About research
When something really interests me, I research the backstory. If I wasn't a graphic designer or a comics creator, I'd be a market researcher or a business developer... or a librarian, which isn't such a bad thing when I think about it.
In my early student years, the only kind of research humanly possible would be through the library, the textbooks, or the thick and deadly encyclopedias at home. I liked the idea that knowledge came in humongous tomes--they really looked like they had a stamp of authority.
But researching on the Web takes the task to a wholly different level. Not only is there too much information, not every source has a seal of authority. So it's the wading and sifting that proves to be both taxing and fascinating at once. I wouldn't trade other sources of information for the Web, however. There's still the joy of the old-school search.
Unfortunately, it would be really difficult to find solid sources of costumes and architecture of late 16th century France and Italy, which is my current challenge with my new Graphic Classics assignment, unless I actually purchase books or try my luck at a major library. I'd like to think that the National Library or the major universities would have resources, but I'm having time management issues.
Antonella Caputo, who adapted the original novel into a comics script, and editor Tom Pomplun eased the burden by sending numerous references, bless them. Then there were discussions with my interior design-savvy co-workers about the architectural and design trends of that period, bless them too. I just need all that information to sink into me. When I draw comics, I find it helpful to immerse myself in that period so that the images don't only look right, but feel right, too. Anyway, the above illustration are studies for some of the characters of my Graphic Classics assignment, to be released early next year if I'm not mistaken.
When something really interests me, I research the backstory. If I wasn't a graphic designer or a comics creator, I'd be a market researcher or a business developer... or a librarian, which isn't such a bad thing when I think about it.
In my early student years, the only kind of research humanly possible would be through the library, the textbooks, or the thick and deadly encyclopedias at home. I liked the idea that knowledge came in humongous tomes--they really looked like they had a stamp of authority.
But researching on the Web takes the task to a wholly different level. Not only is there too much information, not every source has a seal of authority. So it's the wading and sifting that proves to be both taxing and fascinating at once. I wouldn't trade other sources of information for the Web, however. There's still the joy of the old-school search.
Unfortunately, it would be really difficult to find solid sources of costumes and architecture of late 16th century France and Italy, which is my current challenge with my new Graphic Classics assignment, unless I actually purchase books or try my luck at a major library. I'd like to think that the National Library or the major universities would have resources, but I'm having time management issues.
Antonella Caputo, who adapted the original novel into a comics script, and editor Tom Pomplun eased the burden by sending numerous references, bless them. Then there were discussions with my interior design-savvy co-workers about the architectural and design trends of that period, bless them too. I just need all that information to sink into me. When I draw comics, I find it helpful to immerse myself in that period so that the images don't only look right, but feel right, too. Anyway, the above illustration are studies for some of the characters of my Graphic Classics assignment, to be released early next year if I'm not mistaken.
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