Making my first zine

Encouraged by the zine workshop with HINCHAS Press, I finally decided to create my first zine. I knew it had to have something to do with typewriters... This is how I approach the process of making it:

1. Designing - It took me 10 minutes, maybe less, to design the zine, despite the fact that I had been thinking about a perfect topic and a perfect format for weeks before that.

2. Finalizing text - After deciding what would be in the text, I typed it on a typewriter. I then scanned the page in black and white using the ABBYY Fine Reader app on my phone.

3. Illustrating - I worked on visuals for each page in the order they will appear. I saved all of the files to my desktop in a separate folder. To keep the illustrations' raw character, I decided to draw them by hand on index cards rather than digitally on the iPad. I scanned them using the same phone app and sent all the files to my email address.

4. Fine-tunning - I switched to my iPad and imported the images into Procreate, where I started making minor corrections, mostly erasing ink stains. I then sent the final files to my mailbox.

5. Arranging - I downloaded the files and arranged the elements in a Microsoft Word document. Once I was happy with the layout, I saved the document in a pdf format.

Everything could have been done a lot faster and more efficiently, I’m sure. I'll figure things out over time. I did, however, immensely enjoyed the creative process and found myself losing track of time. And I must say that the end result exceeded my expectations. What a fantastic exercise in putting ideas into action! I can't wait to print it and share it with my friends.