Creating a Little Zine

What is a Zine?

A Zine (pronounced "zeen") is a homemade publication that can be filled with anything you're interested in. There are no set rules and you can fully unleash your creative powers when making one.

Why should I make one?

Well, you shouldn't just make one, MAKE LOADS!

Revel in experimenting as an amateur, just have a go and see what you can create. There's a real sense of fulfilment in expressing yourself and becoming fully absorbed in making something for yourself. At the end you'll have a tangible object that you can keep and build on or you could connect and share it with a friend.

Try experimenting with things such as changing the paper size to make a massive zine or a teeny zine, you can change the colour of the paper, use collage, drawing, mark making, sewing...

It's something you can complete in an hour or a few days depending on how much time you want to spend creating it and you can fill it with whatever interests you the most!

A wildlife zine I created in lockdown

A pencil drawing zine exploring Edinburgh

Get Creative!

• My 'What We Saw In The Vale' zine is now available to buy and download HERE

• Follow the instructions or YouTube video below to make your own zine

• Find even more inspiration on my zine board on Pinterest

• Share your creations! Add a link to your zine in the comments or email me at molly@mollynewport.co.uk

Feel free to print this sheet out to use in the future

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How to Create a Seamless Repeat Pattern on Photoshop

How to create a repeat pattern

Repeat patterns can be used for all sorts of things, I use this simple method on Photoshop when I'm creating patterns for fabric, wrapping paper and notebooks.

Step 1.

Create a square document (cmd/ctrl+n to create a new document)

I start with a 1000 x 1000 pixel document with the resolution set to 300

Step 2.

Next we need to add some guide lines so that we can easily find the middle of the page.

View > New Guide > Horizontal 50% > OK

View> New guide > Vertical 50% > OK

3. Create a new layer

4. Place your image(s)/ shape in the middle of the page

TIP: Make sure the background of the image has been removed/is transparent

5. Make a copy of the layer (cmd/ctrl+J)

6. Now we need to offset the image,

So make sure the copied layer is selected then: filter>other> offset or (cmd/ctrl + f).

By moving the settings 500 pixels horizontally and 500 pixels vertically this will create the edges of your pattern.

TIP: If any overlapping occurs play around with the composition and sizing of your original shape, remember to copy the layer (cmd/ctrl + J) and offset (cmd/ctrl + f) it each time you move any objects around.

**This next bit is about applying your pattern to a document **

7. To add your pattern to a shape you need to define it (save it with a name)

Edit> define pattern.. (choose a name for your pattern)

8. If you haven't already, you need to create the canvas that you'd like to add your pattern to. Create a new, separate document (cmd/ctrl + d) for the project you are working on i.e. wrapping paper (A2) mood board (A4) etc..

9. Next we will apply our new pattern to our canvas.

Layer> New Fill Layer > pattern… > OK

Once you select 'OK' you will receive the next box:

'Scale' is the scale of your design, so the lower the percentage, the smaller the pattern will turn out and the higher the percentage, the larger the pattern will turn out.

10. Play around with any settings to tweak and perfect your pattern!

*Don't forget to save your masterpiece*

Please add your own tips to the comments, do send me your creations- I love to see them!

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Is Facebook The Best Place To Advertise My Creative Business?

It's Facebook, everyone has a profile, right?

I've had a personal Facebook profile for years and it seemed like the next step was to create a profile for my business too.

It seemed like a logical thing to do, it's free advertising after all...

Hooked.

Facebook makes it's money from your attention span. It's as simple as that.

The more time you spend scrolling, the more money lines Mark Zuckerberg's pockets. The better content you make, the more time your audience spends on your page and the more money lines Zuckerberg's pockets... and the whole process keeps everyone's attention spans short in the meantime.

You don't own it

You might spend years building up a great following on Facebook. Then, as it does every so often, it crashes. One day it might not come back, they might just sack it off and call it quits - they won't - they make too much money... but they could, the power is theirs.

Also, because you don't own the platform, you have no control over the algorithms or who actually sees the post you've put time into making. Your best post might be sandwiched between two completely irrelevant or even damaging pieces of content.

Try somewhere else

There's no doubt that a lot of people have made a lot of money using Facebook and it's targeted ads to sell things. I just don't believe it should be the only place for a creative business to show off it's talent.

Newsletters are a great way to directly contact the people who are interested in what you do, you can share so much more value with them and start up conversations in a place that at least feels safer and more intimate than social media platforms. No one can take that list away from you either.

Get in the spaces where your creative community are hiding: podcasts, Pinterest, magazines, in person at social groups, even creating your own website and blog.

Remember: you're a creative business! Get creative and find new and exciting ways to reach your audience! Experiment and have a play with what you can do instead.

Yes it's 'free' advertising but at to what other costs?

Find ways to bring more creativity to your life and business in this post too

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Thank you for reading this post, if you'd like to stay up to date with my latest blog posts, receive monthly stories, inspiration and recommendations, join my monthly round up community HERE.