Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by BAM Creative Arts on September 21, 2010 at 9:56am

There are a lot of different ways to make newspapers. Most revolve around your printer. Do you have one that will print to full size, will it accept newsprint, etc. Fonts can be any sort of serif, though headlines tend to be sans (a la helvetica or others). Layout comes down to period. Newspapers have changed sized significantly over the years, as have the number of columns on each page, the introduction of photos and color, and on and on.

The HP Lovecraft Society has some great newspaper fonts for sale. Check them out. Other than that, research is the key.

(PLUG!)Or you could hire my company (bamcreativearts.com). We have very reasonable rates.(/PLUG!) Even if you aren't interested in buying, check out the site. We have a few examples that might lead you in a good direction.

Permalink Reply by Tom R. Earlywine on September 21, 2010 at 11:44am

http://www.cthulhulives.org/toybox/propdocs/PropFonts.html

Permalink Reply by Tom R. Earlywine on September 21, 2010 at 11:54am

Past Propsmaster here has laid out entire newspapers in InDesign and then printed out large-format at the copy store, then copied that onto newsprint using our main Park District office's architect copier. They looked absolutely brilliant.

A little simpler, if you're crafty: Print customized headlines, etc. onto newsprint on your regular printer. Tear the edges along a ruler rather than cutting (pull up on the part your keeping will create best blend). Super 77 the custom parts to Wall Street journal. I use Wall Street journal as often as possible because most of the pages are just text so they don't jump out as wrong period, and it's easy enough to paste text only over any large ads that are wrong for the period (or just paste an entire text page over that page - this also toughens up the prop a bit as pages are double-thick).

This method looks fine from 15ft away under stage lighting, and although it's more crafty work, I think it's much less total work - your mileage may vary.

Permalink Reply by Sharon Malone on September 21, 2010 at 4:55pm

Sounds perfect for my computer-challenged friend who needs to do a project for school! Thanks Tom!
S.