International Zine Month: Experts share tips on creating zines

Not for profitMake it personal The whole idea behind zines is that theyrsquore a medium of expression so if yoursquore putting out something thatrsquos already out there or if you are influenced by something thatrsquos already in the mainstream then itrsquos pretty much part of dominant discourse Zinemaking is an alternative way of life You have to look at the history of zines to understand that it has a history rooted in activism and it essentially serves as a space to question authority Itrsquos a way to disseminate information that does not exist in the mainstreamAqui Thami founder of Bombay Zine LibraryIt does not necessarily have to talk about activism it can also be something thatrsquos personal just not part of dominant discourse Try to exchange zines onground and physically Meet and talk to people who purchase your zines as much as possible because thatrsquos part of the beauty of the medium Also make your zines accessible Lately Irsquove been noticing that a lot of these zines are extremely expensive and are catered to a certain population Keep your zines as cheap as possible or make zines for simply exchanging and not selling Profit should not be the intent of making themItrsquos an open bookAbhijeet Kini illustratorI would define zines as extremely independent and unfiltered shortcontent magazines The content can be quite unsettling and experimental at the same time mdash itrsquos sort of an open book of what the creator has experienced in life The main part I think is the message what are you trying to convey Most zines usually stem from social or personal elements like sexual or mental health issues You have to hold on to one particular issue you believe in Thatrsquos the way I see itThe cover of a zine by KiniIt also defies all the preset notions of selfpublishing You can simply take one A4 sheet and fold it to make four pages of content Even the layouts arenrsquot traditional mdash I once saw a zine where the whole page was blank with one small detail somewhere on it Itrsquos liberating But I donrsquot think itrsquos a good idea to go so experimental that people donrsquot get the message Having said that it canrsquot be so very basic that it doesnrsquot grab a personrsquos attention It is okay to make mistakesTarini Sethi artistZines began as an affordable means to spread information On one hand they were used for political reasons with parties using them to share their manifestos On the other artists used them a lot to spread their work and information about themselves But what I always tell people is that you donrsquot have to be an artist to make a zine All you really need is a sheet of paper a pencil and a pair of scissorsA foldable zine that Sethi createdThere really are no rules I donrsquot want to say that people can make mistakes either because a zine is not as cleancut as a magazine newspaper or book You donrsquot need that sort of accuracy Even when you are cutting the paper the lines donrsquot necessarily have to be straight The whole DIY ethos of the art allows you to work with your mistakes and itrsquos okay to make themGrab these zines Daily Life of Deepsy Dee by Deepika Venkat at artbydevilwoman on Instagram The Loop by Rhythm Sood at rhythmsood198myportfoliocomwork Accomplices Not Allies by Indigenous Action available at indigenousactionorg KingCat Classix by John Porcellino Buy it from amazonin The Grub Zine by Synchronise Witches Press at cherrystylescoukTrivia time The first zine is often traced back to a 1930s effort called The Comet The punk music culture heavily appropriated zines The first version of Superman appeared in a zine