zine experience

a list of my experience contributing and moderating zines.

_{moderator - project ongoing | moderator - project completed | | contributor
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moderator experience
project ongoing

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moderator experience
project completed

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contributor experience
poetry, short-form & long-form works

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collaborative anthologies/zines

a selection of designs made for various collaborative anthologies/zines.

_{hisui chronicles | glass knives
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layout samples for hisui chronicles - a pokémon legends: arceus zine.brief:⟡ must be fit for print and for digital.
⟡ aesthetically, its base must capture the essence of a "logbook" essential to the game the zine is inspired by.^{note: contents of written pages have been replaced.}

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layout samples for glass knives: a benoit blanc zine.brief:⟡ must be fit for print and for digital.
⟡ aesthetically, the zine must fit and re-use provided assets, and elevate upon them where possible.^{note: contents of written pages have been replaced.}

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musical theatre tarot series

a series of tarot designs based on australian productions of musicals. ever expanding.

_{groundhog day | rent
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a design based on groundhog day.

social tiles and merchandise showcasing the tarot design.all of the tiles can be found here.

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a design based on rent.

social tiles and merchandise showcasing the tarot design.all of the tiles can be found here.

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personal projects

a collection of designs made for personal use, based on a prompt or theme.

_{coney island baby | la chimera
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a poster design inspired by lou reed's 1976 album, coney island baby.provided prompt: "create a piece about a lyric, idea, motif. etc that has been formative to you."credits:⟡ photo of lou reed and laurie anderson at coney island by annie leibovitz (NY, 1995)
⟡ photo of a new york city subway train by antonio dicaterina (unsplash)

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a poster design inspired by a line from alice rohrwacher's 2023 movie, la chimera.provided prompt: "create a piece about a phrase that has been stuck in your head."credits:⟡ thrive statue by daniel popper
⟡ photos of various stone and metal statues by marianna smiley, wilhelm gunkel, sajad nori, and giusi borrasi (unsplash)

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love lust lost (2023)

a series of tarot designs based on the characters of love lust lost, an immersive theatre experience by broad encounters.

full love lust lost tarot spread. design breakdowns per design can be found here.

a selection of physical merchandise created from these designs: physical tarot cards, tote bags, and jewelry.

love lust lost (2023) - design breakdowns

a very long, comprehensive breakdown of the ideas and motifs that informed the design of each card.

_{trink | chan | stefano | sandy & captain anderson | claude | salacia | the sea creature
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trink - the unnameable
death
_{transformation | change | letting go}

to me, death best captured the slow, steady dissolve of the myths this character shrouded themself in. in the same way the stories we tell ourselves become truths, a deckhand with the mouth of a sailor can adorn themself with fine threads and believe themself to be king. but it is still performance, no matter how naturally it comes. when you assert yourself as being more than what you are as a means of defense and an act of resistance, what happens when you reach a point where you must war with yourself to maintain the façade? what remains of the jester who decays under the weight of their farce yet persists in performing for their court?it is this dissonance between who the character is, who the character wants to be, and the struggle to keep themself from falling apart that i found so compelling. to assume an air of whimsy as they cling to the remains of their battered armor, only to have an existential crisis that precipitates—if only for a moment—a break down that lets them free themself of their costume in both a literal and figurative sense was endlessly fascinating to watch, and is a tonal shift i crave in media. it is this letting go of what they have held onto, this fleeting moment of transformation, where death in particular resonated.visually, it is also the design that is the least like a tarot card. though not intentional, it does amuse me. it still draws inspiration from death loosely, notably the skull as an ode to the reaper and the multi-petaled rose an elaboration on the tudor rose. the other elements of the card are wholly inspired by the character:⟡ the ace of hearts is based on the card trick they perform at the start of the show. an ace looked more visually striking compared to the card i had pulled, which was the three of hearts.
↳ i placed this element in the center mostly for sentimental reasons; this card trick was the first interaction i had with the show’s world/characters, and re-ignited an old love of magic/magic tricks.
↳ design wise, it also serves as a more effective focal point than the rest of the rose’s bloom.⟡ the strings of pearls are based on the oysters they feed an audience member during the show. the insides of an oyster are infinitely sexier than its outside.
↳ there is also something to be said about how pearls are the byproducts of the oyster protecting itself from that which breaches its protective shield, or threatens to harm its body.
↳ there is also a double entendre that will be left unsaid.
↳ i also think the character would enjoy and indulge in the fineries of life.this was the first card conceptualized of the spread, and also the one that underwent the most extensive amount of changes and iterations. naturally, as the character it is inspired by is one dear to my heart, this design is the one i adore the most.

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chan - the chained
three of swords
_{heartbreak | grief | trauma}

this character’s story is inextricably woven with pain, both emotional and physical, literally and figuratively. the three of swords was the perfect, almost natural, representation of this. much like the heart in the three of swords, to me, his pain arises from three loci, the two most overt being:⟡ his love interest—though one of few who touch him with gentle hands, she hurts him in her hesitance, denying him and his advances when he showed her vulnerability.
⟡ and other characters who hold control over him—they hurt him physically and torment him emotionally. he flinches at raised fists and pleads for mercy that will never be tendered.but it is to himself he is the most destructive. in a vessel that demands spectacle and performance, there is no space for authenticity, and he is acutely aware of this. he knows he must bear the weight of expectation, to assume the bravado, feign helplessness, and play his role in a cyclical show that will never change and never end. to be in front of people who perceive you but do not see you, however, is a cutting form of loneliness that creates yearning; for someone to rise to your challenge and see past you, for someone to say that you are worth saving—that your heart has the right to remain unbroken. when nobody does, and nobody forgives you for doing as your circumstances necessitate, the hurt simply crystallizes into self-contempt.while this design is the most visually reminiscent of the tarot card it is inspired by, the element directly based on the character is the chain. clipped to a collar around his neck during the show, the chain makes him beholden to whoever takes the other end, forging a connection in a very literal sense. in this design, the hand clutches the end of the chain wrapped around its wrist. with this context in mind, does the chain constrain or does it liberate? is it a taking back of control or a resignation to be controlled? is the ouroboros a symbol of destruction or a sign of rebirth?this was the first card completed of the spread, and is also the one most true to my original conceptualization. it was a revelation getting to witness the unexpected depths of this character performed and embodied with such earnestness.

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stefano - the scorned
the tower
_{destruction | chaos | change}

when i initially drafted the card for this character, i had based it upon the ace of swords primarily for his role in helping to fell the show’s antagonist. but the more i saw the show, the more i understood the complexities of this character the tower best represented.though he is ostensibly one of the comedic reliefs, he is afforded moments of quiet that, while scarce, reveal an undercurrent of resentment and guilt that cracks the pretense. to have awareness of the vessel’s corrosive nature, to have been complicit in the antagonist’s plans even if compliance was forced upon him, meant that where others perished, he survived. he lives on, the burning tower shrouded in chaos and destruction from which those he may have loved are pushed into the tempest below. it is unsurprising that hate should moor him and lead him to be a catalyst for change and upheaval.while the design itself draws heavily from the tower in its visuals, its most distinct element is the rope. though wrapped around hands alight, it is neither charred nor frayed—it is pristine, iron-clad until it serves its purpose of bringing about the end of a poisonous cycle. the character too is the one who wraps the rope around the antagonist’s neck and stands over him as the strangulation occurs. there is an immediacy, an intimacy, that makes the finishing blow so poignant.the emotional whiplashes that come from following this character was a delight to experience every time. contained chaos and unbridled fun.

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sandy & captain anderson - the heartsick & the drowned
the star
_{disconnection | despair | lack of faith}

when it came to brainstorming the designs for these two characters, it was at the forefront of my mind that their father-daughter relationship be represented. it was almost serendipitous then that my interpretations of both characters could be captured by the star, allowing me to draw on the same motifs to link them visually and thematically.the chasm between the two characters runs deep and stretches far. try as the father might have to build a home within an iron ship, it will always be a prison to a daughter who dreams of a soft place where robins can land and relax their restless flight. how can she tell her father she wants to know what it means to live where the air is clear? how else can she know who she is outside of the contexts her father created? how else can she find truths that lie outside her father’s mythology?likewise, how can a father tell his daughter that love is not like the simple narratives of her romance books? that speaking his love in this language of metal was not meant to create a prison, but a shelter from a world that has hurt him, a nest away from danger and harm? that his anger and indifference was once love too?though the stars in their designs share the same sky, their disconnection remains. one features a hand held back by a net as it reaches out towards the star, trying in vain to grasp this unobtainable ideal—freedom, love, life—that nourishes a heart with a waterfall of hope. perhaps one day, it can be the one that beats in her chest.the other depicts a hand that, having already reached the stars, disregards it, clutching instead a bottle from which a torrent flows. for a man with a head soaked in liquor and a body held together by drugs, he nourishes nothing, letting all that he could have passed onto his daughter well in a lake that will never be filled.perhaps these cards are my way of bridging two characters whose lines are doomed to run parallel—father-daughter relationships soften my heart like little else will.

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claude - the lovelorn
ace of cups
_{love | repressed emotions | compassion}

in drafting my concepts for this design, the ace of cups immediately resonated with the way i perceived this character’s arc. a heart motif connects her with her love interest, yet her heart, unable to hold the love she feels for someone who has eyes for another, bleeds instead, accumulating in a cup that—like a bucket in a downpour—is already overflowing. all that remains unshared, unheard, unrequited, flows into an endless ocean where it’ll remain untouched, repressed, even if her chest caves in under its weight.the pathos of this character sincerely moved me, because unlike the others in her love interest’s life, her love was never based on reciprocity. it is patient, kind, unconditional—love for love’s sake. all of the little dreams she may have had to be with someone who she could have seen herself grow old with, to greet death with, is secondary to what would make her love interest happy.the depth of that sort of love is incredibly touching to see. when so much nowadays feels transactional, it was a needed breath of fresh air.

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salacia - the divine
the high priestess
_{divine feminine | secrets | sacred knowledge}

as the character most shrouded in the mystic and mystery, the high priestess naturally came to mind. two hands wrapped in tentacles rise from the depths like two pillars, capturing the dualities inherent to this character—a divine femininity that nurtures and a masculinity that wrestles for power; a heart that cries over the creatures of the deep and a heavy hand that deals pain and misery; mother and master, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful—like the moon the hands of the design cradle, she has control over the tides, over the characters, over the vessel, over you, should you let her.this character wavers through these dualities with an intoxicating ease, carrying herself with an air of self-assurance. you know intuitively that she holds wisdom, sacred knowledge, and it draws you into her orbit, to watch her strange mannerisms and indulge in her idiosyncrasies. perhaps in doing so, you will also discover something new, about her, about the world, about the story—about you.it was a sheer delight to be swept away and awed in this character’s presence, every single time.

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the sea creature - the transformed
the hermit
_{isolation | withdrawal | introspection}

of the characters, this character seems the most isolated and unlike the rest. but there is still a depth to him and his story that necessitates reflection—in this way, the hermit felt like the best representation. the scenes that most struck me from his arc were when he dwells a room alone, speaking in hushed tones, striking you with knowledge about the world and its characters that its lucidity catches you off guard. thus, this design features a lantern that, much like his creator’s design, has an eye motif, illuminating the writing on the wall that the trajectory of the story will not feature a happy ending. also visually linking him with his creator are two open hands, wrapped in seaweed to express his more aquatic qualities.the physicality and the nuance in the way this character was performed was a treat to see.

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let's work together.

email: renaitreve@pressmanque.com
instagram: @renaitreve
ph. number: provided upon request.alternatively, fill out the contact form below.