Magazine Project!

[greatnessflicker]

Just wondering, so far people have been posting up completed pages as pdf files (which look totally great and I'm enjoying very very much) but eventually someone would have to recreate them/have access to the raw file to be able to do formatting/fix typos/beta stuff right? Just wondering how would things best be done?
And if we are going to compile things on InDesign, would we recreate pages from scratch or like, take screenshots of the existing pages and fit it in? To me it's like, the original creators must have put a lot of thought and effort into the layouts, and I wouldn't want to waste their effort, but ... everyone uses different platforms and Idk how we should best standardise things.

Sorry to bring stressful (and realistic) ideas into a fun project! But I would really like to see a (semi-)professional looking end product, hence all these icky questions.

Also, I've done some school magazines on InDesign before so I can somewhat navigate my way around there and I'm pretty good at spotting typos so I can offer my limited services if needed? Though I think there's no shortage of betas at the moment, but just putting it out there!

Good questions, thanks for tackling the realistic details. For proofreading, I think a beta could just copy and paste into into a word document and edit from there. Though it would be easy if we could also just have a text file in addition to a formatted page, if the writer chooses to do that.

As for adhering to an original design, I was thinking for the pages people have already both written and formatted, someone could easily just recreate it in whatever program we decide to go with. Like, keep the color combinations, fonts, and whatever else the person really wanted in there and use their pdf/file/whatever as a skeleton, which would take some of the pressure of designing a layout from scratch off the designer. If there are any pictures included, we'd just need to message the original creator for the original image.

kooshka, you raise an excellent point. I, for one, know how to use photoshop but not indesign (I also think I only have a trial version of it?). when you say:

but then ground-set rules for page dimensions, font sizes etc play a much bigger role since they can't be scaled.

does that mean we can still use photoshop to put this together, so long as we all use the same page dimensions and font sizes, etc?

[aralik]

\
Dan's new instagram. I'm sorry I can't remember who's done the page on his photo face and resting doge face (and I'm too lazy to check), but maybe this could be added. Because if this isn't an example of a perfect doge face then I don't know what is

true dat!
it's daphnexa and i think she already got it covered. but maybe she wants to add this as well.

[backin09]

I downloaded InDesign earlier, i don't know how to use it yet but i have knowledge of photoshop + illustrator so it shouldn't be too hard for me to design a semi-professional looking layout? i'll be watching lots of tutorials & stuff on how to do that so i can help out with the design stuff if help is needed.

[kooshka]

kooshka, you raise an excellent point. I, for one, know how to use photoshop but not indesign (I also think I only have a trial version of it?). when you say:

but then ground-set rules for page dimensions, font sizes etc play a much bigger role since they can't be scaled.

does that mean we can still use photoshop to put this together, so long as we all use the same page dimensions and font sizes, etc?

Yup, or for a "just for fun"-kind of project the end product will look ok with this method. It won't be quite that high quality but as long as everyone keeps to the same rules while designing it would probably be readable. The dimensions would have to be pretty high though - Think of it as reading a scanned article from an actual magazine. If the photo is not a high resolution pic, it's a pain in the ass to read the text. A few problems might arise with the project being an online magazine, since people look at from different screens with different resolutions, it might not be so easy to browse through from certain kind of screens (i think?). But as long as the pages are made big enough, they should at least be readable.

Another solution could be that people recreate the designs. Someone does the the design in whatever program they like, people who know how to operate InDesign/Illustrator/other programs get the files and recreates them in the correct, unified form. This might be quite a lot of work, if there are not enough people who know how to do this, but it's relatively easy if the original designs are not that complicated.

The main thing for me personally is that everything looks neat & well put together, without sacrificing everyones input. I like seeing the handprint of everyone involved, so I'd like follow the route that makes everyone happy & feeling like they have contributed to the project.

[Jeweul]

I'd really love to get started on illustrating something, any specific fanfic that you guys want me to draw something for? (I was kind of thinking maybe doing some fanfics that people here wrote, so any suggestions would be appreciated.)

[asimfrickinzazzed]

I've used inDesign during high school when I was in the newspaper staff. It's actually not any more difficult to work with than photoshop (in fact, I'd argue it's easier than ps). If anyone wants I can whip up a little beginner's tutorial or some page templates.

[daphenaxa]

greatness, are we gonna include your piece on the house plants?? I think we should, i liked it and idk if you submitted it as a joke or not but i am all for keeping it in the mag!!!
also I think your idea of an open letter to dan and phil about planning and prefilming before going 2 months on tour it a great idea and we should definitely include that too

[LurkingTrash]

Hey guys!
Just wanted to add my 2 cents and say that I would love if our content could be something that can enjoy also let's be real, they're gonna find the thing if we decide to share with them or not.
I understand that some things need to be said like the open letter thing and I'm all for it but let's be careful to not be mean we want to poke them forward, not make them have bad feelings

[Cora]

Just for structure, I think we should create a dropbox to keep all the submissions together, and do we have some sort of timeline/deadline?

[karma_yeah]

First of all to all of you and your tremendous creativity. When you do a staff page, I hope people will include the country they come from. This is probably going to be quite an international accomplishment and it will be a good example of what a group of positive-minded, dedicated people can do when they work together!

Suggestion for recipe page: "signature drinks" (ones they didn't already create).

And will there be some Bingo cards?

I have an idea, but don't have the time to execute it. If anyone else likes it and can run with it, that would be great: how about a couple of pages of "merch"? Here's a list of things someone with some good graphics skills might be able to put together with some clever - related names and descriptions (and any other ideas you awesome people come up with):

Bath bombs
Scented candles
body lotion
cologne/perfume
plant(s)
fake calendar
Christmas ornament(s)
Halloween and Easter decoration
kitchen utensil set (i.e.: cupcake pan, bowl, whisk)
emoji pillow
3-D glasses
T-shirt(s)
pajama set
cat whisker socks
baseball style caps (in rhinestone of course!)
Tattoos for punk edits
hair straightener
emoji keychain
Nail polish set (with related names)

I really wish I was in a position to contribute more!

[Jeweul]

Under the cut is a WIP for Oqua's fanfic 'The Pasta Sauce.' I'm getting a bit tired now so I'll probably finish it tomorrow, but here's the drawing so far.

[asimfrickinzazzed]

First of all to all of you and your tremendous creativity. When you do a staff page, I hope people will include the country they come from. This is probably going to be quite an international accomplishment and it will be a good example of what a group of positive-minded, dedicated people can do when they work together!

Suggestion for recipe page: "signature drinks" (ones they didn't already create).

And will there be some Bingo cards?

I have an idea, but don't have the time to execute it. If anyone else likes it and can run with it, that would be great: how about a couple of pages of "merch"? Here's a list of things someone with some good graphics skills might be able to put together with some clever - related names and descriptions (and any other ideas you awesome people come up with):

Bath bombs
Scented candles
body lotion
cologne/perfume
plant(s)
fake calendar
Christmas ornament(s)
Halloween and Easter decoration
kitchen utensil set (i.e.: cupcake pan, bowl, whisk)
emoji pillow
3-D glasses
T-shirt(s)
pajama set
cat whisker socks
baseball style caps (in rhinestone of course!)
Tattoos for punk edits
hair straightener
emoji keychain
Nail polish set (with related names)

I really wish I was in a position to contribute more!

oh the bingo cards! like tweet bingo cards (which I guess I can tie in with Persona™). The merch is such a good suggestion, too. you have my mind running with bath bomb and scented candle ideas...

Under the cut is a WIP for Oqua's fanfic 'The Pasta Sauce.' I'm getting a bit tired now so I'll probably finish it tomorrow, but here's the drawing so far.

looks great!

[greatnessflicker]

greatness, are we gonna include your piece on the house plants?? I think we should, i liked it and idk if you submitted it as a joke or not but i am all for keeping it in the mag!!!
also I think your idea of an open letter to dan and phil about planning and prefilming before going 2 months on tour it a great idea and we should definitely include that too

sure! I'll work on the wording as there are a few small details I'd like to change (I wrote it on the spot!), but I'm actually surprised with how good of a prompt it ended up being.

As for the open letter, perhaps someone a bit more bitter than me can tackle it, haha?

Just for structure, I think we should create a dropbox to keep all the submissions together, and do we have some sort of timeline/deadline?

Dropbox is a good idea!
As for timeline, what would work good for everyone? I think right before the tour ends is good, so a month, give or take? or is that too far away?

I'll have my two pieces, #getadogdanandphil and sociopolitical comments (which might end up being very dan heavy, ready for editing this weekend/monday.

Under the cut is a WIP for Oqua's fanfic 'The Pasta Sauce.' I'm getting a bit tired now so I'll probably finish it tomorrow, but here's the drawing so far.

THIS IS GREAT. Do we have oqua's permission?

Yup, or for a "just for fun"-kind of project the end product will look ok with this method. It won't be quite that high quality but as long as everyone keeps to the same rules while designing it would probably be readable. The dimensions would have to be pretty high though - Think of it as reading a scanned article from an actual magazine. If the photo is not a high resolution pic, it's a pain in the ass to read the text. A few problems might arise with the project being an online magazine, since people look at from different screens with different resolutions, it might not be so easy to browse through from certain kind of screens (i think?). But as long as the pages are made big enough, they should at least be readable.

would the original dimensions I posted work? 2625 x 3375?

Another solution could be that people recreate the designs. Someone does the the design in whatever program they like, people who know how to operate InDesign/Illustrator/other programs get the files and recreates them in the correct, unified form. This might be quite a lot of work, if there are not enough people who know how to do this, but it's relatively easy if the original designs are not that complicated.

This is definitely a possibility, I just don't want to create a lot of work for our InDesign people.

[Poe]

Yup, or for a "just for fun"-kind of project the end product will look ok with this method. It won't be quite that high quality but as long as everyone keeps to the same rules while designing it would probably be readable. The dimensions would have to be pretty high though - Think of it as reading a scanned article from an actual magazine. If the photo is not a high resolution pic, it's a pain in the ass to read the text. A few problems might arise with the project being an online magazine, since people look at from different screens with different resolutions, it might not be so easy to browse through from certain kind of screens (i think?). But as long as the pages are made big enough, they should at least be readable.

would the original dimensions I posted work? 2625 x 3375?

I'm working with the standard 'letter' InDesign dimensions ( 8.5" and 11"/ 51p0 respectively 66p0)

Another solution could be that people recreate the designs. Someone does the the design in whatever program they like, people who know how to operate InDesign/Illustrator/other programs get the files and recreates them in the correct, unified form. This might be quite a lot of work, if there are not enough people who know how to do this, but it's relatively easy if the original designs are not that complicated.

This is definitely a possibility, I just don't want to create a lot of work for our InDesign people.[/quote]

Don't worry, this is fun and besides we can split up the workload between us

[bluebox-away]

For timeline, I did think that if it could be done by VidCon or SITC someone could possibly take them a physical copy? I think there's people from IDB going to both, so if someone was going to their meet up and was willing to that could work?
I'm still working on if/what I want to contribute apart from beta-ing, I haven't done much creative type writing in a while so I'm still thinking
I did consider potentially a 'D&P fan trip to London' travel page, with like recommendations of places they have been/visited? I know London pretty decently and I guess quite a lot of phans get inspired to go visit? Thoughts?

[mez29]

Here is my contribution (three pages lol)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6jk5u ... lqMjI4WlE/

Happy for it to be made to look nicer. I can provide larger (and less blurry) png files of the images separately too for someone who is more graphically skilled to do something with.

[Jeweul]

That looks great, mez29!

I got oqua's permission to have the fic in the magazine, all's going smoothly on my end.

[Anonymousse]

Here is my contribution (three pages lol)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6jk5u ... lqMjI4WlE/

Happy for it to be made to look nicer. I can provide larger (and less blurry) png files of the images separately too for someone who is more graphically skilled to do something with.

That is amazing

[hunnyftw]

It's fantastic, mez! My favourite is definitely "a different road" as I'm partial to some dark humour.
What really surprised me is that I didn't know about half of these. I'm obviously a fake fan

[mez29]

thanks guys! hunnyftw, that one's my favourite too. I didn't know about them all either, it was just a case of going through the video at http://mrssparklypants.tumblr.com/post/ ... phil-album and ignoring all the ones that were mostly rapping (I mean, Ladders is mostly rapping, but it's a special case)

[greatnessflicker]

Hello, I come bearing gifts.

First, here is the houseplant section and pro/con dog breed section. I want to thank everyone who participated in the informal poll Lurktacularr held, especially oqua and felucca for their masterlists.

Editors, have at it!

I hope I linked this in a way that doesn't reveal any of my personal info such as irl name, haha. if not, someone let me know so i can alert a mod.

Speaking of which, would we have to go about creating an email address to create a dropbox for this project?

How apropos is this, by the way?

Secondly, daphenaxa, I've done a tentative edit of your two pieces. let me know if you'd like me to PM you it (as opposed to posting it right on this thread). By the way, I really enjoyed editing because I took the time and picked up some jokes I didn't see on my first read-through. Good stuff

Looking over daphenaxa's materials raised two style questions that we might want to keep in mind for continuity. First, the oxford comma. I used it, but daphenaxa didn't. I know AP Style doesn't use the oxford comma, but I'm pretty sure AP is just American. Which should we stick too, using it or not using it? Also, there's American versus British spellings. It makes sense to use British, as I believe it is the spelling system most widely used (and also used by the subjects of this magazine). If we decide to stick to British spellings, I'll need editors to look out for that in my writing because I only just realized it.

For timeline, I did think that if it could be done by VidCon or SITC someone could possibly take them a physical copy? I think there's people from IDB going to both, so if someone was going to their meet up and was willing to that could work?
I'm still working on if/what I want to contribute apart from beta-ing, I haven't done much creative type writing in a while so I'm still thinking
I did consider potentially a 'D&P fan trip to London' travel page, with like recommendations of places they have been/visited? I know London pretty decently and I guess quite a lot of phans get inspired to go visit? Thoughts?

1. What does everyone think about this deadline?
2. Go for it! One day I'll be able to use your guide and recreate their day in the life.

okay, see you all on the other side

[majitzu]

Hello, I come bearing gifts.

First, here is the houseplant section and pro/con dog breed section. I want to thank everyone who participated in the informal poll Lurktacularr held, especially oqua and felucca for their masterlists.

Editors, have at it!

I hope I linked this in a way that doesn't reveal any of my personal info such as irl name, haha. if not, someone let me know so i can alert a mod.

Speaking of which, would we have to go about creating an email address to create a dropbox for this project?

How apropos is this, by the way?

Secondly, daphenaxa, I've done a tentative edit of your two pieces. let me know if you'd like me to PM you it (as opposed to posting it right on this thread). By the way, I really enjoyed editing because I took the time and picked up some jokes I didn't see on my first read-through. Good stuff

Looking over daphenaxa's materials raised two style questions that we might want to keep in mind for continuity. First, the oxford comma. I used it, but daphenaxa didn't. I know AP Style doesn't use the oxford comma, but I'm pretty sure AP is just American. Which should we stick too, using it or not using it? Also, there's American versus British spellings. It makes sense to use British, as I believe it is the spelling system most widely used (and also used by the subjects of this magazine). If we decide to stick to British spellings, I'll need editors to look out for that in my writing because I only just realized it.

For timeline, I did think that if it could be done by VidCon or SITC someone could possibly take them a physical copy? I think there's people from IDB going to both, so if someone was going to their meet up and was willing to that could work?
I'm still working on if/what I want to contribute apart from beta-ing, I haven't done much creative type writing in a while so I'm still thinking
I did consider potentially a 'D&P fan trip to London' travel page, with like recommendations of places they have been/visited? I know London pretty decently and I guess quite a lot of phans get inspired to go visit? Thoughts?

1. What does everyone think about this deadline?
2. Go for it! One day I'll be able to use your guide and recreate their day in the life.

okay, see you all on the other side

I love it, the dogs one is really good. I think before vidcon is a good deadline. for me too

[vortexofphan]

Hello, I come bearing gifts.

First, here is the houseplant section and pro/con dog breed section. I want to thank everyone who participated in the informal poll Lurktacularr held, especially oqua and felucca for their masterlists.

Editors, have at it!

I hope I linked this in a way that doesn't reveal any of my personal info such as irl name, haha. if not, someone let me know so i can alert a mod.

Speaking of which, would we have to go about creating an email address to create a dropbox for this project?


Looking over daphenaxa's materials raised two style questions that we might want to keep in mind for continuity. First, the oxford comma. I used it, but daphenaxa didn't. I know AP Style doesn't use the oxford comma, but I'm pretty sure AP is just American. Which should we stick too, using it or not using it? Also, there's American versus British spellings. It makes sense to use British, as I believe it is the spelling system most widely used (and also used by the subjects of this magazine). If we decide to stick to British spellings, I'll need editors to look out for that in my writing because I only just realized it.

For timeline, I did think that if it could be done by VidCon or SITC someone could possibly take them a physical copy? I think there's people from IDB going to both, so if someone was going to their meet up and was willing to that could work?
I'm still working on if/what I want to contribute apart from beta-ing, I haven't done much creative type writing in a while so I'm still thinking
I did consider potentially a 'D&P fan trip to London' travel page, with like recommendations of places they have been/visited? I know London pretty decently and I guess quite a lot of phans get inspired to go visit? Thoughts?

1. What does everyone think about this deadline?
2. Go for it! One day I'll be able to use your guide and recreate their day in the life.

okay, see you all on the other side

I love it, the dogs one is really good. I think before vidcon is a good deadline. for me too

Those were great. I hope they dog one to heart

That deadline sounds good to me too. Now, will they see this and appreciate our creativity or think we are absolutely insane? Probably, both haha

First of all to all of you and your tremendous creativity. When you do a staff page, I hope people will include the country they come from. This is probably going to be quite an international accomplishment and it will be a good example of what a group of positive-minded, dedicated people can do when they work together!

Suggestion for recipe page: "signature drinks" (ones they didn't already create).

And will there be some Bingo cards?

I have an idea, but don't have the time to execute it. If anyone else likes it and can run with it, that would be great: how about a couple of pages of "merch"? Here's a list of things someone with some good graphics skills might be able to put together with some clever - related names and descriptions (and any other ideas you awesome people come up with):

Bath bombs
Scented candles
body lotion
cologne/perfume
plant(s)
fake calendar
Christmas ornament(s)
Halloween and Easter decoration
kitchen utensil set (i.e.: cupcake pan, bowl, whisk)
emoji pillow
3-D glasses
T-shirt(s)
pajama set
cat whisker socks
baseball style caps (in rhinestone of course!)
Tattoos for punk edits
hair straightener
emoji keychain
Nail polish set (with related names)

I really wish I was in a position to contribute more!

oh the bingo cards! like tweet bingo cards (which I guess I can tie in with Persona™). The merch is such a good suggestion, too. you have my mind running with bath bomb and scented candle ideas...

If you'd like some help asimfrickinzazzed bath bombs are running through my head too.

[Poe]

Hello, I come bearing gifts.

First, here is the houseplant section and pro/con dog breed section. I want to thank everyone who participated in the informal poll Lurktacularr held, especially oqua and felucca for their masterlists.

Editors, have at it!

I hope I linked this in a way that doesn't reveal any of my personal info such as irl name, haha. if not, someone let me know so i can alert a mod.

Speaking of which, would we have to go about creating an email address to create a dropbox for this project?


Looking over daphenaxa's materials raised two style questions that we might want to keep in mind for continuity. First, the oxford comma. I used it, but daphenaxa didn't. I know AP Style doesn't use the oxford comma, but I'm pretty sure AP is just American. Which should we stick too, using it or not using it? Also, there's American versus British spellings. It makes sense to use British, as I believe it is the spelling system most widely used (and also used by the subjects of this magazine). If we decide to stick to British spellings, I'll need editors to look out for that in my writing because I only just realized it.

For timeline, I did think that if it could be done by VidCon or SITC someone could possibly take them a physical copy? I think there's people from IDB going to both, so if someone was going to their meet up and was willing to that could work?
I'm still working on if/what I want to contribute apart from beta-ing, I haven't done much creative type writing in a while so I'm still thinking
I did consider potentially a 'D&P fan trip to London' travel page, with like recommendations of places they have been/visited? I know London pretty decently and I guess quite a lot of phans get inspired to go visit? Thoughts?

1. What does everyone think about this deadline?
2. Go for it! One day I'll be able to use your guide and recreate their day in the life.

okay, see you all on the other side

I love it, the dogs one is really good. I think before vidcon is a good deadline. for me too

Those were great. I hope they dog one to heart

That deadline sounds good to me too. Now, will they see this and appreciate our creativity or think we are absolutely insane? Probably, both haha

Yeah the deadline sounds good. I think we are bored af, really insane and extremely creative because of the two reasons mentioned

greatnessflicker Loved the dog one .
A little off-topic but I'm really interested for the font you used for the 'Updates from the Tour' page and the size of it.


About the #busgate article I think we may need 2 versions of it. One for the us and one for Deppy, because I think they would freak out a little if they saw that we pulled a japhan #bedgate and searched for their bus model and bus layouts, but idk. IF they already know about idb because we are kind of known in the phandom (not as knows as gg was but still) then I'd be surprised that they hadn't already heard or even seen idb .I will post it in a few hours but until then...opinions on this?

[daphenaxa]

Hey guys ok I gotta say I am SO happy and excited that we are doing this. I love this project so much, I have loved all the contributions so far and I can't wait to read/see the rest of them. All of you are so funny and talented

one thing that we have to keep in mind I think is that we are doing that for our own enjoyment writing/making it and reading it and sharing it with the rest of the Phandom. If Dan and Phil see it, that would be absolutely lovely but I don't think it should be the end goal so my take is we shouldn't censure ourselves/our bants/our ideas because they might see it. And by that I mean we still have to be sensible and respectful because DUH but let's not go overboard and censure ourselves.

I don't think we need to do 2 versions of busgate. That we looked for the buses layout online is probably not news to them and then yeah I guess it is a bit stalker but it's really not crazy stalker as all infos were online and we just speculated. Dan and Phil are gonna be indulgent with us. They KNOW we are nose pervert obsessed with sleeping arrangements.