Hello everyone! My name is Dylan, and this is my first post as the Printmaking Blogger on Where Creativity Works! Today I am going to talk about zines and teach you how to make one. A zine is a small magazine made for a niche audience. They originated in the 1930s within the science fiction community and are very popular within punk circles. Zines can be political and a form of expression. They can be made by yourself or with friends. There are many different ways to make a zine, but I’m going to show you an eight-page zine! These are the easiest to make because they don’t require any binding, and they are easiest to scan and reproduce.
I love zines because it’s the one instance where I don’t have to worry about the rules of design and instead let my mind flow freely and see where it goes.
What you need:
- One 8.5×11 sheet of paper
- A pair of scissors
- Whatever craft supplies you want
Step 1: Place your sheet of paper and fold it in half hamburger style. I like to use a gift card or other object to fold with so I get very crisp folds.
Step 2: Turn your paper 90 degrees and fold in half again
Step 3: Turn and fold the paper toward you one more time, so when you unfold, you see eight different pages
Step 4: Now it’s time to make a cut. When opening the paper you slice the part in the middle. I like to fold the paper so I can access the area to cut more easily.
Step 5: Open the part you just cut and squish the pages together so it makes a book.
Voila! You just made your first zine. Now you can fill it with anything you want. Write the lyrics to your favorite song, or make a collage about your feelings, the possibilities are endless! I love zines because it’s the one instance where I don’t have to worry about the rules of design and instead let my mind flow freely and see where it goes. I try to make a zine once a month so I can make art for myself instead of an audience.