For me it has to be... drying clothes in the USA
See, there is this one teeny-tiny sentence in my comic, in which a character says that he picked a pair of boxer shorts from the "clothing line outside". When I wrote it, I didn't really think much of it. You wash your clothes, you put them on a clothingline and let them dry, end of the story. That's how it works in Italy. There's absolutely no reason it'd be different in the USA, right?
...Wrong :'D
Some months later, I stumbled upon this podcast in which an Italian expat talks about US culture shocks and I found out that... actually, most people in the US have a dryer for their clothes. And some places downright put a BAN on clothing lines. I did some research and found out that there is quite a lot of debate over the "clothing line vs dryer" issue. I also found out that, in cold climates, clothes can downright FREEZE outside. Living in an area that is fairly hot and where it never snows, I admit that I never, ever thought of that being a possibility :'D
I eventually decided to leave the clothingline sentence where it was in my comic (my character lives in a fairly isolated area which probably wouldn't be subject to strict HOA rules + he doesn't have a whole lot of money to spend on fancy appliances), buuuuut... the whole experience definitely teached me to look more into potential US culture shocks I may have not considered before
Most of the stuff I had to research was NSFW related, mostly for commissions. I consider a few things weird but this gal doesn't judge, especially if the money can pay an entire Christmas lololol
Summary
So basically is mostly animals, certain animal body parts, certain body parts, how "glue" works, certain fluids or "Organic waste" (I know the way I'm phrasing it is very simplistic but I rather leave it like this than actually detail these things for real xD)
But in terms of having to purchase something... I believe not? At least I don't recall having to buy something to utilize on my work
I was going to set my new comic in a different country than my own and watched a couple tv shows to get a feel for the streets, housing layouts, etc. but the street signs/lines in the road are so different I was flabbergasted! just yanked my boy across the pond and kept him from that place instead lol
Ya'll, just use google maps to scout locations for writing. You can use street view to get a lay of the land.
Also, about US laundry, I live in LA and it gets warm enough that you can absolutely dry clothes on the line most of the time, but a lot of people in the city live in apartments so don't have the room (unless they have a balcony). Most people without a washer/dryer use a laundromat or may have one for tenants to use in their building.
Most the people in this thread are comic creators. Using street view is pretty common, but if you are not from the country it's unlikely you know what a lot of things mean. You can write 'they stop at a stop sign' for a script but doesn't mean said stop sign is the stop sign you know from your own country.
I even went as far going to the DMV website of the country to try to get a PDF of signs/beginner driver guide but they didn't seem inclined to give that info out unless you're looking to get a license. I probably could have tried harder, but the comic changed so much it was easier to place it in my own country in the end.
I meant more as in the way streets are laid out in general because some places, even in the same country, have very different layouts. Even with writing, you have to figure these things out so you don't have inconsistencies in settings because you mentioned something that doesn't exist in your book's setting or works differently. Surprisingly, a lot of people don't do this which is why I mentioned it. For signs, I've found some cool resources through other people, like this one for Japanese signs.
Yep totally understandable, writing is just as much of a pain for consistencies as comics are. The problem with street view I find is sometimes the 360 view has photos that are 2 or more years old, depending on the place. So, especially for cities, if the photo is from 2021 or earlier those business might not even be there anymore. That's why I keep my locations vague and just focus on consistencies that spell out 'okay this probably set in America or wherever.'
Yusss, using a laundromat is how I imagined my character would solve the laundry problem when it's too cold, haha! Also, YES to Google Street View. Absolute life saver, especially when it comes to drawing comic panels.
As for setting the comic in a different country... yeah, it IS a bit daunting, but I just love doing research, so it's also fun and I love the fact that I get to learn a lot of things tbh, I think setting my comic in my own country would also be daunting, unless I set it in my own town. While I might be more familiar with the laws and general culture, there are A LOT of things that can wildly vary, even from one town to another (accents, surnames & most common names, nightlife, public transport, typical food, family gatherings, traditions... heck, even freaking dinner time can be completely different from North to South :'D). And, from what I managed to learn, I think the same applies to a lot of other countries, too. Soooo... no matter which location you choose, research is always key
I live in a big city with lots of apartment buildings, so there's a lot of laundromats around. During the summer it's nice because there's AC and vending machines with cold drinks and ice cream and during the winter it's warm inside and you can get coffee. Plus you can watch TV while you wait, lol.
Same, I try to be vague or set it where I live, but it's still tricky. My home country can vary so much from state to state or even city to city, with different cultures. But at least it's interesting to learn some new stuff while researching!
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