I would like to think that, every punkzine has something really clever, but I must say… most of the times there just ain’t.
Scrapbooking and lettering without actual plan is quite fun. You just need pop culture magazines or something equal to that. The scissor the shit out of those magazines and start using glue stick.
When you don’t plan your punkzine more than one page a time, the results are better.
What a great way to express your creativity with small effort.
PlagueSlaves to the zinesQuestions Ink and godsMega alpha StorytellersFace to face
Sometimes I have thought about the zine festivals. We don’t have those in this country, probably because not so many has this hobby. I’ve read many blogs or stories about the zine festivals around the world.
Closest thing here is art galleries where you have to pay for the exhibition. I think that good way of setting up the zine fest would be a free “second hand” happening, you know like yard sale but bigger.
Maybe someday I find myself at the zine fest, remembering the time when I had to write a blog about it.
Storytelling in miniature size is quite challenging job to do. When you just don’t have the pages or time, you’ll have to think short and wide at the same time.
Short movies have always made big impact to me. I’m using same kind of system when I’m creating short stories/mini comics.
You just don’t have time to introduce big dialogues or story lines. Once I’ve read short horror stories which were only few sentences. Weird huh? But if you are clever those short stories might be horrifying. Example: “I found my daughters favorite necklace from the neighbors yard sale. She went missing five years ago, without a trace”
It’s a short story where your imagination creates the story and everything around it.
Check this mini comic zine I created.
Page 1Page 2.Page 3.Page.4Flip book page/book
You get the point, right? Does this make any sense? These stories won’t have to be filled with information, few tiny things and our brains have the ability to fill all those empty caps.
Great example about your brain is colors. I can draw for you a Roadrunner from that old cartoon, you know the one where that furry twat Wile E. Coyote is desperately trying to eat that lightning fast bird. Then I could color the picture with almost every shade of blue or purple and your brains would give you the information about how accurate the drawing is. Colors of the picture might be off, but if the drawing matches to your brains memory bank, you won’t question it.
Only afterwards when you would see the original, you might notice that it’s not in the right colors.
If I would use any other colors, like red or green your brains would notice the difference.
Great way of scrapbooking is to find instrumental playlist, which boost your brains.
I don’t like to listen music with lyrics when I’m creating something.
Music with lyrics makes me think about the song and the story of the song. This band has few lyrics, but mostly just instrumental music with cool 80’s tones.
This next zine is quite a normal way to get my thoughts to the paper. There ain’t no great stories included, but that’s the whole point of making small comics.
Check it out.
CoverDreams From pencil to the paperLunchtime Having a blastThe momentPoint of no return Conclusion
Time flies when you’re creating zines.
On the other hand, you have so many pages to fill and on the other hand, you only have few.
The main idea of zine making like this, is the limited amount of pages and space.
Imagination has to be used, several ways. If your story don’t have beginning or end, it gets interesting.
First thing I do is numbers of pages. With this method, you know the way how to start.
Do I need “heading”..? Is there a “cover”..? Can I use pictures or words..? Will there be a story or something weird..? Should I use dialogue or not?
After first hour I have answered to these questions and start creating the zine.
Using A4-paper is bit easier, because the size of course is way bigger than the small A3-papers, which I like to use when creating stories like these.
Sometimes I don’t even start from the first page.
Middle of the story is way more funnier to create and the the challenge is to create the beginning and the end.
Just like Mr. Tarantino does in some films. He creates great dialogue to the some random character, which has absolutely no meaning in the film and it just keeps you questioning: “Why?”
What a great way to scramble the mind of the viewer.
Creating the beginning of the story afterwards, is funnier way to create the story.
Sometimes when I’m writing a lyrics for a song, the middle section and chorus comes first. After the middle part and chorus the beginning molds without hesitation.
That’s my way of making, you find yours.. spread your wings and let the wind take over.
Great example of working like this, is my way of using the notebook.
I have pages like 1-100 but I’m not using them in chronological order.
I do have a directory on the first page, but I can start from the middle of the notebook.
It’s a mess and looks tangled, but it’s way more funnier way to fill your notebook.
Little bit like bullet journal method (Author Ryder Carrol), but with the twist.
That’s one of the latest books I have read, highly recommended!
Yes I’m old, I know.. but so are many of you, in someday at least.
*Shouting angry “Back in the my days, we didn’t have red onions..”
- grandpa Simpson
Next zine eases your struggle in this “emoji-abbreviation-filled” planet called: “Earth”
It’s like easy version of understanding the surroundings.
I feel like modern day Bear Grylls, showing this magic to you.
“SOMEBODY STOP ME!”
Cover of the magazinePage.1Page 2.
Here is few easy ones, you’ve might even know them.
I’m using these myself because, everyone knows the meaning.
Well almost everyone, but after this zine, we all know!
Page 3.Page 4.
Now we have little bit less used ones. Sure that one I got from the machine, but quite many uses word A/C..
Maybe our languages has changed so much in time, or maybe we have gotten more lazy.
Although, laziness and genius Has alway walked side to side.
IDK and IDC..
Page 5Page 6.Page 7.
Big beautiful woman?
I must confess, I have absolutely zero idea where this can be used…
In my POV this is bit offensive even that we are living on this body positive world.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned in the way.
“Shaking my head” was also new to me, but now when I know it, I’m definitely starting to use it as daily phrases.
Language all around the world is changing constantly, no matter where you live.
Maybe old native languages stay untouched. IDK…
English has changed so much from the days I started to learn it.
Many of you probably laugh my “English” and definitely for the grammar, but it doesn’t matter at all. Everyone understands my writings and words that I use.
I’m using it every day and I’m learning new words and phrases daily. Same thing with Brazilian Portuguese. Every day I find new ways of saying things.
My native language is Finnish and it has also changed along the years.
There is so many things which has been adapted from Swedish and English to the modern Finnish language. We also have weird way of saying some of those English words in Finnish and some of them in English.
No one knows why, but it’s a thing.
For example: Word Apple is pronounced “aple” not like in English, even when people means you know, the Steve Jobs Apple.
Word “Show” on the other hand is pronounced just like in English.
This I think is the most hardest thing in learning the Finnish language…
As family man, zine ideas are just floting out there.
This next one represents the hard day of my kid. Even he laughed about when I let him see this zine.
Parenthood has is weird thing, sometimes you could just record everything and it would be like well scripted stand up comedy show or we’ll acted sitcom.
Watching siblings fighting about who disturbes who, it’s quite entertaining.
Mainly as adult, you’ll have to be negotiator, pries, ref, and the sound of reason.
When you draw the daily things or use the ways of drama, or the easier to understand how silly your actions are.
Here is an example of parenting tips.
- MAKE FUNNY ZINE OR CARTOON ABOUT IT
Cover and captionWeather problems Fruit problems Hunger gamesActivity problems Culinary problems Sugar problems Sugar problems conclusion
Always entertaining to see, how even the small teeny weeny things turn into a massive problems.
It’s still part of growth, in my opinion.
There is also some “spice” in these problems and the spices are called big sisters… My god how effective is, when big sister pokes little brother at the right moment.
That situation is equal in the situation where you poor some petrol in the flames.
I never had the opportunity in my life where I would have change to fight with my sister, she has never been around.
Perhaps this sibling fights prepares these tiny humans to be tough in life later on.
Next one I want to give you a compliment book of the week. One compliment a day is good way to start.
Check it out.
CoverMondayTuesday Wednesday
Can’t we all just start calling it “WENSDAY”..?
Thursday FridaySaturday Sunday
Some of ‘em are quite korny, but you’ll get the idea.
Everyone likes compliments, some of people get confused when you say something nice, but I think it’s risk what I have to take. 8/10 person likes when you say something nice and don’t forget, sometimes nice things finds you later on.
It’s like karma, but ain’t no bitch.
You can talk sweet thing with the tongue of the dragon but if you don’t have nothing nice to say, be quiet.
Also silence is golden, in some cases. Be yourself and remember to smile, it confuses people.
If I don’t remember wrong, there is about 60 muscles in your face and you’ll need only six of those to smile.
I remember when I was making this zine, there was Christopher Nolans first Batman on TV and I got the idea from there.
Must say, Cristian bale was bit different than the Batman in my zine, but it was quarantine time going on.
Oh and the feature picture has nothing to do with this zine. Last night I was watching Terminator movie, where Terminator was called “Pops” because he was so damn old. He even had some mechanical problems with his robot hands.
This makes me thinking: “How old he can go..?” It the living tissue over the exoskeleton get older like human..? Could he have some sort of robotic-dementia?
Killing all them people, because primary functions are shutting down.
So came the Terminator: Rise of the Nursing home idea. Should I tell this idea to James Cameron?
Dunno, let’s get on with this miniature zine, where Gothams dark knight has pretty many “normal” problems to solve.
Cover of the “Gothams Finest”Problem and solutionQuarantine crime rateRisk group Dark night activities Inner dinnerUtility-belt to the rescueFace timing fun
Have to admit, the quarantine time made me do art which had so much influence from the Covid-19 situation.
So many times I found myself doing drawings, or zines related with ongoing situation.
This scrapbooking/drawing style I have mastered when I was just a kid.
There were no Internet or any place, (except library) for copying art or cartoons.
Mainly scrapbooking stuff came from old magazine and random advertisements posters.
I remember those small magazines which had one small page, full size of band shirts to mail order.
If there was small picture about some band shirt, I did use a magnifying glass and draw it to the paper.
Also I went to the library to see old LP records, to copy cover art.
If you put all this together, you’ve got scrapbooking, drawing zines.
Oh happy memories… These days, only few clicks and you got everything you can imagine. Can’t say “everything was better”
WOWZA!! I did found one cartoon zine from the time, when we just had Covid-19 madness getting started.
There was the toilet paper hoarding going on, and we almost run out of it…NOT!
People around this country panicked super fast and that’s the reason for this zine.
Check it out!
Page 1.Page 2.Page 3.Page 4Page 5.
This was the point for no return.. “NO BACKSIES” like we tend to say.
I was so surprised when grocery store was swarming with people in panic, buying toilet paper.
Hard to understand because there were absolutely zero change that we would run out of toilet paper.
Nearly two-thirds of Finland is blanketed by thick woodlands, making it the most densely forested country in Europe.
And we make toilet paper, so yeah.. I did not hoard paper and still got my ass wiped.
Moving on..
Page 6.Page 7.Page 8.
It’s weird thing what we Homo Sapiens react like citizens of Springfield. (The Simpsons) Someone just says something and in no time, you have the WHOLE city walking with wooden sticks and torches in hand, ready to act.
Media has unbelievable influence for masses, must say.
What a fun piece to find, when quarantine time is just old memory back in my head.
Felt like I found some old diary, because it’s easy to ride by the memory lane, using art as your imagination tool.
I think that digging in these drawers, is new fun thing to do.. perhaps next time I will check old diaries.
Everything is art, welcome to the jungle! 
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