Initially, I intended for my zine to be reflective of a journey that was somewhat inspired by the film Alice in Wonderland (1969). While I do feel I accomplished this in some aspects, I also think I could’ve stayed more true to my plan. I wanted to illustrate a series of images that reflected a metaphorical transition, but after the in class critique, I see how my images can be interpreted as the character going through a physical journey through dimensions. I wanted to show the mental transition from being overwhelmed by the weight of others’ expectations, only to discover the peace that comes with letting those expectations go. The zine begins with the character falling through a bottomless pit, meant to symbolize getting lost in one’s own mind. The action of the character walking along the tunnel reflects how they begin to analyze the emotions presented in each image. As the zine progresses, the character rejects the initial black and white theme and accepts color into her life, which symbolizes letting go and accepting peace. For this part I feel the switch was too abrupt, and if I were to do it again I would try to make more build up with the images leading up to the color ones. One aspect of my zine that I would do better next time is the ending. I feel as though my narrative wasn’t as clear as it could have been. The last images of the moon were intended to be from the characters perspective, but I think I should have made that more noticeable, or gone a different direction to finish the zine. With this being my first full project using photoshop and illustrator, I feel very happy with how it turned out.
