The photos I took of my objects helped form the narrative, as the painted features were very expressive and the fact that they were a set helped form two characters to centre the narrative around. I think the detective story theme worked well, as the idea that the characters are separated and then find each other, formed a clear narrative. I think that most of the images I used communicate this narrative clearly.
The most successful is the image I used for the front cover, which shows the purple elephant surrounded by orange elephants. As a children's story, I think this communicates the message that the purple elephant is lost successfully. I think that the last spread which visualises one of the elephants searching for the other one, also communicates the narrative clearly.
I would say that the image which communicates the least successfully, is the middle spread, with a bitmapped image in the background which is meant to suggest the elephants confusion. Although the medium works well for this concept, the image may be too complex for a child to understand. I found it challenging making the narrative simple enough, while also being visually interesting.
The main factor that informed my decisions was that I was aiming the zine at children, so the storyline needed to be very clear to follow, and image based. The content needed to be engaging, as a child would not spend a long time trying to work out the narrative, so all my design decisions were intended to meet this criteria.
I would say that most of the image-making techniques I used were appropriate for the storyline. Some of my images were created from collages, which successfully visualised certain parts of the narrative. Other images were edited in photoshop to change the colour, which was necessary to fit the colour scheme of my zine. I like the way that the bitmapped images provided texture on each spread, but it did make some images slightly harder to see, so may not have been as appropriate for a children's story as it could have been.
The zines which stood out to me in my research were Posterzine and Wobby zine. Both had very different styles, Posterzine had a more formal layout which made full use of the poster format, while Wobby was very illustrative, but both used vibrant colour which appealed to me a lot more than some of the earlier Punk zines.
The earlier zines such as 'Ripped and Torn' and 'Chainsaw' used a DIY approach, and reflected the anti-establishment movement of the time. Although these examples show how a zine doesn't have to conform to a set format, the rebellious nature does not relate to my work in the same way that the contemporary zines do, as they were a result of the movements of their era.
Posterzine influenced me, as I was inspired by their use of just two or three colours in each issue. I applied this to my zine, as it helped draw the focus on the objects and gave each spread a more consistent feel. In terms of content, Wobby was the most similar as each issue contains an illustrated narrative, like my zine.
I think I managed my time quite well for this module as I tried to stick to the outline on the brief and set myself deadlines to have completed each week. This meant I left enough time to allow for any issues with printing the zine, which was useful as it took several attempts to print double sided and make sure the spreads aligned. Another time I would allow more time for experimenting with different image-making methods.
When I was given feedback on my zine I tried to respond by experimenting further with the most successful. For example, my tutors said the photocopier experiments worked well, so I used them in my final zine after making them into a bitmap.
I have gained confidence with new techniques and using different ways to create images. This project has also improved my skills on InDesign, which will be essential for future projects, so this module was a good introduction to new skills. I have gained confidence in using photoshop to adjust images, and create bitmap and duotone images. I also have a better understanding of the different types of files and their qualities, which will be essential on future projects.
Overall, I am pleased with my finished zine, as it meets the brief and has a clear narrative based on a detective story theme. I have used research to inform my decisions, especially in relation to making it suitable for children. If I were to improve it, I would spend longer on each image I have used to make each spread more complex, and more informative to the reader. I think that some of the spreads are too vague in their narrative and could include more elements.
Although I have gained a lot of skills, if I created another zine I would keep developing my image making skills to create more complex outcomes.
