Until 1987 he worked as an artist, a paper engineer and a book designer for a publishing house.
After this he moved into his current career as an author, illustrator, and paper engineer, primarily of children's books.
[2] Carter has created more than 90 books, including a guide on how to make pop-ups titled, The Elements of Pop Up.
[4] Carter and paper engineer James Diaz were awarded the 2023 Meggendorfer Prize for Best Paper Engineering at the 15th annual Movable Book Society Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.
[citation needed] He lives with his wife, Noelle L. Carter in Auburn, California.