zines
Sometimes when people read my zines, they say, “This is so clever! How did you come up with this?” Or another version, “I would never think of making a zine about this topic. It’s so cool that you did.”
Those comments are always meant as compliments, and I say thank you for the nice words.
But I feel the exact same way when I read other people’s zines. 😅 There have been SO MANY times I read other people’s zines and thought, “Wow, how did they even think of this?”
Where do your ideas come from?
This post is for WeblogPoMo AMA, a challenge to write AMA-style (“Ask me anything”) blog posts during November.
I’m answering my own question today. If you decide to answer this question in a post on your site, please let me know.
The question
Where do your ideas come from?
My answer
For context — Earlier today I visited a graphic design class at a local college. The professor invited me to talk to the students about making zines. I gave a short presentation about my process and brought examples of zines made by other people.
During the Q&A, the professor asked how I come up with ideas for zines. How do I decide what topics to make zines about?
My straightforward answer is, I just come up with stuff. But that’s not helpful. If someone is asking you how you come up with ideas, it’s because they realize coming up with ideas is difficult. They want to know how you move past that difficulty.
My more complete answer is, I look for inspiration in a lot of different places.
When it comes to movies, TV shows, and books, I lean toward sci-fi and fantasy. But I go broader than that, too, because there are lots of different things to explore in other genres.
I read a lot of articles, newsletters, and blogs from a wide range of people. I read a lot of non-fiction books, on all kinds of topics.
I make a habit of paying attention to ordinary things. Some of my zines were inspired by a random conversation with a friend or an interesting observation on a normal day.
I keep a running list of zine ideas, and I add ideas even if I’m not sure I’ll ever make a zine on that topic. Then when I have time to sit down and work on a zine, I have a list of topics to choose from. There isn’t any pressure to come up with an idea, and it doesn’t feel like I’m starting from scratch.
Spooky season, spooky zine! 🎃 This is “Wandering Through Wonders” by Vlasinda Stormdrain. Copies are available through their shop. I’m excited to read it!
Mythical Type (my site for zines and creative projects) has a new home. Now it’s hosted on Micro.blog!
I migrated my posts from WordPress, and that went smoothly. Thank you to @manton for building an easy way to transition from WordPress to Micro.blog. 🙂
I have some formatting to clean up and updates to make. But I’m excited to have an easier way to share my art projects online.
New zines I picked up from Antiquated Future. 🙂
Contributor zine: Urban Legends
“Urban Legends” is a quarter-page zine that collects art and writing about urban legends, myths, and folklore. Eighteen people contributed stories, poetry, illustrations, and collages. Work was submitted from the U.S., Canada, Scotland, Belgium, and Germany.
The finished zine is 36 pages (including covers); 4.25" wide x 5.5" high; printed in black & white; and bound with staples.
The cover is white cardstock. Interior pages are 24 lb white paper.
I’m mailing copies to contributors this week. Limited copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only).
If you’re outside the U.S. and interested in a copy of the zine, please message me.
I made some simple Halloween stickers to tuck into zine orders. 👻 ✨ 🎨
Designed in Canva. Printed on a thermal printer.
I organized a contributor zine about urban legends, myths, and folklore. Yesterday I printed out a bunch of copies. Now I’m cutting and folding pages. 🎨
Friendly reminder that art doesn’t usually come out the way you want it on the first try…or the third, or the fourth. 🙃 🎨
Yesterday I led a zine-making station at a public library fundraiser. I had a table full of young zine makers in the afternoon. Hopefully they’re inspired to make more zines! 🎨
I made these mini zines earlier this year as freebies to hand out at events. Here’s a freshly folded batch for a public library fundraiser I’m going to in a couple weeks. 🙂 🎨
