How to Make Your Own Zine
A zine (pronounced ‘zeen’) is an independently or self-published booklet, either created by collaging or digitally.
Zines have been used throughout history, most famously known in the 1970’s punk scene, to promote music and political agendas. However, they have made a revival in recent years with social movements such as; Black Lives Matter.
The best thing about zines is, there’s NO rules. You can do a zine about pretty much anything, in whatever style you want and shared however you like.
What should my zine be about?
In short, pretty much anything you like.
Traditionally, zines are usually a mix-n-match of text and images to spread whatever message you like.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Your life
- Your political opinions
- A story (fiction/non-fiction)
- A hobby
- A how-to DIY guide (sewing, drawing, origami)
- An event
How to make a zine
Depending on the scale of your zine, you can start to plan and make your zine.
A7 (a zine out of 1 piece of A4 paper):
- Fold your A4 paper in half (lengthwise)
- Fold in half again
- Fold in half again
- Unfold it, to find 8 folded pages
- Fold in half and cut the centre (halfway down the page)
- Unfold your paper. You should see a slit in the middle of the page
- Fold in half (lengthwise) and push together
- Number your pages in the right order and rotation
- TA DA! You’ve created your own zine
Here is a how-to guide in case you need help:
A5 (a zine out of multiple pieces of A4 paper):
Fold several pieces of A4 paper in half to create A5 pieces of paper. Fold as many pieces as you wish and put them all inside each other to create a booklet.
You can also staple the centre of your pages where they’re folded, for extra security.
