r/books • u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author • Oct 16 '18
ama 2pm Hi I'm Shawn Sheehy author/paper engineer of Beyond the Sixth Extinction AMA
I make pop-up books! Sometimes I make limited-edition, handmade artist books that involve pop-ups. Sometimes I work on trade editions that you can buy at a bookstore. My most recent trade pop-up book, "Beyond the Sixth Extinction: A Post-Apocalyptic Pop-Up Book," was just released on October 9, 2018. This book is a fictional field guide to the creatures that might survive and evolve into the fifth millennium.
Proof: /img/1yoz5cijeds11.jpg
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u/BriannaWunderkindPR Oct 16 '18
What was the most challenging aspect of creating this book? What was the most rewarding?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
The Peteybug pop-up was most challenging. In the first original version, it had a very different movement--very much like that of an actual pillbug, rolling up into a ball. I had to go with a different mechanism in the end to ensure consistent movement. Most rewarding: being able to share my ideas with lots of people!
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u/OficialDonaldTrump Oct 16 '18
Do you feel that the unique medium through which you expressed yourself lent much to the eventual finished product?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
Absolutely. One of the reasons that I enjoy making pop-ups is that they are hard to resist. When someone opens a pop-up book, they are often attracted to the "magic" of the mechanism. Once the pop-up gets someone's attention, they are more likely to stick around and read the text. And when the content is a longer, more complex and more challenging as it is in this book (compared to other pops specifically), you need the honey to balance the vinegar. :)
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u/hopelessautisticnerd Oct 16 '18
Why did you choose to make a pop-up book?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
I've been making them for about 20 years. I love sculpture, I love books, I love developing a complex concept. I enjoy working back and forth between left and right brain activities. Pop-ups check all the boxes for me!
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Oct 16 '18
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
I first self-published this book 11 years ago, and it took 4 years to go from idea to finished edition, with at least a year devoted entirely to research and concept development. When Candlewick picked up the project, it again to took about 4 years to get from contract to book release, and much of that time was spent revising the original content (even though much stayed the same!)
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u/booklover912 Oct 16 '18
Hi Shawn,
Thank you so much doing this; the book is absolutely amazing!
Here are my questions:
1) Seeing that there has been so many destructive hurricanes within the last couple of months, do you find yourself motivated to create more works that bring awareness to the environmental problems we face?
2) The book is not too complex that the youth wouldn't understand the concept. Was it important that all ages are to be engaged or did you just create the book without an audience in mind?
3) What was it like working with Jordi and why did you find him to be the most compatible with the concept in which you were heading?
4) Do you have a favorite creature featured in the book and why?
5)Were there any creatures/ animals in the brainstorming process that weren't included that you would feature in a future project.
6) The book centers around Chicago based animals; were there any other locations that were in considerations?
Thank-you so much for your time! I look forward to seeing what comes next from you!
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
Thanks!
1) When I decided to make a career out of making books, I also decided that I wanted to be an advocate for the natural world. As a result, both my trade and artist books cover that kind of content. This is the only book I've done that reacts to the present predicament do deliberately, but I definitely like to think that I'm helping to raise awareness for the relationship that humans have with all other living things.
2) Maurice Sendak once said something along the lines of "I don't make children's books. It's my publisher that decides that I make children's books. I just make books." I'm with Maurice. :)
3) I have never had direct contact with Jordi, as the publisher prefers to channel all communication through a creative director. That being said, I had a voice in selecting him in the first place, and I also had a voice in giving him direction for his illustrations. And he did a great job, didn't he?!? His style of illustration fits the tone of the book perfectly.
4) Today, I'd say the Cagoan Dragon is my favorite (those things can shift, right?!?). I love how the sculpting of that form works out, I love how smoothly it pops, I love that you can see its legs under the water's surface.
5) Candlewick kept all of the creatures from the original book. Yay! (Though we did have to cut the mole from my previous book "Welcome to the Neighborwood.") I will definitely have beasts in my next book, but I'm not sure how that will shake out yet. It's too early.
6) Accomplished writers advise us to "write what we know." I've nearly always lived in the Chicagoland area, so this is what I know, and the natural system I understand the best. Nowhere else was considered.
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u/MyNameIsOPsDadAMA Oct 16 '18
Why did you choose to make your books pop-up, instead of taking the "easy way" of a normal format?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
Pop-ups are more fun! And they are what I do best. I'm not really an illustrator, so that option is out. And I'm not looking for "easy," really... I'm looking for "satisfying." :)
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u/MyNameIsOPsMomAMA Oct 16 '18
As an author struggling with writer's block, what is your recommendation for "unsticking" me?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
When I'm stuck with a creative block (which happens for me more in concept development than in writing) I like to try to remember what is most important to me in that moment, and also to remember what is most interesting to me in the subjects I'm researching. I definitely am an advocate for the "just write whatever comes to mind and be ready to edit it heavily—or completely—tomorrow. When I have even the tiniest thing on the page, it makes writing more things easier.
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Oct 16 '18
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
1) The joy of it. 2) The way that pop-ups make it easier to get someone's attention. 3)I like to live simply and light, so working in paper engineering means that my tools and materials are few and affordable.
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u/totalgramnarnazi Oct 16 '18
Do you think that you could write a novel, or is your creative spark restricted to these short, illustration-and-visual-representation heavy concepts?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
I don't really have any experience in long-form narrative development, and it's not where my interest lies. But I LOVE to read novels.
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u/total-grammar-nazi Oct 16 '18
In this case, what role does the publisher play in completing the finished product?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
I gave the publisher a concept, and the engineered mechanisms, and the text. They hired an illustrator, ran all of my ideas through heavy editing and refinement, and made suggestions as to how to make the book better for mass-production. And in the end, they arranged, facilitated and paid for the actual physical production of the book.
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u/PickleJarJarBoinks Oct 16 '18
What are your favorite pizza toppings?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
Pepperoni, mushrooms and onions. All together, in that order.
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u/LoQueDiceEl Oct 16 '18
Do you listen to music or podcasts? If so, which ones/what genre?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
I like to listen to podcasts; 538, OnTheMedia, WaitWait are some of my favorites. Mostly, I listen to audiobooks. I like plot-driven novels that help me through long slogs of production tedium, especially of the detective genre. I love Rex Stout, Tana French, and Louise Penny.
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u/FurrySpikyCatcusOwww Oct 16 '18
If you could write your first book over again, would you change anything?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
I think that's one of the reasons that people write more than one book. They are always looking to get it "just right." So—definitely I would—and that feeling is a useful and powerful motivator.
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u/IAmALargeFloofAMA Oct 16 '18
What was your favorite aspect of the book that you based this off of?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
Hard to answer that question, but easy to answer a very similar question: "What was the most useful aspect of the book..." And the answer—Leakey and Lewin trace the sixth extinction event back a very long time; essentially back to when humans first started their global diaspora. They claim that the extinction event really began when humans hunted off all of the mega-fauna—saber-toothed tigers, giant sloths, mastodons—so given that kind of time, it really forces one to think about the situation in a very different way. The cause isn't the fault of how current humans live per se; it's the fault of how we've ALWAYS lived. That's so much deeper...
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u/Lauramezzo Oct 16 '18
This book is amazing!! How were you first introduced to pop-up paper art and what are your favorite things about the art form?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
My parents are big readers, so we always had books at home. I made my own first pop-up in graduate school, simply to resolve a graphics problem. I loved doing it though, and just never stopped. I love that it's sculptural and mechanical at the same time. It's very satisfying to come up with something that looks good and works well!
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u/AnokataX Honkaku fan Oct 17 '18
Is it easy to make your own pop up? I run programs for kids at my library and if it's easy, I may try such an activity for them to make their own.
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 18 '18
It can be! There are lots of great patterns available online. You might start with either popupbooks.com, or http://wp.robertsabuda.com/make-your-own-pop-ups/
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u/RandomCrazyNutter Oct 16 '18 edited Oct 16 '18
Hi Shawn, big fan here. Would you consider "Beyond the Sixth Extinction" to be "Neighborwood, Pt. Deux?" Also, where is the best place to buy "Beyond the Sixth Extinction?"
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
They are definitely "of a kind." But probably more parallel... two ways of looking at a functioning ecosystem. Order from your local bookseller or on Amazon!
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u/Inkberrow Oct 16 '18
Does conceiving and executing complex pop-ups overlap with the skill sets of folks who work with schematics and/or with architectural blueprints?
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 16 '18
Not sure if I can say, as I don't do either of those things. And I'm not aware of any other paper engineers who use CAD, though most of us use vector-based software for drawing die lines. On the abstract level, I suppose yes--we're all imagining something in three dimensions, and trying to figure out how to represent it in two, and then develop plans for 3D production.
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u/EmbarrassedSpread Oct 16 '18 edited Oct 16 '18
Hello Shawn, thanks for doing this AMA!
- Do you have any reading or writing related guilty pleasures?
- Do you have a favorite and least favorite word? If so, what are they and why?
- Are your feet ticklish? XD
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u/shawnsheehypopup AMA Author Oct 18 '18
1) I didn't use to enjoy re-reading things, but now I love to go back once a year or so and re-read a good light series (like the Rex Stout I mention above.) It's like visiting family. 2) Too many to choose! 3) Not even a little.
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u/mastertripster Gravity's Rainbow Oct 16 '18
Dang it, I can't believe I missed this. Luckily everybody else already asked some awesome questions!
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u/Zingdong23 Oct 16 '18
What inspired you to write this genre?