Trace Bullet
Idea
While ruminating about the November card, I got to thinking of private eyes. In particular, the classic, dark, noir style. First, I thought about having a mouse detective, then remembered that Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes had a noir private eye alter ego. Looking at the comics from 1987 to 1991 that featured Tracer Bullet, I loved the dark look of the illustrations, and decided to make Tracer Bullet’s office the subject of the November card.
Trace Bullet appeared three times in the history of Calvin and Hobbes. You can find them on this web site
- May 16, 1987
- February 5–10, 1990
- February 25 – March 2, 1991
Design
The shadow of the blinds had to be a prominent feature. Also, the “Private Eye” sign on the door. Including both was problematic since I needed two walls. I thought about having a wall that swung out, then having the main pop-up pull down behind it, giving two walls at 90°, but it seemed messy. I finally decided to have a door with “Private Eye” on the cover open to show Tracer, and then have the pop-up be the office.
Behind the cover’s door
I didn’t do a small sketch this time since I knew I’d end up making a large one anyway. Below is the sketch. I started with the smaller desk on the left, but as you can see, it was way too small. I enlarged and illustrated it to get the final design.
Sketches
Deep shadows were a prominent feature of the illustrations. Usually, the blinds cast shadows on the wall, and sometimes Tracer, too. I went with a background of blind shadows, a filing cabinet, and a ceiling fan. Looking at the desk in the comics, Tracer’s messy desk usually had several items:
- gun
- bullets
- papers
- liquor bottle
- lamp
- candlestick telephone
I added some photographs, an ashtray, and a shot glass. If you look closely at the photos, you can see a familiar character that Tracer must be investigating.
Mouse!
I decided to go old school on this one and do everything by hand. All the illustrations and cutting of the mechanism were done by hand. The only exception is the printed text on the office floor. I could have done it by hand, but I wanted it to be authentic. Not that my version of Tracer and his office is authentic, but I didn’t want to mess with creating the illustrations on the computer. Since the black was ink painted on the card, you can see it’s not 100% uniform, as if it were printed. The final product is not nearly as good as Bill Watterson’s wonderful comics, but I think it’s recognizable.
Only part not done by hand
The mechanism is a bunch of parallel folds. The desk is the main part attached to the base of the pop-up. There are five other parallel folds attached to the desk to raise Tracer’s body, his feet, the lamp, the liquor bottle, and the phone. Here you can see them underneath the desk. All of them except Tracer’s body are attached to the front of the desk. Tracer’s body is attached to the back wall instead of the front of the desk.
The mechanism
To give a little depth to his name on the desk and the text on the floor, they are folded pieces of card that stand up slightly.
While writing the blog, I realized I had forgotten the garbage can. It was a late addition and yet another parallel fold.
The trash can
This was a fun card to make by hand, and I enjoyed reading all the Tracer Bullet comics again. Bill Watterson was great, and I hope he doesn’t sue me.
Cover
The cover has layers of index paper for the door, with Calvin behind it.
Build
- 150mm x 120mm
- The card is Bristol paper. The mechanism and door on the front are index paper
- The illustration is done with pen and ink.
- The mechanism was cut completely by hand.