2. PLANNING AND PREPARATION
To prepare for this project I spent just over a week researching into cats and their history. I
displayed all my findings in one Powerpoint document. My research materials included videos,
articles and various websites. Carrying out this research allowed me to gather lots of information
which aided me when I was writing up the text for the fanzine. Also, I used relevent tags to help me
find the articles at a later date if I needed to. I pulled certain quotes from the article and listed them
because this, again, would help me when writing up the text for the fanzine.
Another thing that helped me prepare for production was writing the factual copy of the text that I
wanted in my fanzine. I ended up writing a couple of different drafts to help my refine my factual
copy and ensure there were no grammatical errors.
To plan for this project I carried out quite a bit of pre-production work which aided me once I
started production.This consisted of my making a couple of moodboards, production schedule and
a pagination.The first moodboard had fonts, colours, colour scheme, images and logo ideas. It was
esentially an idea generation moodboard.The second moodboard had reference images which
showed what sort of style I wanted to go for, although my outcome was actually quite different.
The pagination was designed to plan a layout for everything in my fanzine before it came to
production. It showed the basic layout of each page and what was on it.This really helped my know
where I was throughout production and aided me when designing the layout.
3. Planning and Preparation -
MOODBOARD COLOUR SCHEME so I can
easily reference it
throughout production.
This allowed me directly
source colours from this
moodboard and meant I
already had a set group of
colours I could use.
FONT SELECTION
helped me decide on a
final font for the front
cover and the titles
throughout. Seeeing all
the fonts laid out like this
really helped me choose
the best one and allowed
me to compare them all.
REFERENCE IMAGES
really helped me when it
came to production
because it meant that I
already had a group of
source images to choose
from when drawing them.
4. TIME MANAGEMENT
My time management was pretty bad for this project. I didn’t manage to finish the fanzine on time and
I ended up having to use the evaluation time to finish it.The main reason that I didn’t finish this project
on time is because I decided to draw most of the illustrations on the graphics tablet. In order to do this
I first had to either find reference images or draw the images myself to then be scanned in. Once I had
done this I next had to get to grips with the graphics tablet and ensure I was using the correct tools. I’m
very particular to making sure the drawings were drawn correctly took time too. It took a lot of trial
and error to get the drawings correct and some of them I had to redraw. I decided to draw each
country for the timeline so that took a lot of time too.
Another reason that my time management wasn’t so great is because deciding on the layout for the
text and images took sometime despite me planning it out beforehand. I changed my mind multiple
times because certain layouts didn’t look correct or I had decided to use grids which somewhat
complicated some of my ideas.The pages which took the longest to arrange was the timeline (multi-
page spread). Initially I couldn’t get everything to fit correctly within the grids or it simply didn’t look
right. In the end my friend came over and advised me on how to arrange it which really helped. If I
were to redo this project I would plan my time a lot better.
5. TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES AND
CREATIVE ABILITIES
I feel that my technical abilities were something that held me back slightly when I was
creating this fanzine. I had lots of creative ideas which I demonstrated or attempted when
I began production. However, when I tried to create these ideas I didn’t have the necessary
skills or time to execute my idea. One example is when I was trying to create my
illustrations with shapes in Photoshop but this was time consuming and I was somewhat
held back by my technical skills. I would have liked to proceed with making all the
illustrations from shapes, but in the end I decided to use the graphics tablet which added
the homemade feel in the end. I also struggled to use InDesign in this project because I am
not as familiar with the complexity of the programme. It is different to use than
Photoshop and takes some time to get used to in comparison. For example, I struggled to
work out how to change the font colour at first, so this used up some of my time whilst I
experimented. In the end I did most of design work in Photoshop and only used InDesign
to manipulate and arrange text because this is what it is best for.
6. THE EXTENTTO WHICH MY
INTENTIONS HAVE BEEN MET
My original intentions were to create a fanzine about wild and domestic cats, including their
history. I intended to create some graphic artwork to put in my fanzine out of shapes. However,
instead I ended up drawing most of these because it was easier and had a better effect overall.
The only one which I did create out of shapes was the Bastet graphic because I felt this looked
better. Another aspect which was different to my intentions was the fact that I included some
photographs of mine on the “Domestic CatsToday” page. Part of the reason for this was
because I simply didn’t have time to draw these images, but it was also because I wanted the
colours to be evident and the difference between the two cats.The page which closely meets
my intentions is the fact file page on wild cats from across the globe. I intended to do five
different cats all from a different continent. It was intended to be structured in such a way that
it looked like a fact file. I also wanted include sketches of the different cats. I met these
intentions. I had some issues with my original intentions for the multi page spread but I
managed to overcome these issues. I wanted to have relevant images below each point on the
timeline. Instead I decided to have the relevant countries below or above each point on the
timeline. Overall I feel that I met most of my original intentions with only some changes being
needed – usually because of too much text or the layout not looking correct.
7. IS MY WORK APPROPRIATE FORTHE
AUDIENCE?
My work didn’t have a definitive target audience because it is clear that cats are loved by
all different kinds of people from different social classes, ages and genders. However, I
decided that my fanzine is going to be aimed more at females ages 18-45 as oppose to
males. I feel this is an appropriate target audience because it is a vast age range and the
style of fanzine will appeal mostly towards this group. My style for this fanzine is
contemporary with a homemade feel to it.The contemporary style will appeal to the
younger part of my age group because is it generally the sort of style that they like.
However, the homemade aspect of the fanzine may appeal more to older end of my age
group.The vocabulary in my fanzine is of a fairly developed level which most adults will be
able to understand. My target social class is working class to middle class because of level
of professionalism that went into my work and the level of vocabulary. Women will be
attracted my fanzine because the style is quite feminine. I used pinks and oranges
throughout the fanzine which are both, two feminine colours that compliment each other.
The two pages that are the most feminine in my opinion is the ”Black Cats” page and
“Cat’s in Ancient Egypt”.This is because of the colour scheme and the use of flowers on the
”Black Cats” page. Stereotypically these are the sorts of colours and styles that women
want.
My work is appropriate for people of all ages because there is nothing that is considered
inappropriate discussed in my fanzine. That means, if desired, a child could read my
fanzine without a cause for concern. Also there is nothing ethically offensive in my fanzine
so I do not need to be concerned as to whether my fanzine is appropriate in those terms.
8. CONTENT AND STYLE
The content of my fanzine is interesting and to a high professional standard. My actual
articles themselves include a high level of vocabulary and are all grammatically correct
which I think is important.The corresponding images were all created with the text in
mind. I feel it is important to have images which correspond well with the text because it
helps the readers understand the article and makes it interesting.The images are bright
and colourful but not overpowering, they work well with the text.
The style of my work is quite contemporary but is also somewhat homemade at the same
time. My work is contemporary because it has a modern feel about it. I feel this is because
it’s very clean and lined up well.This adds to the modern style of my work. Also
However, it also feels homemade at the same time – this is important when making a
fanzine because it is made by the fans, not necessarily professionals. Something that
makes the fanzine feel very homemade is the fact that I drew the images myself.This adds
a more ‘artsy’ vibe to the fanzine and is what makes it look homemade.
9. THE SKILLS I HAVE USED AND HOW
THEY HAVE DEVELOPED
Throughout this fanzine project I have learnt lots of new skills and developed
existing ones. Before starting this project I had never used a graphics tablet so
this is a new skill which I learnt. When I first got the graphics tablet I spent
sometime getting used to how it worked by practicing some drawings I would
have to do later on. First I tried using Photoshop and I managed to create the
drawings of the cats from the fact page. It took me awhile to find the correct
brush to use and how heavy to press the pen - I was using my own drawings as
reference. However, for other illustrations I attempted to use Illustrator and this
worked a lot better for me and allowed me to create the rest of the illustrations
for the fanzine. The only illustration that I barely used the graphics tablet for was
the Egyptian Cat on the article about Bastet. For this I used shapes in Photoshop
and then I used the tablet to draw the face and collar.
One other skill that I used quite a lot was different types of grids to ensure
everything was lined up. One page where I really used grids was on the
infographic page. As you can see in the screenshot, I used a 3 column vertical grid
on both pages to arrange text and images in a professional manner. It also helped
me separate different parts such as on the “Endangered Cats” page I have a large
body of text and then facts besides it. Using grids on this page ensure there was
the correct ratios of text to images/facts. Using these grids also ensures that my
work looked more professional in the end and ensures that everything is lined up
well.
10. THE SKILLS I HAVE USED AND HOW
THEY HAVE DEVELOPED
For the backgrounds I used various different techniques to make them look
interesting and fit in with the theme. I created these backgrounds using
different tools on Photoshop.The front cover background was simply
created using the gradient tool. Although it’s very subtle, there is a slight
radial gradient.The centre of the front cover is slightly lighter than the rest
of the background. I did this to add depth to the background because
without this, it looked slightly flat and boring. It also helped the cat stand
out against the rest of the page.
On the final page, I wanted to do something to the background because just
like the font cover, it looked flat otherwise. So, just like the front cover I
added a radial gradient which made the centre look lighter than the rest.To
make it even more interesting I added Japanese cherry blossom flowers
across the page to make it look like they were blowing in the wind. I did this
because the article discusses how black cats are considered lucky in Japan. I
simply downloaded a cherry blossom brush free from the internet in order to
do this. Here is a screenshot of the background for the Black Cats page
without any of the text.
11. AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
If I were to improve my fanzine I would like to work more on the backgrounds for each different page.This
is because I am not 100% happy with the backgrounds. I would like to try adding more depth to them and
making them more interesting to look at. My favourite background is on the “Endangered Cats” page.The
jungle vines make the page look interesting and link to the article.The background which I had the most
trouble with was the “Cats in Ancient Egypt” and “Domestic Cats” pages. If I were to improve I would like
the revisit this page and improve the background and link it more to the text.A page which I would like to
improve overall is the “Black Cats” page. I feel like the illustration on this page could look better and be
improved. I like the cherry blossom because it links with talk of Japan in the article. I could maybe try
some more interesting text layouts across all pages but this would have taken a lot of time.
Something else that I could improve on was my time management skills. As I discussed earlier, my time
management for the project wasn’t very good at all and I overran with production.To improve, next time I
would do some more planning and allow myself more time to get to grips with the graphics tablet. Doing
more planning may ensure that I take less time when it comes to doing an illustrations. I could also try
harder to stick to and follow my production schedule.This will ensure that I stay on track and do not
overrun when it comes to production.
Overall, there isn’t too much that I need to improve when it comes to this project.The two main areas that
I have discussed improving are the backgrounds and time management. I would like to elaborate more on
the backgrounds and stick to a better schedule. But other than these two areas I do not need to improve
too much.
