'Watercolours' is a zine project focused on the character Waterboy from the video game Dispatch.This zine's concept is (loosely) different colours. Each piece will center around a colour and the relation of that colour to Waterboy.

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How does the theme work?

The colour theme is a general cohesive guide for contributors to incorporate into their works to see how their chosen colour relates to Waterboy.An artist example of this would be if they were assigned the colour 'green'. Green can be interpreted as the colour of luck so they could utilise the colour green to express that luck Waterboy has on those pesky 2% missions.An author example of this would be if they were assigned the colour 'orange'. Orange can be interpreted as a colour of amusement so they would write more about Waterboy either being amused or amusing others. If they were to take the colour more literally—for ease, let's say they were assigned 'yellow'—the author may be reminded of a place like the sand on the beach and write Waterboy at the beach.The interpretation is up to you as long as you can relate it to Waterboy. For authors, the interpretation can be less literal but for artists they are required to use the assigned colour in their piece.

Is this zine NSFW/SFW?

The main zine will be a SFW zine.An NSFW zine may occur after seeing the initial reception for this first zine.

Is this zine digital and/or physical?

This zine will be available both digitally and physically!

Is this zine for profit or non-profit? Do contributors have to pay for their own copy of the zine?

This zine is for profit. All profits made will be split across all contributors. Additionally, all contributors will be receiving their copies of the zine for free alongside any merch that gets made.

Will this zine include any ships?

For the purposes of keeping it as a Waterboy-centric zine, we ask that contributors do not produce work with any blatant romance with any other character. Contributors are able to subtly imply certain romantic/platonic relationships but it can't be the full focus of the work. Thank you for understanding.

What are the requirements to be approved as a contributor?

The portfolio requirements for a contributor application are as follows:

Page/Cover Artist:

2 to 5 full illustrated pieces. You are more than welcome to add more!
Simple and/or detailed backgrounds accepted.
Pieces that are fully coloured are necessary — No sketches.

Merch Artist:

1 to 3 merch design pieces. You are more than welcome to add more!
Any images of any actual merch you've made will be beneficial.

Writer:

2 to 3 oneshots and/or 2 to 3 long fic chapters.
1.5k min. word count required for each work.

All files for your portfolio must be put into a Google Drive folder.Additionally, it's not a requirement but it is strongly preferred that you have examples with Waterboy in them. It'll help us get a feel for how you would depict him for the zine!

How will contributors be chosen?

Contributors will be chosen based on technical skill and creativity with their work. This is not a dig at anyone who applies and we do not view any of them "lesser" for not being accepted. We are simply working with limited space and cannot accept everyone.

How many artists/authors will be chosen?

Right now, we are estimated to have 13 artists and around 3 authors overall. This can change as the second interest check has not been done at this time.

What is the maximum word length for writers?

The maximum word count length for writers would be 1.5k. If there are any additional inquiries on this where you aren't able to stay within limit, please let us know so we can accommodate.

Can I use other colors in my piece?

As long as the colour assigned to you is obvious in your piece, you can use other colours.

Is drawing Waterboy in different outfits okay?

This is perfectly okay! We need to get this man some better clothes honestly!

Are art pieces that have a very simple background okay?

This is perfectly acceptable. All we ask is that we don't send him to the void.

Is traditional art acceptable?

Traditional art is acceptable! The only additional requirement for traditional art is being able to clearly scan or take photos of your work in the proper dimensions at 300 DPI.

How long will the whole process of the zine take?

The entire process of the zine with my rough estimates at the moment are:

Mod Applications: 1 to 2 weeks
Mod Selection Process: 1 week
Artist/Writer/Merch Applications: 2 to 3 weeks
Artist/Writer/Merch Selection Process: 2 weeks
Art/Fic/Merch Creation Period: 1 to 2 months
Formatting/Typesetting/Final Touch Up: 2 to 3 weeks
Pre-Order period: 1 to 2 months
Production Period for Zine and Merch: 3 to 4 months
Shipping Period: 1-5 weeks

This is also subject to change as the project continues. If such change occurs, all accounts related to the zine will update to all customers and all contributors will be notified.

How will the finances be managed to avoid fraud or embezzlement?

A mod will be held responsible for all major finances however I will also be overseeing their work and there will be stand-up meetings bi-weekly with official documents on what has been spent with either live stream/video evidence of all expenses and what they have been used for.

If a controversy or drama were to happen during the process, how will it be managed or affect the zine?

If it was an individual-based controversy, the individual in question will be immediately dropped from the project. If they were a contributor, their work would be removed from the zine entirely. If they were a mod, I will be handling their responsibilities as a replacement for the rest of the duration of the project.If it's a larger issue and production has not started, refunds will be given to customers and contributors will still be paid for their time for the zine as normal. They will be able to post pieces they have worked on the zine of their own volition. If production has started, the only difference is that customers will still receive their pre-ordered zine as normal even with their refund.I will ensure that both contributors and customers will not be burdened with any issues that could arise due to controversy/drama and will take full responsibility as the host of this zine if this situation were to occur.

Will this be a proship-friendly zine?

Watercolours will always be a sex positive, LGBTQIA+ safe space and that includes primarily proship ideals even if the zine itself is not NSFW. If you are a contributor who is unsure about the contents of their pieces for the zine, you are always free to ask a mod for clarification.

Please consider if a physical zine makes sense for a niche fandom/topic. Having a financial mod/co-mod to overlook the interest check results is definitely recommended.Considering you want to compensate every participant with physical goods, it can cost a lot with shipping and packaging included.

Currently at the end of the interest check, I (Bee) will be handling the finances and shipping for this project. In regards to the feasibility of a physical zine, I have discussed this at length amongst peers and other zine creators and have concluded on proceeding with a small run of physical zines for this project.Additionally, in regards with costs, I am budgeting for every contributor and mod with the exception of myself to be compensated with both the physical zine, merch and profits from this zine. Any other incurred costs that may occur out of my control will be mitigated by my own funds alone.

Also do you have other socials I can contact you with?

We have four public social accounts that can be used for communication:

Twitter
Bluesky
Tumblr
Instagram

Additionally, I have set up a strawpage for anonymous questions if that's more your style. The Tumblr account in particular also has anonymous asks turned on as well.