vol.62 2025 SPRING

Open a pop-up picture book and watch a three-dimensional world unfold before your eyes as folded designs immediately jump off the page. Spherical pop-up cards embody this childhood wonder and excitement. There is nothing quite like the mystery and fun of lightly tapping the side of a flat sheet of white paper and watching it instantly transform into a 3D shape in the palm of your hand to bring a smile to your face. “It seems quite complicated, but it’s not that sophisticated of a gimmick,” says artist Seiji Tsukimoto with a smile. Watching a sphere be put together, the latticework gradually emerges as ring-shaped parts, cut from the blueprint, are assembled by interlocking them through slits in each piece.

“When the design turns into a sphere, the interlocking cutout rings engage internally and lock into place with a click. Then, when the sphere is gently tapped to collapse, the gears disengage and the rings return to their flattened state. When figuring out designs, it was hard work making tiny 0.1mm adjustments over and over, but when I arrived at this technique, I was convinced that it might just work.”
These uniquely designed creations — 3D art pieces that work as if by magic — quickly caught the public’s imagination.

1⃣ Tsukimoto sketches an illustration on a tablet, which he uploads to a computer to be fine-tuned and rendered as a design. 2⃣ A blueprint of the sphere is produced on the computer and a motif is integrated into the design. 3⃣ - 6⃣ The design is printed out and cut with a plotter, and the work is completed by assembling the cut-out ring-shaped parts.

The many layers of delicate Japanese kiri-e paper cut-outs, framed within a sphere, also help explain the diverse range of people who admire Tsukimoto’s artwork. His motifs are based largely on the fantasy worlds of fairy tales like Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood and children’s books like Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. Silhouettes of these characters, animals, plants, flowers, and even decorated letters, are placed at different heights to create works with depth and composition balance.
“Instead of arranging all of the elements in neat lines so that they don’t overlap, I place them deliberately so that only parts of the elements are visible. I want the viewer to pick the piece up, turn it around, and enjoy it from different angles,” Tsukimoto says.
He also takes care to design the cut-out silhouettes to have a soft freehand look. “A sphere is itself an inorganic form. Which is why I try for overall balance by incorporating organic and warm motifs inside the sphere.”
His SPHERE pop-up cards are even more exquisite when lit. The color and angle of the light highlight the cut-out silhouettes, and the complex shadows cast by the light add both mystery and beauty.

Tsukimoto began creating his papercraft art in 2013. Though he had studied childcare at university and worked as a daycare worker after graduating, he left this job after becoming ill. It was then that he took up his art, aiming to author pop-up picture books, which had been another dream of his.
“When I was working at the daycare, I enjoyed making 3D birthday cards for the children. Starting on a second life, I decided to challenge myself and see if I could be successful doing what I really love to do. I’d always wanted to be a pop-up book author, but writing the story is hard. I was confident, though, in my ability to come up with ‘tricks’ so I thought I could do pop-up cards instead of picture books.” Tsukimoto had loved making things since he was a child, though he was not interested in assembling things like plastic models according to instructions, Instead, he preferred gathering friends together to play with toys he had created and rules he made up himself.
“By the time I was three years old, I was making diagrams of how dice are constructed,” he says, illustrating the excellent spatial awareness that allows him to see objects as three-dimensional.

Tsukimoto is self-taught, developing his own techniques and pursuing original works without studying under anyone. One of the limitations he imposes on his creative work is the material he works with, using only paper.

“I thought about having my work produced in a factory to sell them in mass quantities to earn a living as a pop-up card artist. But I saw that no company would take me on unless I had a product that was sure to sell.

So, I thought why not craft them myself rather than relying on a manufacturer? Using paper means I can print and process it myself, which eliminates the issue of production costs and involves less inventory management risk than mass production. Besides, making them using only paper, without any glue or tape, gives me the pleasure of exploring the element of surprise and beauty in my work.”

Tsukimoto’s material of choice is Kent paper, which he prefers for its high surface strength and very smooth texture that is suitable for assembling creations like his.

“Today, I sell my creations at art events and exhibitions and also outsource sales to a specific retail shop, which gives me more time to concentrate on my creative work,” says Tsukimoto.

When asked about his future ambitions, Tsukimoto says, “I’d like to create more work based on spherical frames, with motifs that move when the gears are turned. I’m also interested in making larger pieces, and pieces with elements that rise up as if popping out of the sphere. My creations are not high art. They are simply items that add color to everyday situations and have a close connection with day-to-day life.

I hope to continue creating work that adds value, by amplifying the feeling of the giver of a gift and making the recipient smile or by bringing a sense of well-being to a room with a small decoration.”

Tsukimoto says that with each new creation he aims to achieve a higher level of art. Watching his work continue to evolve in the future is sure to be a pleasure.

BOOKS

Tsukimoto has published four books to date: from left, SPHERE Fushigina Kyutai Pop-up Card (“SPHERE Mysterious Spherical Pop-Up Cards,” 2016, GRAPHIC-SHA); GEAR WORLD, Haguruma de Ugoku Pop-up Card (“Gear-Driven Pop-Up Cards,” 2019, GRAPHIC-SHA); Yottsu no Katachi ga Tanoshii Rittai Pop-up Card (“Fun 3D Pop-Up Cards in Four Shapes,” 2021, GRAPHIC-SHA), and Sekai wo Tabisuru Pop-up Card (“Pop-Up Cards That Travel the World,” 2022, Boutique-sha, Inc.).