and flatten them. They look like pop-up roadkill! I scan all the pieces into the computer to make patterns so the manufacturer can make hundreds of thousands of copies of the book. Then I print out new copies of the pieces and illustrate them all by hand. These are also scanned and sent to the manufacturer.

Courtesy of Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, from The Dragon and the Knight by Robert Sabuda

SA: How did you first learn to make pop-up books?

RS: I taught myself by taking apart a few pop-up books. I felt guilty about it, but I wanted to understand how the different bends and angles made things move. Then I started experimenting. There was a lot of trial and error.

SA: What is most challenging about making a pop-up book?

RS: When someone is working on a traditional 2-D book, they can illustrate anything they want. But I have limitations because my pop-ups have to flatten  when the book is closed. Sometimes,  I’ll try something that doesn’t work, and I have to keep reworking it to get it to fold and open the right way. But the most challenging scenes to design end up being my favorites. 

Career Profile: Illustrator

Salary: Children’s book illustrators earn between $46,000 and $100,000 per year, depending on location and experience. 

Education: Many illustrators have a bachelor of arts degree (B.A.) or a bachelor of fine arts degree (B.F.A.).

Getting Started:

  • Read a lot of children’s books. Think about what the illustrator emphasizes, why, and how.
  • Jot down story ideas. Think about what elements of your story should pop up.
  • Draw in your sketchbook every day to develop your own style as an illustrator.

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