Download photo
(PDF, 102 k)
David A. Carter
Biography
David A. Carter is the mastermind behind the powerful “Bug” phenomenon that began in 1988 with the publication of How Many Bugs in a Box?. Since then he has created a series of Bug books, with a combined sales of nearly 6 million copies. He is also the author and illustrator of the critically acclaimed color pop-up series featuring One Red Dot, Blue 2 and 600 Black Spots, which was named one of The New York Times Best Illustrated Books of 2007. His latest books are The Big Bug Book: A Pop-up Celebration (August 2008) and Yellow Square (October 2008) -- both from Simon & Schuster. He lives in Auburn, California.
The Scoop
How did you get interested in paper engineering and creating pop-ups?
In 1980 I went to work for the pop-up book packager Intervisual Communications in Los Angeles. I had never seen a pop-up book until then and the first project I worked on was Jan Pienkowski’s Robot. Jan’s art was very innovative and I thought that if this was style of work being published as a pop-up, this was the field for me.
What sparked your imagination for your newest books - The Big Bug Book: A Pop-up Celebration and Yellow Square?
The Big Bug Book is the celebration of 20 years of Bug titles. I wanted to make a book that contained my favorite Bugs from the series to share with the young children of today who may not have had the opportunity to read the original books. Yellow Square is the fourth of five titles in my Pop Art series. A series of books that when finished will present fifty kinetic paper sculptures that I hope will tickle your mind.
What challenges do you face in as you create your pop-up books? How do you overcome them?
My greatest challenge is to create an idea that works well with and requires pop-up art. Once I have what I believe is a strong idea, my next challenge is to communicate that idea using pop-up, art and words.
What artists have inspired you?
Early in my pop-up career I was inspired by pop-up artists such as Jan Pienkowski and David Pelham. But before that, when I was in high school, I was inspired by the Impressionists such as Toulouse Lautrec and van Gogh, and later in my life by Postimpressionists like Matisse, Modern artists like Calder, and the Dadaists like Duchamp.
What tips or advice can you share with young students who are interested in creating pop-ups?
Work hard and don’t give up. If something is not working, try, try and try again.
Can you suggest a fun exercise to get them started?
Start with a stack of colored paper, scissors and glue. Experiment by cutting folding and gluing the paper and don’t worry about making mistakes. I consider mistakes to be happy accidents that make the artwork even better. You will be surprised how creative you really are.
How do you decide on themes for your books?
I keep a sketchbook or notebook of small simple ideas and then I go back and forth mixing the ideas until I have big idea or theme that feels right. Sometimes the theme works out and sometimes it doesn’t.
What is your list of favorite children or teen books?
My favorite books from childhood are: The Biggest Bear, Green Eggs and Ham, If I Ran the Zoo, If I Ran the Circus and Tenggren’s Cowboys and Indians. My favorite books as a teen were: Dr. Doolittle and My Side of the Mountain.
If you were not creating books, what do you think you would be doing?
I’m sure I would be doing some kind of artwork - painting, sculpture or possibly animation.
What is your advice to parents for passing the joys of reading on to their children?
Read to your children every night at bedtime. Keep as much reading material, books, magazines, comics and newspapers, as possible around your home and go to the library often. Read everything and anything and do it often. As inspiration for your young artists, keep art supplies handy, have many pictures in your home, and go to art museums and galleries as often as possible. Many state fairs have good art shows.
Book Covers
Big Bug Book |
Yellow Square |
Blue 2 |
One Red Dot |
Whoo Whoo |
600 Black Spots |
|
|
Last Updated: 10/03/2008