Publish a Guide Zine of your City

1. Introduction: [MUSIC] Hi, I'm Elaine Vitikainen. I'm an illustrator and an entrepreneur from Helsinki. I love to draw, whether it's for work or for fun. Drawing every day gives me a lot of creative energy. I also love traveling, both for work and for holidays. I've visited almost 50 countries. [MUSIC] And to illustrate my travels is something that I truly enjoy. However, as we have all experienced during the COVID times, traveling has not been possible. But this time has given me the opportunity to explore the city where I live. I've created maps of Helsinki. Appreciating the city where I live makes living more meaningful. In this class, I hope you too will find a time to explore your cities and to appreciate what your cities have to offer. It's not all about the grandiose monument or a place with significant histories, but it could be those places that are close to your heart. Whether it's a small cafe around the corner or a restaurant where they cook the best ramen, or even a place where you have visited often but maybe haven't even realized how special it is up until now. Together, we'll explore these places and see how we can represent them creatively into fun and simple illustrations and turning them into guide zines. These guides zines can be shared to friends, share on social media, it could be gifts, it could be given out to tourists, or it could even be distributed to your local shops as a quick guide of your city. You will be self-publishing in no time. [MUSIC] This class is for everyone who would like to explore their cities and to create a guide zine. I will be illustrating using an iPad, an Apple pencil, and a Procreate app. But you can use anything that you have, whether it's a pencil, pens, crayons, watercolors, as long as you remember that we'll be using thin paper for easy folding. If you are going to follow this class using Procreate, it would be good to have the basic knowledge of Procreate. I will also be sharing with you some of the fonts and the brushes that I've created to use in your project if you wish. I will also be sharing with you the zine template. Let's have fun, and I hope to see you in class. [MUSIC] 2. Class Project and Resources: For the class project, we will be exploring and appreciating the city where we live. We take photos with our phones of places and things that inspire us for reference. We will plan our zine setup, what places to include, what's the title, what text to write, what stories to tell. Then we draw fun and simple illustration on the zine. We fold the zine, and now we have a finished product. Appreciating the city where you live makes living more meaningful, and completing the project means you have published a guide zine. Zines are low costs and are easy to make. All you need is an A4 size paper and your drawing tools. I will be illustrating on an iPad using an Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. But you can use any drawing tools that you have. Just keeping in mind that we'll be using a thin paper for easy folding. If you will follow this class using Procreate, it would be good to have the basic knowledge of Procreate. In the resources section, you can download some of my Procreate stamp brushes to use in your project if you wish. There's also a link to download fonts that I have created. Also, you will find a zine template to use as a guide. 3. Finding Inspiration: Now it's time to wear your comfortable shoes, head out, and explore your city. [MUSIC] Remember that it's not all about the grandiose monuments or places with significant histories, but it's also about the usual, close to your heart places that matter. Take photos of things and places that inspire you. We will use them as reference when we create our illustrations. It could be a view, a monument, a building, a park but it could also be a cup of coffee, a piece of cake, or even a plant or a tree. Anything that catches your eyes and something that you would love to illustrate and tell a story about. [MUSIC] Don't be afraid to explore places where you haven't been before. Don't be afraid to go far and walk that many steps. I did walk 7.84 kilometers here, or shall we say 12,100 steps. It was cold and windy yet a beautiful, sunny Helsinki. Don't forget to share how your exploration went, how you felt about it, and the photos you took in the project gallery section. For the next lesson, we will be planning our zine setup. [MUSIC] 4. Planning The Zine Set Up: Before we start illustrating, it would be helpful to have the zine guide with you just so to help with the setup. Let's try folding it. [MUSIC] You can cut the middle slit with scissors like this, or even better to use a cutter with a ruler. At least I have a bit of a problem making the slit straight using the scissors, but maybe it doesn't have to be perfect. [MUSIC] We then label the pages. We have a back cover, a front cover, and six pages - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. [MUSIC] Now we'll fold another paper where we will draw on. [MUSIC] For those working on Procreate, let's upload the template. Lower its opacity, [MUSIC] then create another layer. Now we can start illustrating. But first, let's plan what to illustrate, which places to include, what's the title, what text to write, what stories to tell. [MUSIC] Take a look at the photos you took during exploration. What do these photos talk about? Are they mostly about walking? Are they about food? Are they about nature? Are their histories or personal stories related to them? What do you want to tell about these photos? This will help you decide which photos to include in your guide zine. [MUSIC] Once you have chosen the photos, think what is the central theme? Then decide on the title and what to write about these photos. For the next lesson, we will start illustrating. [MUSIC] 5. Illustrating: [MUSIC] Before we start illustrating, I would like to show you one example. This one is really simple, but it brings a lot of beautiful memories. It also tells us about what people can do when they visit the city of Davao in the Philippines. For example, they can eat lots of fruits, go to the beach, and maybe try the local snacks. For those working on Procreate, let's go back to our Canvases. As a tip, it would be good to draw each illustration on different layers. We can then resize them to fit the zine. But always make a copy or duplicate your illustrations before resizing. It's always good to have the original in case something goes wrong. Also, you might need to use this illustration for other projects later. As you can see, I draw simple illustrations. However, that really depends on your style. You can decide however you want to represent your city as long as you have a consistent style and the same colour palette. For example, for the landmarks, I just drew them quickly as I decided to just create a simple outline of this places. You can also trace from the photos you have taken. Lower the opacity, add another layer, then just quickly draw them. It doesn't have to be accurate as it is just a representation. I also added characters in the scene. This girl is a character that I created some years ago. She is called Emiko. I also added a cat named Kai. I just thought that it's fun to add some characters and I'm also being true to my style. I also place my illustration on a Polaroid frame. You can find the Polaroid frame and different borders from the class resources section. For the next lesson, we will place the illustrations on the zine. 6. Placing Illustrations on The Zine: [MUSIC] Before we place the illustrations on the zine, let's go through each of the illustrations. I chose the title, The things I love to do in my city of Helsinki. Here it says, Helsinki is a small city. You can walk to many places of interest, which is true. I would really recommend putting on comfortable walking shoes when exploring Helsinki. Rain or shine, warm or cold, you can say no to bubble milk tea. It's just because I love bubble milk tea and in the main street of Helsinki, you can find places to enjoy it. I love the Esplanadi Park because I love to take a stroll there. It's always beautiful. It doesn't matter which season it is, it's always a good place to enjoy the outdoors. The Helsinki Cathedral is one of the tourist spots in Helsinki. But what I love about it the most is the sky above. Here I say, always look up when you visit the Helsinki Cathedral, they're always beautiful clouds above. Roberts Coffee Jugend is my favorite place. Not only because they have good coffee and Chai latte, but the place is beautiful. It's Jugend house built in the late 19th century. Then there are these structures in Amox Rex that they're hard to resist not climbing them. Here I'm telling people that it's okay to climb them. Also it's true, there is a pathway with the Helsinki written on it. It's a fun place for a photo and visitors should not miss it. Why did I chose these places? Because I love this places and I also know them well to really recommend them to visitors. Once we have all the illustrations ready, we can now place them in the zine. Here we have our zine. We have the back cover, the front cover, and six pages - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Now let's place them in the zine. [MUSIC] I also chose the background colour. Don't forget to hide the zine template layer before printing. For the next lesson, we'll print and fold the zine. 7. Printing and Folding: Now that we're done with the illustrations, we're so close to have the final product. [MUSIC]. If you created your zine digitally, it's now time to have it printed. To have it properly printed, send your zine to your computer and print it out from there. Be sure to have the right settings, both in your computer and in the printer. [MUSIC] For those who illustrated on the paper be sure to photocopy your work before folding, as it would be good to have the original version with you. [MUSIC]. Now, let's fold. Next, for the final product. [MUSIC] 8. Final Product: [MUSIC] Now we have a finished product. Completing the project means you have published a guide zine. Creating zines can also be very addicting. Now that you have done it, you can easily create zines on different topics. Examples are the illustration I created for organization about COVID-19 and oral hygiene turning into zines. I also created an informative zine for my clients about the process of creating explainer videos. Or just for fun, like this cute K-pop zine, or a quick Christmas recipe zine. Keep creating and publishing your amazing zines. 9. Final Thoughts: [MUSIC] Thank you for joining me in this class. I hope you enjoyed exploring your cities, illustrating, and publishing a guide zine. Please don't forget to share your project on the project gallery section. Thanks again. I hope to see you again soon. Bye. [MUSIC]