New York City Virtual Pop-Up Book

During the early stages of the pandemic, I wanted to create a tribute to New York City through illustration and the web. I decided to create a sort of virtual pop-up book, which was composed out of many layers of drawings, but I also wanted to take advantage of the web functionality by adding interactive elements to them. I wanted to showcase the places in the city that I knew and loved and missed, so I picked 3 of my favorite places and got to drawing.

The first location I picked was Washington Square Park. To me, it’s important because it’s the center of my campus at NYU but also it is (in my opinion) the best park in the city. My favorite is Washington Square Park in the spring, when all the flowers bloom, the weather gets nice, and the people flock back to the grass, listening to street musicians and watching children chase pigeons. I wanted the scene to appear 3D, as if you could almost really be there. I utilized the scrolling function on the website to let the user be able to zoom in and out of the scene, and if the user clicks on the branch in the front of the image, flower petals will slowly drift to the ground.

The second location I picked was the East Village; more specifically, the roofs. Especially during the pandemic, roofs have become especially valued as the only outdoor space some New Yorkers have. Watching New Yorkers adapt most of their activities to rooftops is fascinating; it’s a collection of the world’s most unique individuals left with nothing but the endless possibilities of their creativity. One of my favorite things to do on my rooftop is watching the sunset, so I wanted the viewer of this drawing to be able to do that too by scrolling down the page.

The third location I picked was Astor Place. Along with being close to NYU’s campus, it is also a transportation hub, with the 4 and 6 lines running through its station. It’s also one of my favorite places to eat, study, and hang out in the summer. One of my favorite memories from Astor Place is running through at night with my friends and spinning the cube in the middle. I wanted the viewer of this drawing to be able to do that too, so the spinning is activated with a click.