FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Lately, I've had a lot of questions related to my zines, primarily on how I make them so I thought maybe it was time that I have a little page dedicated to this question. I can only advise so much, I can't really teach you my skills because I'm just doing what I do for a living as an artist, and that's taken years to learn. But here's a little bit of info to get you started.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE
Start out with something you really love, in my case its photography and illustration, which I also do professionally. When doing a photography zine I usually head out a few months ahead of time and photograph a lot! If working on an illustrated zine then I usually will pick out a theme and paint for a 2-3 months until I have the number of paintings I need for the zine.

SIZE MATTERS
Decide how big or small you are going to make your zine, but remember the larger the zine the more costly, I try to keep the largest format at 8.5"x5.5" but that's only if I'm hiring a printer to print them. I like to sometimes print at home so I try to wisely layout my pages on 8.5x11" paper.

LAYOUT
Use an application like Adobe Indesign or Adobe Illustrator to layout your art and add type.
There are some templates out there but I usually set up my own.

PRINTING 
I know this is the big question. Find a printer you like, there are a few printer's online that are cost effective, but first have them send you a sample packet of there papers so you can pick the quality of what your zine will be printed on. If printing at home you will need a good photo inkjet printer to get excellent quality prints, this means spending $300-$600 on a printer and the inks will cost extra. Paper is your choice just make sure you can print on both sides which means spending a little more on quality art papers. I can't recommend anyone in particular for printers, paper, or inks, please do your research.

BINDING
5. Binding, is your choice, you can saddle stitch which means stapling or you can hand bind using book binding thread and needle.

Hope that helps.