To create a new archive in Ark, choose New from the File menu.

You can then type the name of the archive, with the appropriate extension (tar.gz, zip, bz2 etc.) or select a supported format in the Filter combo box and check the Automatically select filename extension option. To add files to the archive, choose Add File... from the Action menu. If you want to add an entire folder to an archive, choose Add Folder... from the Action menu.

An alternative way to add files to the archive is to drag a file from Konqueror, Dolphin or the desktop into the main Ark window, and it will be added to the current archive.