welcome
Hi, I'm Lucy (aka cmykae) and I participate in a lot of zines.Bycmykae is my hub for zines. More specifically, a space to host my free zines. I run a lot of free zines from Toasty (the bread zine) to the genshin RNG series. Instead of making new accounts for my free projects, I decided to opt for a hub—which also makes it easier for repeat contributors to find all my projects.I'd like to thank all my friends who have volunteered to join me on my journeys as a beta reader.
What is a zine?
If you're new to zines, check out this resource: zine baby for more information.There are a few variations to the definition of a zine...but in this context, a zine is a collaborative digital PDF that consists of art and fics that is available for free download indefinitely (or until physically impossible to distribute).Do you only host zines?
In the future, we would like to expand to other types of projects and not just digital PDFs. They will probably, still be free and follow the same set up.Who can participate?
Anyone can participate as long as they agree to adhere to our rules. No prior zine experience is required.What are the requirements to sign-up/participate?
+ Previous experience not required
+ You must sign up during the sign-up application period
+ Join the discord server—active participation is not required but all project updates will be given through the server
+ A portfolio is only required for the cover artist.What type of mediums are allowed?
Any type of medium is allowed as long as it is submitted at the correct dimensions — except motion/animation. The zine will be distributed as a PDF and does not support motion/animation/audio.Are there content restrictions?
Content restrictions may vary on the project but overall: All zine pieces should be SFW. For fanzines, it will be measured by the canon rating. For original zines, we will opt for a "high school" appropriate rating. This means no nudity or explicit content. A small amount of OOC-ness is fine, but characters should be portrayed accurately to the original content.We do not support the following activities and behaviors:
- The use or support AI generative art or fics.
- Plagiarism: Including but not limited to: tracing and copying an existing work to a T with little to no transformation or commentary.
- Excessive aggressive, disrespectful, or hostile behavior towards people within the fandom, zine space, or online creative space.Anyone found participating in such activities will be removed from the project and barred from participating in future projects.
FAQ
What are the contributor expectations?
+ Discord attendance
+ Submit content for the zine
+ Respect the deadline.
+ Do not publish (i.e. share publicly) your zine piece until the zine has been released
+ Keep within the zine theme and content rating of SFW
+ CommunicationHow are contributors compensated?
With the joy of collaboration.
Because these are free zines, contributors are not compensated monetarily or with physical items.Why should I join a free zine?
Free zines aren't for everyone, but here are some things that may interest you:
- free zines are low risk, making them a great way to gain experience while trying something new
- a great way to challenge yourself by committing to a theme and a deadline
- there's someone to hold you accountable to complete your piece. some people have a problem with the "i can just do it later mindset" and never completing their tasks.
- opportunity for collaboration and camaraderie as you work towards a similar goal with fellow contributors
- you leave with work to add to your portfolio
- if you can't finish by the deadline or need to leave the project, there are no penalties.What is RNG?
RNG, or Random Number Generator, is the system used in many games.How do RNG zines work?
- During sign-ups, applicants will indicate which banner(s) they want to pull on. Everyone must make at least one (1) pull, and a maximum of five (5).
- After joining the discord server, contributors will be told their results.
- Contributors will have the chance to either drop or reroll (replace) one (1) pull. They can not do both.
- Contributors must use their results in their submission while adhering to the zine theme.What timezone is this zine running in?
This zine is running in US Central. We do observe Daylight Savings Time which can affect timezone conversions.——This is our MINI FAQ
Check out our Tumblr About for our more extensive FAQ.
Timeline Breakdown
Interest Check | To gauge interest, advertise the project. To move forward, we want at least 20 people who are interested in creating for the project |
Contributor Sign-Ups | Participants are required to sign-up. Only the cover artist needs a portfolio. |
Discord Invite Expires | Discord is a requirement to participate. |
Check-ins | Check-ins are optional for our zines. Contributors are allowed to work at their own pace. |
Submission Deadline | There are NO extensions. The final deadline is the final deadline. |
Beta Period | If there are writers, the Beta Reader that has agreed to help will beta read/edit the fics. |
Zine Previews | Contributors will be allowed to share a small preview of their work before the zine is released |
Zine Release | The project is released and contributors can share their completed works on their profile and in their public portfolios |
The TLDR;
about us
bycmykae is managed by Mod Lucy.
It will advertise most of Mod Lucy's zines but focus on free zines.
The goal of the free zines is essentially to allow contributors to gain zine experience, which is why we try to stick to "zine standards".
Lucy like to challenge the contributors. This is why we have tried things like RNG or Speedrun projects and will continue to try out new things.
The final deadline is the final deadline.
We will not offer any extensions. This is apart of the challenge...finishing on time. You are allowed to finish your work outside of the zine if you do not meet the deadline.We try to keep our projects pretty casual.
Don't let our zines stress you out...unless you love the stress of a deadline looming over you. Some people do, we won't judge.If you need to drop for whatever reason, we will completely understand. There are no hard feelings, feel free to join us again if our projects interest you.
2020-2021 | Original | Toasty BREAD | ♛ |
2021 | Genshin Impact RNG | Wish VOLUME 1 | ♛ |
2021 | Original | Sunny Side EGG | ♛ |
2021-2022 | Naruto | 七 TEAM SEVEN FASHION | ♛ |
2021-2022 | Genshin Impact RNG | Myth VOLUME 2 | ♛ |
2022-2023 | Genshin Impact RNG | Fabled VOLUME 3 | ♛ |
2023 | Naruto | Desert Bloom GAARA | ♛ |
2023 | Genshin Impact | 棒冰 CHONGYUN | ♛ |
2023-2024 | Genshin Impact RNG | Fortune VOLUME 4 | ♛ |
2023-2024 | Stardew Valley RNG | Blind Date | ♛ |
2024 | Pokemon SPEED RUN | Light Screen | ♛ |
2024 | Original | Toasty Mart BREAD 2 | ♛ |
2024 | Sailor Moon | Only A Memory Away | ♛ |