Testing out my paper engineering skills with a 3D kirigami storybook
Bringing Aesopβs classic to life, one pop-up page at a time! π’π¨π”
Colored pencil, ink, and paper on a pop-up layout
This project reimagines the classic fable of The Tortoise and the Hare through a series of multi-layered, interactive pop-up (kirigami) panels. The goal was to combine traditional illustration with simple paper engineering to give a timeless story a dynamic, physical dimension.
Character Design: The characters are designed with an expressive, animation-forward style. The contrast between the rabbit’s wide-eyed arrogance/panic and the tortoise’s calm, winking confidence drives the narrative forward.
Kirigami Each scene utilizes a multi-tier pop-up . By cutting and folding separate paper tabs, the characters stand completely independent of the background plane, casting soft natural shadows that emphasize the 3D depth.
Color & Line: The backdrops feature soft, textured colored-pencil rendering for the landscapes and skies, balanced by clean ink outlines and bold speech bubbles ….to mimic a classic comic strip format.
A tailpiece : Kirigami (εγη΄) is a variation of the much famous Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper. In kirigami, the paper is cut as well as being folded, resulting in a three-dimensional design that pop-up from the page. In Japanese kiri mean ‘cut’, and kami, ‘paper’- so the obvious coined name Kirigami!
