Creating my first zine
- elle walker
- May 9, 2020
- 3 min read
The mock-up
The first step on the road to creating the 14:00 zine was to create a mock-up for the purposes of envisioning how the finished article will look. I followed the steps shown on www.experimentwithnature.com on how to create a one-page A4 zine.
Once I understood the mechanism as to how to fold the paper correctly, I decided to use Polaroids for the content. I alternated colour and black and white images to create visual interest.
As a very quick experiment to create a rough zine which would echo the raw feel of the Polaroids, I was generally happy with the outcome, with a few exceptions. Creating the template in MS Word was simple enough but ensuring that the size of each image was consistent was more difficult. Another issue was that I hadn’t removed the gridlines, which are visible between each image. The final point was that I hadn’t given any thought to a front or back cover. I hastily created the front cover using a blank Polaroid template and a two-minute drawing from ProCreate for the back cover. I didn’t want to use another image as I wanted to keep an even split of colour and black and white images.
The second model was on a slightly larger scale: the first ten images from 14:00 in A6 size.
I was limited to household objects for the binding, so I used some red wool from a jam making kit.
My first attempt was incorrect due to the front cover being positioned in place which should be occupied by the back cover. I started again, ensuring the pages were in the correct place.
When inserting the images into the template, some of them were rotated incorrectly, resulting in the layout of the room being reversed. I wasn’t overly concerned with this, but it was something I would have to be careful of in the future. I had also noticed that the size of the images was incompatible with the size of the zine template. My preference was to have full-bleed images but despite creating my template without margins, the printed copy revealed a 3 mm margin/border on the cover page and a 5 mm border on the 2, 3, 8, 9, sheet of paper. I had to make some instant decisions about how to place each image within its cell: which areas of the image were cropped out and which parts would remain was an important choice, as it would affect the overall narrative.
I also noticed that the colour was a little inconsistent on pages 4 - 7 but this could be due to the limitations of household inkjet printer, the highly absorbent copy paper, as well as printing them in RGB colour space as opposed to CMYK. Finally, on one of the pages I had again omitted to remove the gridlines. This will not be a concern for the final zine as it will be printed by professional printers and the design software will ensure that no such lines are visible.
The initial feedback was very positive with some of the comments identical to my own thoughts: there should be a border around the images, using black fabric of some kind to bind the zine and using smaller images. I hadn’t added the black border at that point as I was waiting until I was preparing a life-size mock-up so I could have a clearer view as to how the final piece would look.
Had current circumstances been different, the binding would have been black, either a small length of wool or ribbon or other similar fabric, to provide visual balance with the colour palette of the images. As a first attempt, I am pleased that I have the resources at home to create something tangible from my photography.
The finished product.
I LOVE these little DIY books, it was such a shame we could make then in college with all the lovely bookbinding materials but hopefully, there will be an opportunity in level 6