Research:
Over break I started reading a lot of old comics, which is where I found the inspiration for this particular style/font.
This was the comic I found that gave me the full inspiration for the style. There were a lot of black and white images that looked psychedelic with the pages completely blown out. I really enjoyed how these techniques were used to show intensity even thought the dialogue was often limited. I also really enjoyed the exaggerated body parts in especially the hands and feet, and the lines shown to indicate movement. The pages in this book felt completely alive and super dark and I wanted to make something that had the same kind of elements of humor and darkness.
Since I was planning on creating a narrative about an odd sexual experience/trauma in my early teens, I wanted the zine to be small so it felt personal, and like a secret. I also wanted it to be a bit confusing to read at first, and then eventually see the text/image only after close examination, since I didn’t fully process/fully understand the experience until much later in my life. I wanted the white on black to be both overwhelming and intriguing, and to put the reader into the mindset of a then 15 year old girl.
Planning:
By making a lot of zines in the past, I knew I wanted at least 12-16 pages of content. I started by mapping out the actual story arc and then attaching images to the bones of the story. I first drew the cover, and created the title and that helped inform what I wanted to focus on. Since this zine is based off my own life, it was easy to definite beginning middle and end. After I figured out what I wanted to include, I decided to draw just three sketches a day and then pick the best one, and attach it to the image. Before I did this, I loosely sketched out how I wanted the page layout to be. I know the images attached don’t look like they make a whole lot of sense but it worked I promise! When I started sketching I just kept a list of what needed to be done and slowly checked off the parts of the story that were complete until it was time to scan it all.
Experimentation:
This whole project was actually one big experiment for me. I was never really into the old fashioned comic style until this past break. After sitting in my mom’s house for too long I actually started to really enjoy the style. When we were assigned this project, I thought it was a good opportunity to explore this deeper, and create something out of a new aesthetic. I’ve also never used white ink on black paper before, or made a zine with black paper and after this experimentation, I found it really rewarding. Since this style was completely new, I have a blooper reel that didn’t make the zine but helped me understand what I wanted from it better.
Documentation:
Below I’ve attached a little flip-through video and the jpg files.
