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.

Bluth's Frozen Banana Stand

Here’s an illustration of Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand from Arrested Development.

A sketch depicts a colorful drawing of a banana stand labeled Bluth's Original Frozen Banana with two people inside.

I started with a pencil sketch to draw the outline of each building.

A spiral-bound sketchpad features a line drawing with geometric shapes and curved lines.

Zine: Movies I never want to see again

“Movies I never want to see again” is about movies I watched one time and do not want to watch again. This doesn’t mean they’re bad movies! But something about them makes me feel like once is enough.

I drafted this zine by hand and then I made it in Canva. The popcorn bucket on the front cover is modified from Terrance Barksdale’s photo on Pexels.

A person is holding a red zine, titled Movies I never want to see again, with a small illustration of a spilled popcorn bucket. A person holds a red zine featuring brief commentary on the movie District 9. A red zine with commentary on the movies Annihilation and Jupiter Ascending. A red zine with commentary on the movies 2001: A Space Odyssey and TRON. Five copies of the zine Movies I never want to see again, fanned out on a yellow background.

Metropolis at night

Here’s an illustration of the Metropolis skyline at night.

A sketch of a city skyline at night features illuminated buildings, against a starry sky.

I started with a pencil sketch to outline each building.

A pencil sketch of a cityscape is drawn on a spiral sketchbook.

I started painting by covering the large areas first: slate gray for the sky, black for some buildings, and gray for some buildings.

A sketchbook features a stylized painting of a cityscape with abstract buildings and a central circular element.

Then I added in all the details.

A stylized cityscape illustration features tall buildings and a starry night sky.

Walking into Hill Valley

Here’s an illustration inspired by a scene in Back to the Future: Marty walking into Hill Valley.

A person wearing a red vest is walking on a road toward a sign that reads Hill Valley 2 miles.

I made this as part of a course on illustrating with Posca pens. The assignment was to use two shades of the same color as the main colors in the piece. Since a lot of this image is grassy fields, I chose two shades of green. I kept Marty’s outfit realistic (orange vest and blue jeans) to signify that he’s out of place…or, more accurately, out of time.

Here are some thumbnail sketches I did prior to painting the scene. I wanted to test out colors–what looked good for the grass and Marty’s outfit.

A series of four simple, hand-drawn thumbnails depicting a person walking along a path with a sign that reads Hill Valley 2 Miles.

And here’s the simple pencil sketch I started with.

Auto-generated description: A simple sketch of a person walking along a road with a signpost in the background.

The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron

I took an online course on illustrating with Posca pens taught by James Chapman. He has posted lots of his sketchbook pages to his Instagram.

I had a couple Posca pens for a few years, but I hadn’t done much with them. I saw this course and thought it would be a great way to practice with Posca pens.

The course covers how to create a pencil sketch to get the composition down. Then it explores various color schemes to determine how to color the illustration. I especially like the challenge of limiting the number of colors used.

I like the process I learned in this course. It takes me several hours to finish an illustration, but I really enjoy the time I’m spending learning and practicing. I’ll share my illustrations here as I finish them.

The course encourages choosing a theme that will motivate you to keep working on sketches. I chose places in movies, TV shows, and books. First up is The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron.

Here’s the pencil sketch:

A pencil sketch depicts a cityscape with a focus on a Candy Bar building featuring an oversized candy sculpture on its roof.

I chose to go with realistic colors, so I used Posca pen colors that are close to what this location looks like in the show.

Here’s a progress photo, with the larger areas of color done:

A colorful drawing depicts a cityscape with buildings, a dome-shaped cafe, and large candy sculptures on the roof.

And here’s the finished illustration:

A whimsical illustration of a candy-themed shop with colorful lollipops on the roof, surrounded by modern buildings under a blue sky with clouds.

I really enjoyed making this as my first attempt at a Posca pen illustration!

Zine: My 20-minute rule for movies

“My 20-minute rule for movies” is about how I don’t feel guilty when I stop a movie I don’t enjoy. I give any movie a fair chance, but I’m okay turning it off if it’s not for me.

I made this zine in Canva. It’s 12 pages, printed in black and gray scale on orange paper.

A small orange booklet is titled My 20-minute rule for movies with a film reel design on the corners. Page 1 of the zine with text about someone's movie preferences and their approach to deciding if they want to continue watching a movie. An open orange booklet features the text watching movies. An orange zine titled My 20-minute rule for movies is decorated with film strip graphics. A hand is holding an orange zine with the text My 20-minute rule for movies on it.

Zine: How to Deal with Small Talk

“How to Deal with Small Talk” is a collection of tips for how to handle small talk conversations.

Maybe you’re like me and small talk drags you down. And maybe, like me, you have to put up with it anyway. Hopefully this zine can help.

This zine is printed in full color. I made the background pages using blue, purple, and red inks. Some pages have digital illustrations. All the text is typed.

It might be difficult to tell from the photos, but I tried a new page size for this zine, and I like it! A 12-page zine, printed double-sided on one 8.5x11-inch sheet of paper. The finished zine is about 3.5 inches high x 4 inches wide and bound with staples. And these dreamy cotton candy colors are on every page.

Glorious.

A zine titled How to Deal with Small Talk: a practical guide. A zine page with encouragement to pretend to be a person who likes small talk, set against a colorful background. A pastel-colored zine page displays the phrase Leave them with a sense of mystery. A hand holds a zine titled How to Deal with Small Talk: a practical guide. A zine titled How to Deal with Small Talk is placed on a textured surface.

Original or the clone

The Philly Zine Fest is accepting submissions for their Anthology zine. I made a collage with a bit of text I’ve been waiting to use somewhere.

The background is photocopied aluminum foil (for real!). I simply cut a piece of aluminum foil and made a copy of it. Then I crinkled the aluminum foil a bit and made another copy. That became the background for this page.

The woman’s face and hands are stock photos taken by Ospan Ali, available on Unsplash. The text is something I wrote a while ago and hadn’t found a place for…until now. 😉

This collage is a very different style for me, and I really like how it came out! The great thing about submitting to zines is that there’s room to experiment. It feels like low stakes, since it’s only one page.

A collage of fragmented human faces with text overlays reflecting on the concept of identity and originality.

Halloween collage

I contributed a page to Webs Across the Campfire, vol. 2, a special Halloween zine from Vlasinda Productions. Copies are available in their shop.

For my page, I wanted to make a collage. I had paper from my ink color experiments to work with. I cut these into shapes for clouds, a moon, and pumpkins.

Paper collage elements for a moon, purple clouds, spider webs, and pumpkins.

For the spider webs, I drew on black cardstock with a white gel pen. Then I photocopied the webbing, so I had sections to work with.

Here’s the finished page, with text I printed and glued on, a clip art house I modified, and black cardstock for the hill.

A silhouette of a haunted house with glowing windows is set against a purple sky with a large moon, surrounded by pumpkins and spider webs, accompanied by text about fear and knowledge.

How to lay out a zine in Canva

When I worked on my zine, Timers for Travelers, I finished the writing first. I knew I wanted illustrations throughout the zine, some hand-drawn and some digital. I decided to lay out the zine in Canva so that I could combine text, digital elements, and hand-drawn elements.

I’m really happy with how the zine came out, so I want to document my process. This is less a tutorial of Canva and more a walk-through of how I used it to put together my zine.

Canva is a free tool for graphic design. Although there are paid tiers, everything in this post was done with the free version. You can use Canva directly in an internet browser and there are apps you can download, too. If you haven’t used Canva before, you’ll need to create a free account.

Create a new file in Canva

Click on the Create a new design button and then click on Custom size. Enter the dimensions for your zine pages. For example, a quarter page zine would be 4.25 inches wide x 5.5 inches high. This file becomes your working file.

Make your zine

Make the pages of your zine with whatever method works for you. You can write text directly in Canva. I find it easier to do all my writing first in a word processor (I use Google Docs) and then copy and paste text into Canva.

Canva has a lot of graphic elements and images you can use for free. All the photos available in Canva are stock images from Pexels and Pixabay, and they are royalty-free.

Since you can upload images into Canva, you can draw on paper and scan pages. Then upload your drawings into Canva, and add them to your working file.

Note: Add page numbers last! If you’re making pages and don’t know what order they’re going to be in yet, don’t number pages. Instead, add page numbers after you have pages arranged in the order you want for the finished zine.

I like leaving my working file as is, like a draft. So when it’s time to print my zine, I make a copy of the working file (File » Make a copy). This becomes the print file.

Since the pages will be printed on 8.5 x 11-inch paper, cut, folded, and stapled, they need to be arranged in the correct order for printing.

To figure out the print order of the pages, I make a mock-up version of the zine with scrap paper. There are lots of ways to do this. Here’s how I figure out page order.

Go to the print file in Canva and rearrange the pages for printing. You can drag and drop pages or use the up and down arrows above each page to change where they are.

When I’m moving a lot of pages around, I like working in grid view. Click on the button in the bottom right of the screen that looks like a stack of papers with a number on it.

Screenshot of a zine layout in grid view in Canva.

When you’re done arranging pages, download the print file as a PDF. Click on the Share button (top-right). Then click on Download. For “file type,” choose “PDF Print.”

Open the PDF file on your computer. Go to print settings. Find the option for pages per sheet, and change this to 4. This will print 4 of your zine pages on one 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. Make sure two-sided printing is selected.

Print your zine. Cut the pages in half horizontally and then fold them. If you ordered the pages correctly in Canva, then the pages should be in the correct order when you assemble them as a booklet.

How to figure out page order for printing zines

How do you arrange zine pages so they print in the correct order? There are lots of ways to do this, depending on the size of your zine and the number of pages. Here’s one method for quarter-page zines.

Shout-out to Ryan at Pocket Thoughts. His method for printing quarter-page zines is the first one I learned. What I have below is similar to the way he does it.

Here’s how I determine page order for printing zines.

This example is with a quarter-page zine where the cover is blue cardstock and the interior pages are standard white copy paper.

A hand holding Timers for travelers zine. The zine cover is blue paper. The title is printed in black. A pattern of overlapping circles is behind the title

Printing a quarter-page zine on 8.5 x 11-inch paper means that you have 4 zine pages on the front of the sheet of paper and 4 zine pages on the reverse side of the sheet. So that you don’t have (unintentional) blank pages, your total number of zine pages should be a multiple of 4.

I make a paper dummy (aka mock-up) to figure out the page order. The process might be difficult to follow in writing, so I made a video explaining my method. The rest of this post is the method written out.

Watch the video on YouTube

To make the mock-up, I use scrap paper that’s the same size as what the actual zine will be printed on (8.5 x 11 sheets of paper). If you’re going to have a different paper for the cover, you can use a different color of scrap paper or just mark the paper somehow so you know that’s the cover.

Cut the 8.5 x 11-inch pages in half horizontally.

A sheet of paper with a horizontal line of dashes across the middle of the paper.

Then fold the half-sheets vertically and put them together as a booklet. You should have the same number of pages as what you want your finished zine to be. Zines with 16 pages are common, so that would be the covers plus 12 interior pages.

Don’t staple the pages since you’ll be taking them apart anyway.

Label the front cover, back cover, and interior pages.

A booklet with a green cover. Handwritten text says, front cover.

Take the pages apart, unfold them, and lay them out as if they were 8.5 x 11-inch sheets of paper. You’ll have groupings with 2 half-sheets. Then you can see how the zine pages should be ordered for printing. Flip the half-sheets over to see which zine pages would be on the reverse side of the page. This will show you how to arrange zine pages for double-sided printing.

Auto-generated description: A blank piece of paper is folded with numbers 12, 1, 10, and 3 written in the quadrants.

Depending on the number of pages in your zine or if you want to use a different type of paper for the cover, you may end up with a half-sheet on its own. In this case, for the print layout you can copy and paste the top half of the sheet to the bottom half. So on the 8.5 x 11-inch sheet of paper, the top half would be the same zine pages as the bottom half.

Take notes so you remember the page order. These can be rough since they’re just for reference when you’re arranging pages in layout.

I use “1A” and “1B” to indicate that’s one sheet of paper, front side (1A) and back side (1B). Then “2A” is the front of the second sheet of paper and “2B” is the back of the second sheet of paper.

A piece of paper features four diagrams labeled 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B, each divided into four sections with text inside them.

As long as you figured out the sequence correctly, you’ll be able to print and assemble your zines in the correct page order.

Zine: Timers for travelers

“Timers for travelers” is a 20-page zine about time travel. It includes:

A hand holds a blue zine titled Timers for Travelers and other thoughts about time travel. Circular designs are above and below the text.

Pages were made with a combination of hand-drawn illustrations, digital elements, and typed text.

The zine measures 5.5 inches high x 4.25 inches wide (quarter-page zine). The cover is blue cardstock. Interior pages are printed in black and white on 24lb white paper. The zine is hand-folded and bound with staples.

An open zine, displaying a passage about how time travelers may lose their sense of time. A zine spread with time travel tips and an ad about a career in time traveling. An open zine with a page that features a constellation drawing with a poem and time travel tips. Two copies of Timers for travelers lying on a yellow surface.

Zine: Everyday Time Travel

“Everyday Time Travel” is about ordinary moments that feel like time moves differently than normal.

A hand is holding a small zine titled Everyday Time Travel with a decorative geometric pattern.

Out of the zines I’ve made so far, this one probably came together the fastest, from the initial idea to the finished zine.

I made the backgrounds with scrapbook paper, and I added some details with fineliner pens. Then I wrote the text on white paper, tore out pieces, and glued them over the scrapbook paper. I like how all the colors and patterns came together.

Here are the interior pages:

A vintage-style page spread with orange paper, a retro telephone, and a message about time slowing down on Friday afternoons or when on hold. A zine spread with a poetic quote about quiet moments with snowflake patterns and yellow and blue backgrounds. A textured purple background with musical notes. Handwritten text describes how time and memory interact with music, emphasizing the effects of playing songs on repeat and singing verses out of order.

And the back cover:

A hand is holding a the back cover of a zine with a thank you message.

Zine: Questions to ask yourself, part 3

“Questions to ask yourself: Part 3” is a hand-drawn mini zine with thoughtful questions and illustrations.

A mini zine titled Questions to ask yourself: Part 3. The subtitle says, Moods change with context. The zine is printed on white paper with black text. A page spread with handwritten text that says, Which do you enjoy more--starting or finishing? The drawing on the left page is a ball of scribbles. The drawing on the right page is neat rows of squares. A page spread with handwritten text that says Which do you find more difficult--jumping in or letting go? An illustration on the left page shows two wavy lines that then intersect into a double-helix on the right page. Near the right edge of the page, the lines separate.

This is part 3 in a series.

Three mini zines titled Questions to ask yourself Parts 1, 2, and 3 are arranged against a bright green background.

Zine: Vignettes From Camelot

“Vignettes From Camelot” includes glimpses into the lives of Arthurian characters: Merlin, Morgana, Arthur, and an unnamed messenger.

The zine is 16 pages long with 4 original stories and hand-drawn illustrations inspired by nature and magic. It’s printed in black and white. I couldn’t decide on a blue or white cover, and neither could my Instagram poll. 😂 So I made both versions.

Two copies of a zine titled Vignettes From Camelot feature a drawing of a sword in a stone on the cover. One zine has a white cover and the other zine has a blue cover.

The stories in this zine started as a series of tweets I wrote a few years ago. My original idea was to write 10 tweets in a thread and have that be one story about people in Camelot. I never finished that, but I took the ideas I had for Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, and a messenger and fleshed them out into these vignettes.

A zine page featuring a table of contents on the left, with a story titled The Messenger on the right, discussing a young girl's development of a keen sense of truth.

I drew the illustrations by hand using black and gray markers and pens. I wasn’t sure which illustrations would go with which stories, so I drew each page individually. Here are a few of the original illustrations.

Two pieces of paper feature artistic drawings, one with black wavy lines and the other with a stone castle. Around the pages, a market, a pen, and brush pen are place on the table. Two different intricate pen drawings, one depicting a forest and the other abstract wavy lines with dots. Various pens and markers are place around the pages.

When I finished all the illustrations, I scanned them so that I could do the layout digitally.

I used Canva to lay out the text and illustrations. I made many of the illustrations semi-transparent so that the text over them was readable. In some cases, I put white boxes behind the text, so that the words stood out without adjusting transparency on the illustration. Here are two of the pages in Canva.

Two pages of the zine. The left page has an illustration of a castle wall with flags. Black and white text boxes cover part of the castle. The right page has a story about a young girl, with wavy lines in the background.

After I laid out all the pages, I did a few test prints to see how everything looked on paper. I made a some adjustments, and then printed several copies for my Etsy shop.

Zine: Photographic Memories

“Photographic Memories” is a collection of illustrations, writing, and memories related to photography.

It’s a quarter-page zine and 20 pages, which makes this the largest and longest zine I’ve made to date! The zine is printed in black and white and mostly hand-made with some digital elements.

A zine titled Photographic Memories features a design with film strips and vintage camera illustrations.

It took me a while to make this zine. I knew I wanted to focus on photography, but beyond that, I didn’t know what to include. I knew I didn’t want it to be a how-to guide or lessons on photography. You can google all that and nothing I make would be as extensive or informative.

Instead, I thought about things that stuck with me—concepts and memories—and that’s what I made pages about. Here are some previews:

A page of the zine that looks like a notebook page with a list of qualities for photographers. The adjacent page shows photos of trees and their reflection in water. A sketch shows an an MP3 player with text expressing concern about its impact on prints and learning the controls by touch. A whimsical drawing illustrates the hazards of amusement park photography, including thunderstorms, sunburn, angry geese, and kids with squirt guns. Two copies of Photographic Memories. One copy shows the front cover, and the other copy shows the back cover.

I made each page individually and then laid out pages by hand. The original pages look like this:

Pages of the zine with drawings and handwritten notes. Small sticky notes denote page numbers.

I used sticky notes to label each page, so I wouldn’t lose track of what goes where. I scanned pages, added some white space as buffer, and then printed copies.

I learned a lot by making this zine in a larger and longer format than I’ve done before. I already have plans for my next zine. It probably won’t be as long but it’ll be the same page size.