...4 WORDS FOR PAPER - ZINE/PUBLICATION/THINGO...

The following was a blog entry from my '4 Words For Paper' blog-

'Turning the artists books from Round I of this project into a zine/comic...publication of sorts has taken longer than first thought-
I thought, 'Hey...i can work on this before i REALLY get started on my Graphic Novel...you know, get it out of they way, since all of the work is already done + just sitting there...this will be a cinch...+ done in no time'
Choosing the first 3 Projects out of the 12, so i can make 3 possibly 4 zines in total...

Peasy, right?!

The crux of it is this...having used mixed antique + vintage materials in the artist books they looked fantastic...in the flesh-
When i have taken them out to share, you get a sense of the overall project... 12 red envelopes means, 12 artist books, means 1 full project...all uniformly lined up or spread out, open - showing their individual contents...

 I thought it would be nice + simple to create a zine from all the work that i had put into each book-
Upon seeing these scanned images open on my laptop screen...they just looked really flat + lifeless-
Also...the amount of time that has lapsed, made me feel as tho i couldn't 'recapture' or emulate what i was doing when i created these artists books ( I started this project in 2007 to 2008 )
So, knowing that i have (as most creatives' who constantly hone their skills + explore new ways to cultivate their practice) since evolved...i knew i couldn't go backwards...

I also wasn't happy with presenting this project in the printed format....to share + sell the way that they were-
So i just said 'F*ck it' + decided to re-do the whole thing-

^ I tried re-working the panels into greyscale...but it lost a lot of detail + it was too grey...+ i held off making it colour due to costs for printing + what i may have to charge (Are the people willing to pay for this?, Will people buy it?...ultimately, it doesn't matter if nobody buys it...everything is ultimately practice for the next project anyway)
So i chose to stay with colour...

That means
1. Re-drawing all the images
2. Scanning
3. Tweaking the contrast + adjusting the colours etc
4. Re-working each new version of the drawing, digitally.
5. Adding new elements to replace some of the items i took out form each panel due to lackluster or flatness.
6. Making each panel cohesive to the one previous + the one after it.

The equation is this.....


Project 1 has 4 Panels
Project 2 has 8 panels
Project 3 has 4 panels

^ Original artists books used


That totals 16 panels of art (all of which has been re-done from scratch pretty much)

Then you add the 2 covers
Plus the 1 intro to the project page + the 2 pages at the back for artist info + original jpegs -
+ the 3 Project word intro/meaning pages

EQUALS - 24 pages in total

That's part of the process i have gone thru to get the following-
Here are some images from the finished product

This is the finished cover + detail of the spine
All colour laser printed, recycled card backing. Stapled with an industrial fiber tape cover added over the top for the spine-

 

 ^On the Left...cover - On the Right...the layout for the '4 words' page + their dictionary meaning.

Below are some examples of the original 4W4P artist books + their newer incarnations

^ Reworking panels

^ Then there is 'reinventing' panels altogether - Example 1

^ Another 'Reinvented' page-

*

^2 Panels from the 2nd project-

^ And then there are panels (This is from the 3rd Project) that i wasn't entirely happy with in the first place + now, having the chance to 'redo' the project, i am able to do something a little more in line with the story-
I changed the idea entirely...see below

^ Much better now...changed the story a little more, too-

^ On the Left - A newer panel that has been tidied up + on the Right is one of the last pages, showing small thumbnails of the original Artist Books-

IN CONCLUSION-
I have a bit of a problem with out + out calling it a 'zine' as it goes above + beyond what a zine is generally considered-
I can't call it a 'Comic' exactly, even though i have comic styled work in it-
It's not an Artists' Book anymore...nor is it a Graphic Novel...
I guess i will have to settle with calling it all + none of the above...adding the 'thingo' on the end, so as to infer that it can be what you want-

I am limiting my printing runs, so as to save on costs up front-
They are $10 each -This includes postage to where ever you may be. (If you live on the moon however...then expect a slightly higer rate for poastage)
If you would like a copy, you can email me directly + place an order- Email here