The Calling of Cthulhu
Pop-up adaptation of the short story
My roles
English-to-Spanish translation, editing, illustration, and coloring
Context
A collaborative academic project: a pop-up book adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s classic short story, The Call of Cthulhu. The goal was to introduce cosmic horror literature to a teenage audience through an accessible, visually engaging approach.
Process
We started by choosing a well-known horror short story that had no Spanish version, let alone one for a young audience. We read the story in the original, then summarized and translated it into Spanish. Next came a conceptualization phase to define the illustration style and the typographic and visual elements of the pop-up pages, followed by a flatplan mapping out the illustrations and which pages needed pop-up elements to reinforce the story at specific moments. The illustrations were produced and the content laid out, working through color, typography, and drop caps, then the book was printed with a hardcover and the pop-ups were added by hand.
Impact
The design and layout of the pop-up book were well received, particularly the typography choices for the drop caps and illustrations, as well as the main Cthulhu pop-up. The book’s purpose was achieved: the final result was visually striking, and the content was legible and easy to follow.
Learnings
Through this process I learned about the different types of pop-up mechanisms and how to implement them in a book, as well as how to plan illustrations for a young-adult book so they carry a clear visual rhythm.
