I'm discontinuing Primitive Zine (and taking a new approach). Here's why!

I’ll be publishing new articles on the 3D for Designers blog from here on out.

Primitive Zine will be discontinued, but I'll still be investigating the craft and culture of 3D for designers through writing, analysis, research, and making tons of stuff.

What subscribers should know about this change:

You’ll hear more from me, not just the people we interview. (Yes, this means more tutorials!)
When I have a new article to share, I'll send it to you right away. It won't be bundled up in biweekly issues.
You may see a couple things re-published as I flex on these new editorial processes. Bear with me!
Previously published articles will stick around. I've archived everything here.

And on to the why...

Primitive Zine was about an ongoing mission for me: investigating the emerging culture and craft of 3D art.

I took it really seriously!

Each interview involved three people—the interviewee, our managing editor, and myself—and took anywhere from 12 to 15 hours to produce.

These interviews were full of cutting-edge techniques and advice from designers who are discovering and pushing the boundaries in 3D.

These expert insights could be life-changing for some folks, but I don’t see us reaching people who would benefit the most.

As a fledgling publisher, I have questions. How do I make these ideas more accessible? How do I surface all this compelling between-the-lines stuff in an effective way?

Plus, the time requirements started to squeeze out lesson development...

Primitive quickly grew beyond a small-time zine, but I still felt bound by the expectations of one. I talked it over with Audrey, my managing editor, and we agreed we needed more flexibility.

I'm not trying to drag Squarespace here, but their developer situation? It has, uh, limitations.

And, well… y’all know how I get. 😂

I dug up my coding mittens and, over a few sleepless nights, designed and built a new blog.

Put me in a codebase and I kinda start wilin' out. Design-wise, pretty much everything on 3dfordesigners.com is new!

These are mockups from early in the design process. I took the opportunity to upgrade the design system from the ground up.

Thank you so much for reading, sharing, and supporting what we’ve done with Primitive.

We published seven issues with 26 contributors. Here are some of my favorites, in case you missed 'em:

Your support means everything to me. I know it’s a privilege to have your attention, and I’ll keep working hard to earn it.

Illustration by Patrick Sluiter, from Primitive Zine No. 3.

Nov 07, 2017
Devon Ko