MY FIRST FANWORK

welcome to “my first fanwork!” fest where we make our first fanworks. whether you’ve truly never made one before, or you’d just like to try a new medium, now is the time. what would you like to make? [[a zine]]

a zine. do you want me to walk you through it? [[yes->zine2]] / [[no->zine1]]

have fun! here are the resources i link in the step by step guides that you may also find useful... <a href="https://alienmelon.itch.io/electric-zine-maker">electric zine maker</a>: my favorite (free!) zine making software. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab4O9SWNl9g">a short video on how to fold a paper zine</a> and make sure to tag your work #firstfanworkfest so i can read and promo it!

while fandom zines are often talked about as glossy anthology art books, we're looking to make something simpler today. let's make a one pager zine together! let's start with gathering our materials. get out either.... - a paper and something to write with i think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab4O9SWNl9g">this youtube video</a> is a quick and easy to follow guide to the actual folding of an 8 page folded zine. OR - your computer! while there are a lot of ways to make zines digitally, i'm going to direct you today to <a href="https://alienmelon.itch.io/electric-zine-maker">electric zine maker</a>, my favorite (free!) zine making software. open it up and select 8 page folded zine. [[okay, what next?->zine3]]

so you have your blank zine folded, or electric zine maker downloaded. let's get to the fun part... the content! there are a few different zine types we can make today. pick one that speaks to you. or pick at random, if you can't decide. let's make.... [[a lyric zine]]

alright. now it's time to start. we're going to make our first page, our title page, our front. whatever you want to call it. this is the front cover. give it a title and a cover image! don't overthink this. you just want to be clear what song and fandom it's about, so people know what they're getting into. if you truly have no ideas, name it "SONG TITLE: a CANON TITLE fan zine" and put an image of the relevant character or a motif of theirs. [[got it ->lyric3]]

is there a song that make you bananas about a ship, character, or story? then this is the zine for you. lyric zines are fun to make because it's like an amv. but easier. and also you don't have to come up with the words yourself. anyway. step one: pick a song! i genuinely can't help you that much with this one. just pick a song you like that makes you clutch your head and writhe. [[okay, done->lyric2]]

now, at this point, the seal has been broken. you've begun your first fandom zine. you may be ready to take off running - you know your vision, you know your fandom, etc all better than me. if that's the case, have fun! [[here's the collected links from this guide.->zine1]] if you're not sure what to do with your remaining seven pages, that is ok! i am here. [[let's keep moving->lyric4]]

alright, here are very specific instructions. let's go small and simple. take your favorite, most resonant verse of the song. break it into six chunks. each chunk will correspond to a page (the eighth and final page will be for you to put your name and the date). in fact, knock that one out right now. now you're already 25% done with your first lyric zine. and there aren't even any lyrics yet! anyway. your chunks. write them on each page. you COULD theoretically be done at this point if you're in a hurry. let the reader fill in the blanks with their mind. but i think we want a little more. [[like images->lyric5]]

let's pair each chunk of lyric with an image. whether you draw that image yourself, or collage existing images, that's up to you. you can either illustrate literal depictions of the lyrics for a more traditional lyric book, or you can juxtapose the lyrics with pictures from your canon "text." or do a mix of the two! screenshots are easiest for visual media like tv shows or comics. but don't be afraid to add even more text to excerpt important lines from a book, if that's what your canon text is. this lyric zine is literally just meant to convey the experience of being in your head as you're listening to the song and thinking about sasuke or whatever. so you should have six lyric chunks, six or so images to go with it, and again. you could be done! but you could also add cool filters if you're using electric zine maker, or stickers if you're making it irl. now you have your DECORATED thing. that's literally all! [[that's all!->zineFINISH]]

do you like it? share it! and if you share it online, tag it #firstfanworkfest so i can find it and read it. because that's the point of this really, is giving me more things to read. if you don't like it you can just make another one. unless you didn't have fun. in which case you still made your first fanzine!!! and no one can take that away from you.