Take an Inside Look at Insight Editions’ New Hogwarts Pop-Up Book!

At New York Comic Con this weekend, we took a special new look at Insight Editions‘ Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts. Featuring a layout of the castle and its grounds with each page focusing on a different part, from the main castle to the Quidditch pitch to the Forbidden Forest, this is not to be missed.

On first glance, every page is gorgeous, but look closer and the exquisite detail becomes even more apparent. Each page has special pop-out flaps that feature characters and events from the entire series, but there are even more surprises in each of the main pop-ups! Small windows can be pulled aside to reveal the inside of Honeydukes, Hagrid’s hut, the Quidditch stands, and the castle. And look closely at the art; you’ll find Grawp, Umbridge, the Dementors, and spiders lurking in the Forbidden Forest, or see Harry rise through the Quidditch stands to catch the Snitch! Small details are what set this book apart. When pulling the tab to make the Ford Anglia escape Aragog’s lair, a group of spiders pursuing the car are revealed where they were previously hidden, making the movement seem truly alive.

We also had the opportunity to interview the book’s paper artist, Matthew Reinhart, and illustrator, Kevin Wilson. They took us through the creative process of designing the book.

Reinhart began by explaining the concept of the book.

Each spread is a different part of Hogwarts and the grounds. And then we thought about, ‘Well, what do you do with the little small pop-ups on the side?’ and those are going to be little character moments.

After the concept for each page was decided, it was time to start creating the pop-up feature.

The next part is doing the paper engineering and figuring out how [the] mechanics work, and that’s just me in my studio, cutting and folding paper and seeing how the pieces work.

Once the paper models have been made, Reinhart sent them to Wilson to illustrate. Sometimes, that was simply digitally done; other times, the white cards were actually sent so Wilson could see how the pieces fit together.

He would send me the white card version of this as well or the prototype and that helped me in the design process because if you’ve got two walls that are adjoining, there’s no point in me covering moss all over one if this one is clean. Knowing where the pieces slot together and angles that roofs are at helps me get the weathering and the tiles in the right direction.

Sometimes, however, Wilson would need some other references for the art. For example, one of the early pop-up character moments includes Hermione and the Time-Turner. The particular pose Hermione is in in the pop-up has no reference from the films. Instead, Wilson asked his daughter to put on a hoodie and her own Time-Turner, and he used her as his reference, with Emma Watson’s face!

The book took about six to seven months to create, and Reinhart and Wilson are both gratified by the great reception the book has received so far.

Check out our interview below for more behind-the-scenes information!

Find more of Matthew Reinhart’s work on his website or by following him on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Find more of Kevin Wilson’s art on his website or by following him on Twitter or Facebook.

Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts is available for presale now and will be released October 23.