We’ve had a busy time here at zero2illo HQ revamping the Kinetiva site - which is something of the parent site to zero2illo. We’re using the site to pull everything together and create a bigger “whole” across all the communities we’ve set up and have in the works.

Part of the grand master plan is to encourage communities to “cross pollinate” and try out things that work in other creative industries, rather than being too inward-focused as a community.

We’re fortunate to get a bird’s eye view and can already see how ideas which illustrators use can be applied to classical musicians and also how illustrators can learn from the digital nomads of the location independent site. That’s the strength we believe we can bring to help people with natural talents use them more effectively.

You might also find useful the Kinetiva Video Vault where you’ll find free video tutorials on subjects like using social media, setting up and configuring your wordpress website and using the amazing Headway WordPress theme. We hope you find them useful.

We’ve also got a few quite different developments in the works here at zero2illo too but wanted to get everything worked out before letting you know. Some of them might sound a bit surprising at first but read on, it will be worth it

Without further ado, here’s what we’ve been working on behind the scenes…

No more blog…

We’ve decided to stop writing the zero2illo blog…but it’s not as bad as it sounds!

All of the content will remain and we will add ongoing resources to the 101,201 and 301 series of in-depth articles, as well as the occasional interview, process post and review - but we won’t be writing regularly scheduled posts for publication on the blog. There are a number of reasons for this:

• There are a number of other great illustration resource sites out there that are able to publish more frequent content than we can due to it being their full time job
• It simply isn’t sustainable as there are only so many things to talk about and share on a blog platform before it starts to get repetitive
• There just aren’t enough hours in the day

But, we have a plan and have come up with something that we think is far more powerful than zero2illo just being an illustration blog and resource site…

Introducing the zero2illo Zine!

For a while now, we’ve been wondering what the future of zero2illo could be and how we could involve the community more, provide more practical support and a platform to showcase the talent within the community - and the Zine is it.

The zero2illo Zine is a quarterly digital magazine, created for illustrators by illustrators. Each issue will be created from submissions from you (we hope!). We’ll be asking you to submit content which we’ll then select, design and pull it all together into a beautifully designed digital magazine.

It’ll be a great place to showcase not only your creative talent, but also share your expertise with your peers and plug into what’s going on within the community. We will also be sending out complimentary copies to Art Directors in the hope that it becomes a place for great talent to be found.

Each issue will feature the following:

• Cover Art - submitted by you, chosen by us
• A Website Review - submit your site for a professional review to help you improve it
• Illustration Process - the step-by-step process of a featured illustrator when creating a piece
• Illustration Tutorial - helping you develop your skills in a variety of areas
• Business Article - a resource to help you run a better business
• Inspiration Article - a resource to help motivate & inspire you
• Illustrator’s Gallery - feature spreads showcasing a selection of work
• Resources Round-up - your latest, most valuable resources for creative entrepreneurs & artists

You can find out more about how to submit content and how to subscribe to receive your copy of the Zine here.

The Creative Freedom Monthly Newsletter

We’ve also introduced a premium (but *very* affordable) newsletter called The Creative Freedom Monthly where each month we’ll encourage you to explore, expand and progress your creativity with a creative prompt and/or improve your business skills with a business task. We’ll share any useful resources which will help you complete the task each month.

We’ll also be setting up a private board on the forum for participants to use to discuss, explore and complete the creative or business challenge - think of it a bit like an ongoing 12 week challenge! You can find out more about it and subscribe here.

We hope you like the new additions - and please do submit your content for the very first edition of the Zine. We’ve got some great plans to market it so we’re excited about the potential opportunities for the content that is selected to feature in the 1st and ongoing editions of the Zine.