What the heck is a ‘zine’?
A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation in a cheap efficient distribution.
Do it yourself
Zines are all about DIY. Any idea works. You can make them with pen and paper, collages, digitally, or any other way. There’s no wrong way to make a zine.
I’ve created zine templates that can be downloaded for free to make your ideas come alive. These templates are for 8.5 x 11 inch single page mini zines.
A few sizes
Zines can take many shapes, but here are a few of the sizes that I work with often. Pictured are zines created by CINIC Studio.
Mini Zines
These can be created with a single 8.5 x 11 inch piece of printer paper. The upside of this method is that it’s a single page that can be unfolded and copied as many times as you’d like.
Medium Zines
This form is similar to the Mini Zine but just with a larger piece of paper. They can be created with a single 11 x 14 inch or 11 x 17 inch piece of printer paper. This form has the single-page benefit like the mini zine, but with a slightly larger scale for your writing, photos, or drawings.
Half-Page Zines
This form of a zine involves more paper and a method to bind the papers together. You have the outer cover, the inside pages, and either a staple or book binding floss to bring it together.
Half page zines are wonderful for displaying larger photographs, illustrations, or just wider compositions.
NEKTR: A Queer Compilation Zine
NEKTR is a zine based around bringing makers, specifically queer makers, together. The intention of this zine is to instill a shred of inspiration, to let queer folks know they are not alone and to bring makers together who exist and create in and around the queer space of Treaty 7 Territory.
