Investigative Studios are required studios within the Industrial Design Program that are also open to students in other majors. Investigative studios are taken in any order. Content, structure, and focus of these studios varies from semester to semester. Students can sign up for the studios that best fit their schedules and interests.Section Description:"This class teaches the materials and techniques necessary to prepare students for a career in mainstream and indie comics. All assignments focus on specific usage of media and technique, and replicate real world comic projects. Specifically, students learn how skills, such as dramatic perspective, contrast, and point-of-view, aid in storytelling and visual narrative. We explore single panels, to pages, to multi-page layouts and learn visual storytelling practices unique to comics, such as panel transitions, captions and sound effects, and page reveals.
In addition to this, the class teaches the business of comics, including how to pitch to publishers, standard rates, and best practices.
Assignments fall into two categories: in-class workshops and take-home projects. Class workshops focus on practicing techniques such as action posing, shading with ink, creative panel layouts, and drawing perspective grids. Take-home projects mimic real world comics projects as a chance to apply the class techniques in a professional setting. Examples of this are: a classic comic reissue cover, a short single page wordless comic, a two-page action spread, etc. In addition to applying technique, we discuss the context of each assignment, standard fees, and turnarounds."

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