Zine Ideas
I registered for an online workshop on making zines on Canva from Charissa, owner of Wasted Ink Zine Distro. They’re a “distribution center for zines, resources/info, and funds in Phoenix, AZ that provides international distribution, printing services, the annual PHX Zine Fest, and an extensive zine library - all dedicated to uplifting voices of historically marginalized creators who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, chronically ill, or neurodivergent”. Included is consultation and 15 print copies of the zine! Really great for such an affordable price. I wasn’t able to attend live but I did watch the recording and it was a great walkthrough. I have made zines on Canva before but I wanted to take the class for better and more efficient ways to do it. Plus I wanna make more use of my monthly paid subscription.
In case you don’t know, zines are usually small run, DIY magazines. They’re made for expression, not really for profit. You can find out more about zines through Bratty Bre’s fantastic resource page who I highly admire. Check out her awesome Instagram and Patreon. Enjoy!
…I don’t know what to make though lol. It’s supposed to be 8 pages including covers. Which don’t seem a lot but you can definitely fit a great deal in there. All I know is I want:
- try something new—experiment with the page and the overall structure
- full-color for sure, take advantage of deep saturation and maybe include photography?
- add interactive elements once they arrive on my doorstep: envelopes/pockets to hold surprises, tip-ins, turn on rivets to reveal, maybe even pop-ups. though it depends on the kind of paper it’ll be printed, but I think I can do light additions for sure
- push myself as a writer/artist. Maybe a lyric essay with footnotes and marginalia. Or a set of poem comics that interlink
I could make a photo zine and mail a copy to the wallflower zine library. I do have a ton of instax film cartridges my friend Stephanie gifted me and an instant camera. I also have film and some other film cameras too. It’d be good to shoot for a theme or project and get them developed.
A long poem comic! Or maybe six one pagers. Or any other possible variation haha. It’d be cool to try a new medium with each page. One as a scrappy collage, another totally digital, watercolors, oil pastels. It’d be fun to experiment and try to make a lot of different ones and publish the ones I adore best.
Flash fiction. A bunch of them in the same setting in different points of view. Or maybe centered around a singular theme. Short story. Maybe told in different forms, like a letter than text exchange, birthday card, graffiti. Or just a plain one. But I wouldn’t be that satisfied with that, I’d love to add footnotes. Or maybe illustrate with photos?
Poems. I’ve been called a poet for many years and never felt truly comfortable with that title lol. But I think I should try to embrace it, plus writing poetry can be fun and it’d be interesting to see what I’d produce til August.
Any combination of the above hehe. It’d cool to showcase a range of these, maybe centered around a specific theme or question. I have til August 4th to submit my pdf which is enough time but a short time. I’m gonna have to read thorough some zines and books to see what I want. I table at zine fests so it’d be great if I could sell it in the future.
If you make zines, let me know! I’d love to check out your work if you post about them online. Hope you have a lovely weekend ahead!