FMP: Week Six

BOOKBINDING

DEFINITION: "Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material."

This week I focused on binding my final book that I will ultimately present for my FMP. To begin, I looked up various tutorials on general bookbinding, and from there moved onto different types of binding and book making.  

Initially, I had planned on using a standard method of bookbinding - which includes creating signatures and either gluing or threading them together. 

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Though through more research I decided that a different type of binding technique would be aesthetically interesting and make for a more interactive book. Ultimately, I went for the traditional 'Japanese binding' with thread, as I thought it looked most interesting.

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When it came to making the final product, I chose simple cartridge paper - though I had previously thought about including different paper textures and colours, I decided on a more simple look, because I did not want to deter away from the content I was aiming to produce. Though so the aesthetic didn't come across as boring, I wen for colour card as the front and back covers - then using thick white thread to contrast such. 

Ultimately, the actual creation of my book proved more difficult than I had anticipated, the binding of the thread proved difficult when it came to weaving through fairly thick paper, and I was primarily at a loss as to how to overcome such. But by using a thick needle (and providing more force!) I was able to overcome such and produce a final product I am quite content with.

In conclusion, as the final book I made was a 'trial' of such, I am considering making another that will ultimately be the final piece, and taking on board most of the issues I had to work through in order to make my next process much easier for myself.

COMICS AND ZINES

In addition to my bookbinding, this week I also looked at obviously, research and actual practical work for the ultimate content of the book; for which I continued my research into personal and comic books, especially ones hat had been independently published on small scales. As well as looking at other smaller pieces I want to include within my final product, I went back to the previous research of zines and began looking at tutorials on how to creating them - and the two ways I am currently working through are making one using one sheet of paper and using various pieces of paper. Though these are still things I am working through and trying to finish, I am confident in my research and my ultimate goals and feel prepared for the upcoming final deadline.

Image sources: Google image search