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.

How to design a mini zine in Canva

I made tutorials that show how to set up a design file in Canva to make an 8-page mini zine. The tutorials go over how to set up guides and what the page order will be. Everything in the tutorials is done with the free version of Canva.

There’s a video version you can watch on YouTube.

And a PDF version you can download for free (or pay what you want).

Here are a few preview pages from the PDF.

A guide titled How to design a mini zine in Canva with a subtitle about setting up design files and page order is displayed on a blue background. Instructions for using Canva to create a zine design are provided. A layout guide for zine page order, including instructions for rotating elements and the arrangement of the back cover, front cover, and pages.

If you have any questions or feedback on these tutorials, please send me a message.

Zine: Things we wouldn’t have to worry about if we didn’t depend on cars

I’ve been particularly annoyed lately about how much we depend on cars, so I made a little zine about it. I’m not saying we should eliminate cars completely. I want better public transportation so everyone has more and better options for getting around.

A hand holds a mini zine called Things we wouldn't have to worry about if we didn't depend on cars. The text is printed in black on a white background. Above and below the text, there's a black and white map of Chicago streets. A printed page features text about traffic congestion in Chicago and other cities, detailing car-related concerns. A paper with a printed list of driving-related tasks and challenges. Text that discusses the benefits of reducing car dependency and enhancing public transportation infrastructure.

Zine: An Incomplete History of Zany Brainy

“An Incomplete History of Zany Brainy” is a 20-page zine about a U.S. retail chain from the 1990s. These stores focused on affordable, educational toys for children.

The zine includes background on Zany Brainy, my favorite toys from the store, and what happened to Zany Brainy after the company declared bankruptcy in 2001.

Copies are available on Etsy.

I also made a digital version that is available on Ko-fi (free or pay what you want). You can download the zine as a PDF to read on your favorite screen. Note: This is not formatted for printing and folding a paper copy.

I had a lot of fun collecting info and reminiscing about Zany Brainy while I made this zine. I hope you enjoy reading it!

A zine titled An Incomplete History of Zany Brainy with a colorful, abstract line design on the cover. A timeline and a photo display details about Zany Brainy's history, featuring a colorful store exterior and company milestones. A zine page titled Favorite toys, featuring text and images of children's science toys, including Klutz books and Zap Science.

Zine: Playground games in the 1990s

“Playground games in the 1990s” is a pros and cons list of recess activities that were popular in elementary school. (At least in central Pennsylvania, in the 1990s.)

Each page includes small illustrations relating to playground activities. I drew on Whitelines paper so I could draw with a regular pen and then photograph the paper to use the drawings digitally.

A hand holds a pink zine titled Playground games in the 1990s with a sketch of a playground structure. A pink zine lists pros and cons for four children's games: Kickball, Four Square, Kick Back, and Red Rover. A pink zine humorously lists pros and cons for playground activities: Swings, The Floor is Lava, Double Dutch, and Circle Dodgeball. A pink zine lists pros and cons of games like Horse, Tag, and Knockout. A collection of zines titled Playground Games in the 1990s.

Wayne Manor

Here’s an illustration of Bruce Wayne’s mansion (Wayne Manor). I really like how the blue highlights contrast against the black on the building and the trees.

A sketchbook displays a black and blue drawing of a silhouetted mansion landscape with a bat signal in the sky, flanked by paint markers and held open with clips.

Here’s the pencil sketch I started with.

A sketch of a building and the bat signal is drawn on a spiral-bound notepad with a black pencil resting on it.