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Closes May 19th 6pm EST

About

Gear 5: A Luffy Zine will focus on Luffy in his awakened state: Gear 5. It will feature the sun and gold as the motif (such as imagery, gold foil for merch, etc.). The zine will be SFW, for-profit, and physical. Manga spoilers up to the current chapter may be included.Sign up for our newsletter below to get updates on important dates such as interest check, applications, giveaways, and more!

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Schedule

Schedule subject to change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Applications

Last updated July 16th, 2023.

• Artist App
• Merch App
• Writer App

Contributor Guidelines

Contributors must...
☀ be respectful to other contributors and mods. Any contributors found participating in harmful behavior including repeated, targeted harassment; bigotry and discrimination; or otherwise derogatory and unacceptable behavior will result in being dropped from the zine.Additionally, offensive depictions of characters, such as racial caricatures, will not be allowed even if it is part of the character design (ex: exaggerated lips for Usopp and Blackbeard).☀ be 18 years or older at the time applications close (August 15th).☀ have a Discord to participate.☀ adhere to all deadlines per the zine schedule.☀ communicate with the mod team in a timely manner.☀ create a new and original piece for the zine. Tracing, plagiarism, stealing, and AI are NOT allowed. This includes AI writing such as ChatGPT and character.ai.☀ inform the mod team if they are no longer able to fulfill their obligations as soon as possible.☀ keep their zine pieces private for the duration of the zine, including after sales.
By applying and accepting a position in this zine, contributors are agreeing to follow these guidelines. Additionally, contributors will be considered the face of the zine and representative of its values. If it is brought to the mods’ attention that any contributors are participating in harassing or discriminatory behavior or using AI of any kind outside of the zine, they will be dropped from the zine.

Roles

Applicants may apply to multiple positions but will only be accepted to a maximum of two roles.All contributors will especially be in close contact with the writing & formatting, merch, and art mods and are expected to engage with them. Additionally, writers and spot artists are expected to work closely with each other.
Comic Artists will be required to create:
☀ 1 comic that is 2 - 4 pages long.Cover Artist (Digital Shipping Add-On) will be required to create:
☀ 1 A5 sized cover page OR A4 sized cover spread.Merch Artists will be required to create:
☀ 2 - 3 pieces of merch, either physical or digital.
☀ If accepted for two roles, merch artists will have a reduced workload.Page/Spread Artists will be required to create:
☀ 1 A5 sized page OR A4 sized spread.Spot Artists will be required to create:
☀ Spot art for 2 fanfictions.
☀ If accepted for two roles, spot artists will have a reduced workload.Writers will be required to create:
☀ 1 fanfiction between 1k - 1.5k words.
For the digital shipping add-on, all contributors will be able to create for any role.

General Portfolio Requirements

☀ Submit samples that best represent your work and the style you wish to use in the zine.☀ Gear 5, Luffy, and One Piece samples are not required but highly recommended.☀ Samples that contain the following material must be tagged: NSFW, spiders, and trypophobic imagery (holes, especially clusters of holes).☀ All samples must be publicly available. If you use Google Drive, ensure that the “anyone on the internet with the link can view” setting is enabled. You can check your links by visiting them in incognito mode. We will not be requesting access for any private samples or portfolios.

Writer Portfolio Requirements

Writers must submit:
3 samples between 500 - 1.2k words.
☀ We will judge your application from these samples. Please ensure these are your best works and representative of the style you wish to use in the zine.
☀ Samples that go over or under the word count will be disqualified.
☀ Do not paste samples directly into the Google Form question. All samples must be hosted externally (Google Docs, AO3, etc.) and submitted in link format.
☀ Your samples must use legible font and font sizes. Images/screenshots of fics and Twitter threads will not be accepted. Any samples that do not fit these requirements will be disqualified.
☀ In light of the recent DDoS attack on AO3, we HIGHLY recommend submitting your samples via Google Docs or other websites. In case of a future attack, we will not have the time or manpower to ask applicants to resubmit their samples if we cannot access them.Gear 5, Luffy, and One Piece samples are highly recommended but not required.Completed fics are highly recommended but not required.A portfolio is optional.
☀ If you submit a portfolio, we will only use it if we feel your samples alone are not sufficient to make a decision. Please ensure it is representative of the style you wish to use in the zine.
☀ Google Drive is preferred, but AO3, Fanfiction.net, Tumblr, carrd, website, or other fanfiction/archive/writing sites are accepted as well. If you use a social media site, make sure it is easy to find your fics (Tumblr writing tag, etc.) otherwise it will be disqualified.
☀ Your portfolio must follow the same guidelines as your samples (word count and legibility).

Writer Application Guidelines

Writers will be evaluated on:
Technical Skill
☀ Spelling, punctuation, grammar, paragraph formatting, consistent tenses & point of view, and word usage.Completion
☀ Does the fic read like a cohesive, finished piece?
☀ Does it have a clear beginning, middle, and end (including snippets)? Is there conflict and a resolution?Story
☀ Is there a narrative that leads the reader to experience something? That conveys an emotion? Was thought and consideration put into the piece to convey meaning?
☀ Do you show, not tell?Flow & Pacing
☀ Is the story too slow? Too fast?
☀ Is each scene given the necessary time and weight needed?Characterization
☀ Can we tell which character(s) you are writing?
☀ Are they fleshed out and active participants in the story?

Artist Portfolio Requirements

All artists must submit:3 - 5 samples.
☀ We will mainly judge your application from these samples. Please ensure these are your best works and representative of the style you wish to use in the zine.A portfolio.
☀ We will use your portfolio if you are applying to multiple art roles or we feel your samples alone are not sufficient to make a decision. Please ensure it is representative of the style you wish to use in the zine.
☀ Google Drive is preferred, but a social media, carrd, website, powerpoint, or other portfolio sites are accepted as well. If you use a social media site, make sure it is easy to find your art (Twitter media tab is art only, Tumblr art tag, etc.) otherwise it will be disqualified.Gear 5, Luffy, and One Piece samples are highly recommended but not required.
Additionally, comic artists must submit:1 or more comic pieces.
☀ Please submit 1 piece as a sample. Additional pieces may go in the samples or portfolio.
Additionally, spot artists are recommended but not required to submit:1 or more pieces that feature text alongside art.
☀ Previous spot art layouts, comics, graphic design elements, etc.
☀ Please submit 1 piece as a sample. Additional pieces may go in the samples or portfolio.

Artist Application Guidelines

All artists will be evaluated on:
Technical Skill
☀ Anatomy, perspective, composition, color theory, and how well these aspects serve the design of an illustrationCompletion
☀ Does the art look like a cohesive, finished piece?
☀ Does the background show a meaningful relationship/context between the subject and their environment?
☀ The background does not need to be a “scenery” background. It can range from simple to complex, but it needs to help set the mood and create visual interest in your art.Storytelling (Narrative Illustration)
☀ Does the art tell a story? Convey an emotion? Lead the viewer to experience something?
☀ Was thought and consideration put into the piece to convey meaning?Character Clarity
☀ Can we tell which character you are drawing?
Additionally, comic artists will be evaluated on:Story
☀ Does it have a clear beginning, middle, and end?Clarity in Artistic Delivery
☀ What actions are happening?
☀ Who is speaking?
☀ Is it easy to follow which panel or text comes next?
☀ Is the text legible?Artistic Vision
☀ How does the artist’s choice in composition, style, and pacing contribute to the overall story?
☀ Does the typesetting (style, font, size, layout, etc.) of the speech, narration, sound effects, etc. add to the story?
Additionally, spot artists will be evaluated on:
Use of Text
☀ How does the text compliment the art and vice versa?
☀ Applicants who do not submit a piece that features text will not be penalized.

Merch Artist Portfolio Requirements

Merch artists must submit:
3 - 5 samples.
☀ We will mainly judge your application from these samples. Please ensure these are your best works and representative of the style you wish to use in the zine.
☀ You may submit multiple styles if necessary (such as a style for prints, a chibi style for charms, etc.) but we will still look for cohesion amongst these styles.A portfolio.
☀ We will use your portfolio if we feel your samples alone are not sufficient to make a decision. Please ensure it is representative of the style(s) you wish to use in the zine.
☀ Google Drive is preferred, but a social media, carrd, website, powerpoint, or other portfolio sites are accepted as well. If you use a social media site, make sure it is easy to find your art (Twitter media tab is art only, Tumblr art tag, etc.) otherwise it will not be reviewed.
Gear 5, Luffy, and One Piece samples are highly recommended but not required.
Examples of physical/produced merch and/or mockups are recommended but not required.
Examples of gold foiled (or other colors or types of extra features) merch are recommended but not required.

Merch Artist Application Guidelines

Merch artists will be evaluated on:
Technical Skill
☀ Anatomy, perspective, composition, color theory, and how well these aspects serve the design of an illustrationCompletion
☀ Does the art look like a cohesive, finished piece?
☀ If it includes a background, does the background show a meaningful relationship/context between the subject and their environment?
☀ The background does not need to be a “scenery” background. It can range from simple to complex, but it needs to help set the mood and create visual interest in your art.
☀ This is only applicable if you wish to create merch that requires a background such as prints, bookmarks, etc.Design
☀ Does the design of merch optimize the limitations of the merchandise such as canvas size and shape, color limitations, etc.?
☀ Ex: Are small buttons clear and readable? Is the thin and rectangular shape of washi tape used effectively? Do pins have good line thickness and color usage?Character Clarity
☀ Can we tell which character you are drawing?