Zine: The antidote to social media

“The antidote to social media” is a mini zine that looks at how negative things are outweighing positives on social media. But social media platforms are still a good way to find people to connect with. The zine suggests ways to work around the negative aspects of social media.

The cover a zine titled The antidote to social media. The title is printed in black on bright yellow paper. On the left side of the cover, there's a large potion bottle. Near the lower-right corner, there are small circles with Like and Heart icons.

Copies are available on Etsy (U.S. only).

Auto-generated description: A person holds a yellow paper with handwritten notes about the negative aspects of social media, including ads and privacy concerns. Auto-generated description: A hand is holding a yellow booklet with text discussing the positive aspects of social media and ways to counteract negative influences. Auto-generated description: A person is holding a yellow paper with handwritten suggestions and reflections on going offline and social media.

A lot of my zines start in a notebook page. Here’s where I started writing out what I wanted to include in this zine.

A notebook page with handwritten notes about the zine.

Zine: Children of Immigrants

“Children of Immigrants” is a half-page zine that collects art and writing about immigrant experiences. Thirteen people contributed stories, poetry, photography, illustrations, and collages. 

The finished zine is 8.5" x 5.5", 28 pages (including covers), and printed in full color.

The cover page of Children of Immigrants, a zine that collects art and writing about immigrant experiences. The image behind the text is a collage of passport stamps in various colors, from various countries.

Everyone who contributed to the zine received a complimentary copy. The rest of the copies sold out, mostly at Lancaster Zine Fest. 😃 So, no more physical copies but you can download a digital version from Ko-fi for free or pay what you want.

Note: The digital version is a PDF meant to be read on a screen. The PDF is not formatted for printing and folding a paper copy. 

A page spread from the zine Children of Immigrants. This is a story titled Horrors within the Household. Two pages from the Children of Immigrants zine. The left page has a collage of Mexican-American imagery including colorful flowers, a rosary, an image of the Virgin Mary, a cutout image of Selena (the singer), and playing cards. The right page has a double-exposed photo of a man at an amusement park.' ATwo pages of the Children of Immigrants zine. The left page has a series of handwritten phrases and questions on the theme, Where are you from? Sentences are examples of questions and comments that immigrants hear about their background and language. The right page has a colorful world map. Black text says, Two homelands, two languages, two cultures. Two names, two identities.

Zine: Shoveling sand - My favorite writing advice

“Shoveling sand” is a 20-page zine that collects my favorite writing advice from several writers. I grouped quotes by themes including “keep a notebook,” “don’t worry about being popular,” and “get the first draft down.”

A hand is holding a zine titled Shoveling Sand: My Favorite Writing Advice, featuring a typewriter design on the cover.

This zine measures 5.25 inches high x 4 inches wide. The cover is printed in full color on white cardstock. The interior pages are printed in black and white on 24 lb. white paper. Designed and laid out in Canva.

The first 2 pages of a zine about writing advice. Black text is printed on white paper. The left page says, Keep a notebook, and has some commentary. The right page has two quotes from writers. Page 14 of a zine about writing advice. Black text is printed on white paper. The top of the page says There's more to writing than writing in a large font. Below that, there's a couple sentences of commentary in a smaller font. Four copies of the zine Shoveling Sand: My Favorite Writing Advice are arranged on a red surface.

Zine: Useless Venn Diagrams

“Useless Venn Diagrams” is a mini zine with random observations, put into Venn diagram format. Topics include puzzles, note-taking, and movies.

Printed in black on teal paper. I drew this zine by hand and then adjusted spacing and layout in Canva.

A hand holds a blue sheet of paper labeled Useless Venn Diagrams with two non-overlapping circles drawn on it. Two Venn diagrams compare characteristics. Left page: People who enjoy Tetris vs. people who like jigsaw puzzles. The center of the diagram is people who enjoy organizing things. Right page: Typing notes vs. handwriting notes. The center of the diagram is people who document everything. Left page: Venn diagram shows work that is assigned to me vs. my job. The center overlapping area is very small. Right page: People who watch sports vs. people who say they don't have time for movies. The overlapping area is people who watch every professional sports game. Left page: People who quote movies vs. people who understand movie references. The overlapping area is movie buffs. Right page: Two separate circles. One circle is people who complain about waiting in line. The second circle is people who grew up with dial-up internet.

Zine: Cat's Cradle

“Cat’s Cradle” is a tiny story about mimicking someone. It’s not quite sci-fi, but it feels like it…maybe because it was inspired by a scene near the end of Annihilation. (I won’t spoil the movie and neither does the zine.)

A hand is holding a small booklet titled Cat's Cradle: a tiny story, with colorful lines on the paper. Colorful, curved lines swirl across a two-page spread with text, resembling abstract string patterns. Two zine pages with colorful flowing lines with text describing a rhythmic exchange of poetry, doodling, and yoga poses. A colorful, abstract drawing made with wavy lines is accompanied by text about a training protocol and progress reporting.

Here’s the full text of the story:

It’s like playing cat’s cradle, but we aren’t using string.

I do one thing. She does something else that feels like… an extension. A continuation.

And then we swap.

She does one thing— says a phrase, draws some lines, moves her arm just so.

I extend— a line of poetry, a floral doodle, a yoga pose.

And then we swap.

The training protocol doesn’t specify how to teach. Just that I’m supposed to.

I report progress back to the team.

And then we swap.

A stack of five zines titled Cat's Cradle. The cover has abstract line designs.

Zine: Hipster Doctor Who

Doctor Who celebrates its 60th anniversary next month. I collected some quotes from the Doctor in a zine…with random hipster photos. 🤭 Saturated colors, vintage objects, and a soft tone—this style of photo was all over the internet in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Copies are available on Etsy.

A hand is holding the zine Hipster Doctor Who. The zine cover has a purple, blue, and red galaxy image in the background. Text on top of the image says Hipster Doctor Who in all uppercase letters. 'The inside cover of the zine Hipster Doctor Who. The page includes a series of quotes by the Doctor over a semi-transparent galaxy image. Two pages of Hipster Doctor Who. Page 1 is a vintage photo of a hot air balloon floating over Paris. Page 2 is a photo of broken glass. Two pages of Hipster Doctor Who. The page on the left has a photo of an ocean wave washing across sand. The page on the right has a photo of a sunflower with rain droplets across the photo.

Zine: Work in Progress

“Work in Progress” includes process photos and notes about how I made some of my zines. Not tutorials. More like DVD commentary, but for zines.

I designed this in Canva and printed it through Mixam. (Not an ad, haha. I like sharing how I make stuff. Hence, this zine.)

A hand is holding the zine Work in Progress. The cover of the zine has a light blue background. A photo on the cover shows an index card with notes, some illustrations of a man pushing a boulder up a hill, a notebook, and a purple zine. A close-up view of page 1 from the zine Work in Progress. Pages 2 and 3 of the zine Work in Progress. These pages show rough sketches and finished illustrations from a zine titled How to teleport safely. A two-page spread from the zine Work in Progress. These pages show initial drawings and completed pages from the zine Vignettes from Camelot.

Zine: Modern-day Sisyphus

“Modern-day Sisyphus” is a mini zine about 21st century tasks that never go away.

The zine is inspired by Sisyphus, a figure from Greek mythology who is tasked with rolling a boulder up a mountain, only for the boulder to roll back down every time he reached near the top.

Copies are available on Etsy.

A hand is holding a purple zine titled, Modern-day Sisyphus: 21st century tasks that never go away.

Page 1 has a summary of the story of Sisyphus.

Page 2 lists chores that are repetitive: washing dishes, doing laundry, dusting, and vacuuming. At the bottom of page 2, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

A summary of the Greek myth of Sisyphus is presented alongside a drawing of his struggle with the boulder, with a comparison to mundane tasks like washing dishes and vacuuming.

Pages 3 and 4 list tasks that are repetitive: making the bed, replying to emails, mowing the lawn, taking out trash, and paying bills. At the bottom of the pages, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

A silhouette of Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill is depicted alongside a list of repetitive tasks like making the bed and paying bills.

Pages 5 and 6 list positive things that are repetitive: listening to favorite songs, making a cup of coffee, saying good night to loved ones, cooking favorite meals, celebrating holidays, and spending time on hobbies. At the bottom of the pages, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

A silhouetted figure pushes a boulder uphill against a purple background, accompanied by text about repeating enjoyable activities.

Here’s the back cover:

The back cover of the zine features a thank you message, Instagram information, and a QR code from Mythical Type.

The hot air balloon in Elemental

I watched Elemental without knowing what to expect, because Disney’s marketing missed the mark (again). But I liked the movie overall. One of my favorite parts was seeing how each character used their element, like Ember inflating a hot air balloon.

I wanted to draw the scene with the hot air balloon floating over the city. I started with a pencil sketch. It’s rough. I wanted to figure out the foreground vs. the background and where the balloon was in the sky, in relation to the skyline.

A sketch showing a variety of abstract and geometric shapes resembling buildings and structures.

Here’s a photo of when I was painting the larger areas. I simplified colors and composition (all those buildings!) because it’s so much detail.

A drawing depicts a surreal cityscape with tall blue buildings, a hot air balloon, and glowing fires.

Here’s the finished drawing.

A vibrant, fantastical cityscape drawing that depicts towering buildings with brightly lit windows under a starry sky, featuring a hot air balloon.

Zine: Song lyrics I mishear

“Song lyrics I mishear” is a mini zine that lists lyrics where I hear the wrong words. Each page is about one song and includes the actual lyrics along with what I hear instead.

I wanted the interior pages to be a mix of typed text (the actual song lyrics) and handwritten notes (the words I hear). This way, the pages look like they’re annotated.

Copies are available on Etsy.

A hand is holding a mini zine titled Song lyrics I mishear. Misheard lyrics from All Star by Smash Mouth and Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads. Misheard lyrics from Somewhere Only We Know by Keane and At Least It Was Here by The 88, featuring handwritten thoughts on their lyrics. Misheard lyrics from Move Along by The All-American Rejects and I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles. The back cover of the zine.