Research... what do you do?

[Geekblather]

This might not apply to all webcomics, particularly those that are 'slice of the artist's own personal life' kinds, but how much research do you do for characters?

I feel like to do- probably too much research (this may be due to me only being employed part time). Well, not too much, but a lot. My list of bookmarks relating to my comic covers everything from classic cars, to football rules, high school demographics, the wikipedia on cocaine (don't ask), meanings for Irish names, real estate and child emancipation laws in the midwest. I also poke around different sites like MSN, to see the kinds of questions people ask about different things, and looking through magazines to see about fashion for different age groups.

Overall, I think it helps out my comic, because I'm not the people I write (at least, not completely...) but I'm curious as to any research other folks do.

[Kels]

Hmm, I guess that's one thing about making a fantasy comic, a lot of what goes into it is simply made up, and then bound by the internal logic created that way.

I do spend a lot of time looking through image galleries of caves though, so that's research in its own way.

[Princess]

My library list makes me look like a future serial killer.

My comic is set in the 1930s so I have to check up on everything . Collect books/bookmarks on clothing, furnishings, old cook books, magazines, social history, hygiene, medicine, entertainment..I enjoy it a lot

'cept when I look back and find a mistake

[Rkolter]

I don't have to research my characters. I do have to do a lot of research on the science questions I answer though. I have a catalogue of locations I hit for information. It takes maybe ten hours on average of research for a question. If a question is 10-20 strips, thats 1/2 hour to an hour averaged out per strip. There are exceptions. The longest project was over 40 hours of research. The shortest required almost none at all (because I already knew the answer and just double-checked a couple facts).

[Spqrblues]

My comic is set in the 1930s so I have to check up on everything .

Ditto: historical comic. A lot of the research comes from having had an interest in the time period since I was little, but I like to go into intensive study, in original source material rather than from websites, for certain plot lines (Roman army in the Middle East, most common personal names in Alexandria, photo refs for jewelry and kitchen utensils and for street and house layouts, various obscure stuff). I love this sort of research because I love the era so much, so, yeah, it's fun.

I guess that makes my answer either "a couple of decades" and/or "anything from a quick search for a photo ref up to a week of reading articles."

[Mercury Hat]

I rarely have to look things up. For my current comic, I've only researched Scottish brogues and Plague Doctor outfits.

I once was going to do a comic set in France in the late 17th century, but I haven't had time to go back to it. I have a bookmark folder of political, demographic, monetary, and geographic information.

For another comic, I have a resource on le parkour bookmarked.

Any science questions and I go ask War.

[The Neko]

I tend to start with stuff I already know, and then supplement it with research. (Travel guides are great for locations, etc). Wikipedia can actually be really good when it comes to cultural studies and locations, such as New York City. There's a lot of info about the various boroughs, etc.

[Keffria]

I sometimes find myself looking through books or taking photos of old homes for clothing/architecture ideas, but in the end, my comic is highly anachronistic at best. Fantasy is a very forgiving genre.

[Levi-chan]

I take pictures of Australian train stations (seriously guys. they are way cool.) for refence. I come off as a bit of a freak, but it's a small price for the SAKE OF ART.

Yep. Ahuh.

(Addendum: I also do some research into cloud types, especially the iridiscent ones. They make for good art.)

[Linkara]

Increasingly I'm looking at research for science, architecture, and a few little bits here and there. Mostly it's out of a desire to improve myself or it's just reference pics. For example, in my upcoming storyline I decided to have an establishing shot of FBI headquarters and frankly my box-buildings weren't going to do, especially since it was a real place.

[Lei]

Most of the research I do is visual. All my research for Turning Point is visual, actually, since I don't have to write a damn thing. I often hit up the people characers are based on for pictures, or get them to sit around long enough for me to get a sloppy sketch I can work off of later. I also look up explosions, bomb sites, vehicles, etc.

For Equinox, I did, again, a lot of visual research (instruments, mythical creatures, etc.), though I also did research on names of people and places to get stuff that would sound authentic.

[Cope]

Um...I once looked up what age you have to be to get a driver's license in Pennsylvania.

[Bustertheclown]

In the past, I didn't really do much research at all, beyond maintaining and using a collection pictorial references, which are always useful. That's changing, because I've recently started work on a project that will hopefully tie together all of the disparate fragments of ideas that have been clattering around my head for the last ten years. Since I'm tying together things that have lived separate lives in my psyche, it means that things will get a bit surreal, and I'm hitting on stuff that's really interesting, but quite out of my realm of knowledge and comfort. So, now I'm trying to delve into a world of mostly abstract bits of information relating to the more extreme facets of the human condition. It mostly involves me surfing around, looking at crazy things, or just going about my business as usual, and letting strange things things strike me, or taking more mundane ideas, and seeing how they can be turned sideways. I'm keeping an idea book for this project, so that I can more fully flesh things out as I go along.

[Vulpeslibertas]

I don't do a lot of thorough research. I do "wiki-research", meaning I look things up mostly on wikipedia. Most of my research I've done over the web, reading up on ancient religions and getting photo references. My later vehicles are drawn with reference photos, though I winged it a bit back when.

I've read a book or two of semi-related stuff. A pinch of name research. I place the story in places I've been, but it doesn't show up well in the comic. I've done almost no research on Japananese culture, which features heavily in my comic. Less research than say, watching anime and copying all the standard otaku references. I'm waiting for lawyers from the American-Japanese Association Against Misrepresentation to call me up any day now.

The more heavily I research something, the more likely it is to get only passing reference. I like being very specific on certain minor things, but don't specify. I like to leave gems for people who have a larger knowledge base.

I blush in the presence of people who do actual, on-topic research.

[Joel Fagin]

I just pick things up and squirrel them away for future reference. Psychology, science, myths, quotes... I rarely do any actual targeted research. I just keep an eye out.

- Joel Fagin

[Jackhass]

Uhhh...I put my dialogue through a spell checker. Does that count?

[Joel Fagin]

Uhhh...I put my dialogue through a spell checker. Does that count?

Depends. American or British English?

- Joel Fagin

[Dutch!]

Like Joel, I tend to add bits and pieces or slip little references in as they fit, and on occasion will read up on a few articles to make sure they're as accurate as they need to be. More often I'll hunt images and facts up for the strips focusing on the history within the comic, with mention here to the sequences revolving around Gallipoli and World War I, as well as a few other bits and pieces throughout the archive.

Much of the minor additions I put in though I don't actually refer to in the strips themselves or blurbs beneath each update. As someone earlier said, it's fun to leave little bits and pieces within the strip to be picked up on by alert readers. This doesn't just cut out all buy Australian readers from all of the jokes though, I have had a few international readers comment about some of these hidden jokes or references.

[Sorcery101]

I have a giant folder on my laptop called Reference. In it are many many pictures of wolves, a hand full of different types of cars, Pictures I took of downtown savannah and pictures I took of Boston, lots of pictures of inside different types of bars, many many airplane shots, a bowling alley, some kung fu photos, and a some fantasy illustrations because they rendered fire or some other aspect I liked. I also have a scale model of a 911 Porsche and several other cars (because google search on car will usually give you that same slightly above 3/4 veiw shot from ads over and over), I also have 2 anatomy books and a computer version of all of Andrew Loomis's stuff.

[Adobedragon]

My storyline started out as a novel. While writing that novel, I did all sorts of research: everything from the meanings of names, historical backgrounds, science, etc. Although the story is set in modern America, some characters have histories that span centuries. Since I build my magic theory loosely around scientific principles, books like Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe are great reference material. Most of that worldbuilding and backstory never makes it into the story, but I need to know it in order to write and build a plot.

Telling the story in a visual format--web comic--means more research, in the form of reference photos.

Of course, I screw up regularly. In a recent page, I forgot that men in the 1930s would be wearing hats and that women should be wearing gloves. Wardrobe details, blargh.

Sigh. Sloppy, sloppy artist; no cookie.