THE VIENNA GAME, BY PARATACTICIAN
The Vienna Game by @paratacticianMy finished contribution to the @fandomtrumpshate craft bazaar! Honestly, this may be my favorite typeset I’ve done to date, combined with one of the more elaborate cutout designs I’ve made in a while. (I learned the hard way that it’s time for me to change the blade on my Silhouette cutter, lol. Protip: if it’s chewing up the paper/cloth on skinny elements like the pixellated raindrops + puddle here, get a new, sharper blade!
Read moreWE WASTE THE SAME DAY LIKE NOBODY DIES, BY NEWREDSHOES
we waste the same day like nobody dies by newredshoes, illustrated by @cloudy-recessesI’ve lovingly referred to this project as “We Waste the Same Day Like Nobody Dies: The Illustrated Edition” ever since its inception [mumblemumble] months ago (since, if you haven’t seen it yet, @teleportbooks also made a beautiful binding of the same series!). magpieandwhale is another friend I’ve known for TWENTY FREAKIN YEARS somehow; I knew I was going to make her a copy of this as soon as she finished it, and I had the great joy of giving it to her in person last week while in her city for a family wedding ❤️
Read moreRESOURCE POST: SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT, AND SOFTWARE
So I’ve had some people ask about the supplies and equipment I use to make my books! This is not a comprehensive list, nor is it an official tutorial on how to make a book (for that, I recommend starting with Renegade Publishing Guild’s Bookbinding 101, DAS Bookbinding, or SeaLemon’s YouTube tutorials – all free, no patreon required!), but if you’re floundering because you don’t know what you need to get, hopefully this will help a little bit ❤️ If I discover more good resources or change up my style, I’ll add to this post.
Read moreTHE CRIMSON LOTUS, BY BONIBARU
The Crimson Lotus by @bonibaruPop quiz! You’ve got a fic that revolves around a secret identity. Do you create an inlay or a cutout on the cover? Luckily, I had a ton of photomanips to pick from for the cutout portion – nearly every chapter included a graphic or two. Which led to another design question: while typesetting the fic, did I want to sprinkle the graphics throughout like I’ve done with fanart in the past, or collect them all in one place?
Read moreSYMMETRY, BY BLEUETT
symmetry by bleuettMuch like when I got my first taste of drop caps, I’ve become a foil quill menace. I’ve always liked hot foiling more than HTV for preservation reasons – vinyl plasticizers and adhesives can turn pretty gross after a few decades – and this book gave me the chance to try a full design in nothing but foil. It fit perfectly with a sci-fi Wangxian AU! Circles play a big role in the story, so I included them in as many places as possible: the cover circuity, the endpapers, the scene dividers (a little mini solar system map!
Read moreFORGIVE US THE DAYS FORGOTTEN TO FEAR, BY BATYATOON
forgive us the days forgotten to fear by batyatoon So I’ve known Batya for close to twenty years now. (Holy shit.) Every year, our friend group does a secret holiday craft exchange – and when she proudly told us she’d just finished writing her first big novel-length fic, I sidled over to the organizer and went, “Hey, so… can I game the system a little this year and make Batya a book?
Read moreTHE FIRST ONES ARE THE BEST ONES: A WANGXIAN ANTHOLOGY
the first ones are the best ones featuring works by @feyburner, @fahye, and @ariasteAt last, a new book! A while back, a friend asked me to collect some of her favorite Wangxian fics: i hope that you will come and meet me, seldom all they seem, and turn towards the sun. When I asked her what design elements she might like, she answered, “I like celestial stuff!” So – along with plastering bunnies all over it, as any good Wangxian anthology requires – I ran with a star/constellation theme.
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