Cryptids & Their Antics Zine Series
Role • Author, Illustrator, Designer
Programs Procreate for iPad, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign
Tasks illustration, design, copywriting, print production
“A. Young Citizen takes the reader on a short, whimsical exploration of what little we know about various midwestern cryptids in their pretty little 12-page zine booklets. Expect more cryptid content to appear as they continue their research.”
The Cryptids & Their Antics series of zines describes an array of cryptid creatures, established and imagined, in a casual-yet whimsical manner. Layout and typography is loosely inspired by vintage Golden Guide books about Birds and Mammals. Everything shown is illustrated, written, formatted, printed, assembled and photographed by yours truly using the Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Acrobat and Procreate to create content.
Credits
Brownlee Press • prints stickers
Scorpion Hearts Club • zine consignment
VoM Grand Rapids • zine consignment
Creating Consistent Cryptid Content
Once studied, each creature is fleshed out in a particular way to fit within the series proper. My current standards not only affect how this content is created, but also how it develops over time. With more zines in the series, there is a likelihood this growth pattern will change.
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A mainline zine, serves as the creature's introduction. It contains the creature's unique wordmark and feature image. The length and dimensions of each of these zines is standard, at 12 pages long and 5.5x6.25 in.
With each mainline zine release, mainline sticker collection is made, which includes the wordmark, feature image and up to 3 additional images from the book with flat color applied.
Current mainline zines include...
Frogmen
Lucky Cats
North American Kappas -
An experimental zine, which builds upon the previously established content, is created. This stage demands experimentation of some sort, with varying formats and feature integrations.
Companion stickers are sometimes made, which reflect the content of the aforementioned zine.
Current Alternative zines include...
The Speculative Biology of Frogmen
4 Interviews from Fantastical Felines
below excerpts from The Speculative Biology of Frogmen (2024)
Finding Collateral Companions
With every zine release, a series of stickers often follows. Color is applied using Adobe Illustrator and ordered on high quality weather resistant vinyl through local print company Brownlee Press. Sticker sets tend to reuse imagery present in their companion book. This allows efficiency on the maker’s end as well as an extra level of depth and application for the consumer.
Experimental Zines
As their repertoire grows, I intend to experiment more in their medium with the creation of experimental zine formats. For example, their Lucky Cats companion zine, 4 Interviews from Fantastical Felines, was formatted using Illustrator instead of InDesign for greater space efficiency. With some small workarounds, this also allowed for Citizen to work with stock thick enough to hold the included four sticker cameos. Each one is paired with a short feline musing and backed with a black and white version copy of the insert so that readers would not lose context if they want to use their stickers.
Zine Subjects To-Date
Want a zine?
If you are around the Grand Rapids, MI area, you can find copies at Vault of Midnight GR, Scorpion Hearts Club, and the occasional tabling event. Otherwise, you can purchase digital or physical copies through Etsy (below).