What Is a Zine? How to Make Zines with Kids -

Wondering what is a zine and how to make zines with kids? This simple guide will give you materials, blank templates, steps and ideas for themes of a zine.

What Is a Zine?

A hand holds two small, colorful zines; one says "CREATE MORE ART," while the other serves as a beginner guide with art, quotes, and "What's a Zine?"—offering inspiration on how to make a zine.

A zine (short for magazine or fanzine) is a small, self-published booklet that people create and distribute in limited quantities. They are DIY projects made by hand with simple tools such as a photocopier or home printer. Many are low-cost to print, stapled or bound together with simple methods.

One of the fun things about them is that there’s no single “right” way for them to look. That’s why I love to make zines with kids. Here are a few from my own collection for inspiration.

A collection of handmade zines and booklets featuring various illustrations, titles, and handwritten text arranged on a flat surface—perfect for inspiration or learning how to make a zine.

Zines can be all different shapes and sizes. They can be color, black and white or collaged. They are personal, expressive and may be based on a special interest.

My favorite kinds of zines to collect are ones with art and collage.

On the right, the zine I am holding is a collection of sketches by the artist Andrea Joseph.

A hand holds a collage made of vintage photos and ephemera, with various colorful zines and illustrated papers spread out in the background—perfect inspiration for anyone seeking a beginner guide on how to make a zine.

People make these booklets to share their thoughts, tell stories, express opinions, or connect with others who share similar interests. They are often shared or traded with others.

A hand holds open a notebook displaying two illustrated portraits; various zines, stickers, and art prints—including a playful zine for kids—are spread out on a table underneath. — This zine is one of my favorites! It’s by Natalie Malik, who I used to follow on her blog. The blog has since disappeared and I don’t see any social media for her. But here’s her Flickr artist account.

Why Make Zines?

They give students a chance to be creative without worrying about making everything perfect. Each one turns out completely different, which makes them feel personal and unique.

They are an easy, super low-prep art activity.
They build confidence, since there are no wrong ways to make a zine.
Zines are open-ended and encourage self-expression.
The materials are inexpensive – simple copy paper works well.
They are flexible and work for a wide range of ages.
Students stay engaged and motivated.

A colorful assortment of zines, comics, stickers, and small art prints arranged on a white surface—perfect for anyone curious about zine culture or looking for ideas on how to make a zine of their own. Titles and cover designs vary in style and content. — Here are some I picked up at this year’s local Zinefest.
I was in heaven seeing so many creative zines!

What Can You Put in a Zine?

This is what makes zines so much fun – there are so many different directions students can take with these. Each page could be completely different or they can all go together with one theme. You can keep it totally open-ended or give a little structure depending on your group.

Drawings and doodles
Collage
Comics
Stories
Quotes, poems or song lyrics
Lists
Personal observations and reflections
Opinions about a cause

Hands holding several small, hand-drawn and colored zines with titles like "My Year in Art," "My School Year," and "All About Taylor"—perfect inspiration if you’re looking for a creative zine for kids or ideas on how to make a zine.

Zine Materials

You probably have everything you need to get started.

White copy paper
Markers, colored pencils, crayons
Scissors and glue

Optional materials:

Patterned or colored paper scraps
Magazine pictures
Stickers (Amazon Affiliate links) or Washi tape
Collage ephemera
Zine templates & How to fold handout

Zine Ideas for Kids

End of Year Reflection Zine
All About Me
My favorites…
A comic about a story that happened in my life
An imaginative story
A collage of quotes

How to Make a Zine

The video from Tate Kids is so great at explaining to kids what zines are!

A few things that help this go smoothly:

Show a few examples (even simple ones).
Offer both blank pages and optional prompts.
Emphasize that there is no wrong way.
Let fast finishers keep going with more zines.
If you’re using templates, print extras. You’ll have kids who want to make more than one.

Step 1: Fold Your Paper

Fold the paper so it creates 8 small pages.

If you want to make this part even smoother, you can use a pre-made template so students can jump right into creating.

A sheet of white paper is laid flat on a white surface, visibly folded into eight equal rectangles—a perfect start for anyone looking for a beginner guide on how to make a zine.

A template for an eight-page zine layout shows labeled sections for pages 1 to 6, front cover, and back cover, with some labels appearing upside down—perfect for learning how to make a zine.

It’s important to understand how the order of the pages will end up after you fold. Here is a guide. This guide is also included in the Free Artist Quote zine download (below).

Step 2: Plan Your Zine

Choose a theme and plan out what you want on each page. Start by lightly sketching ideas or create a quick rough draft.

Step 3: Create

Draw, write, color or collage! Encourage students to fill the page and add lots of details.

Step 4: Display and Share

After finishing, photocopy the booklets to share with others – students love trading! Don’t forget to make a copy for yourself to add to your classroom zine library. They also look great displayed standing open in a display case or on a shelf.

How to Fold a Zine

Here’s my video all about how to fold a zine. A step-by-step handout is also available in my zine template resources.

Free Artist Quote Printable Zine

Hand holding a small zine with colorful collage pages featuring art-themed quotes and images. Cover reads "Create More Art," inside pages display artist quotes, artwork, and tips on how to make a zine—a perfect beginner guide.

I had so much fun creating this Artist Quote Zine! I have a FREE printable download of this zine just for you. I made this to demonstrate steps of making a zine and then I thought other art teachers might enjoy this! You can print this out, fold it and then use it as an example when you are teaching about zines. You could also print some out for your students if they want a copy.

If you scroll down, you can enter your email address to get your free zine!

How I Made This Artist Quote Zine

Step One: First, I found some art quotes online, typed them up in different fonts and then printed them out. I cut out the quotes using regular and decorative edge scissors.

A purple clipboard displays cut-out quotes about art and creativity from artists and thinkers like Bob Ross, Salvador Dalí, and Picasso—perfect inspiration for a zine for kids or anyone learning how to make a zine.

A clipboard holds a sheet displaying a grid of nine colorful abstract and nature-themed collage art pieces—perfect inspiration for a zine for kids—on a patterned tablecloth.

Step Two: I used magazine images and patterned paper to create backgrounds for my pages

Step Three: Then, I added more collage materials on top of the backgrounds.

A clipboard displays a collage of colorful images, including flowers, landscapes, art supplies, and abstract designs—perfect inspiration for anyone learning how to make a zine or creating a zine for kids in an engaging grid pattern.

Step Four: Finally, I glued on the quotes and then added some stickers for extra fun.

Here is the finished result! I love how it turned out!

A collage of colorful, inspirational art cards—perfect for a beginner guide on how to make a zine—featuring quotes, smiley faces, abstract designs, paint, pencils, and the phrases "CREATE MORE ART" and "Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Two hands hold colorful, decorated cards featuring art supplies, smiley faces, and inspirational quotes—perfect inspiration for a beginner guide on how to make a zine.

A hand holds an open, colorful handmade zine for kids featuring Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse quotes about art and creativity, decorated with stickers and collage elements.

Grab your own free copy of this zine. Simply print and fold! This is a great option to use as an example of a zine if you don’t have time to make your own or if you just want another one to add to your collection.

A hand holds a small, colorful zine for kids titled "Create More Art," with the pages open to inspiring artist quotes by Charles Horton Cooley and Bob Ross.

Included in this download is a blank version of the quote zine, which you or your students can color and design your own artist quote zine. The PDF also has a blank zine template and the zine layout which shows you what each page is.

Zine Templates for Kids

Are you looking for an easy way to teach about zines in your class? I made some prompted zine templates.

The first is an All About Me zine package, with prompts to get to know your students. These are perfect for the beginning of the year or really at any time.

The other two sets are End of the Year memory zines. One is an End of the Year Art Class reflection zine, so kids can share about their year in art. The other set is a general School Year Memories zine. These templates are an easy way to make zines with kids.

A hand holds three colorful, handwritten mini zines titled "My Year In Art," "My School Year," and "All About Taylor." Text below says templates, tips, and how to make a zine for kids are included.

A set of printable "All About Me" zine templates, with examples showing personalized covers and a colored page featuring ice cream, a sun, and a fall leaf—perfect for teaching kids how to make a zine.

Display of end-of-year memory books and zine templates for students; features accordion books, illustrated art reflection pages titled "My School Year" and "My Year in Art," plus a beginner guide on how to make a zine.

Image showing six blank zine template pages and a "How to Fold a Zine" instruction sheet—perfect for learning how to make a zine or creating your own zine for kids! Text: "BLANK ZINE TEMPLATES" and "PLUS a How to Fold a Zine Handout!.

Hand holding a small illustrated zine with art prompts; another zine titled "My Year in Art by Taylor" stands upright. Text describes included templates, handouts, and a beginner guide on how to make a zine.

A hand holds illustrated mini-zine pages for an end-of-year school memory activity, featuring drawings, prompts, and a cover labeled "My School Year" with the name "Taylor"—a fun example of zines for kids or how to make a zine.

Get Monthly Zines Sent to Your Mailbox!

Cindy Ingram, whom I’ve known through blogging and art education for years, recently started a zine subscription club! (affiliate link) She makes a zine every month and sends it via snail mail straight to your mailbox. They are so cooool!

Cindy is an author, artist and founder of Art Class Curator. Her book, Art is About Being Whole, is also available on Amazon. I interviewed Cindy about her book in a previous blog post.