How much time do you guys research for your novel/comics?

[azzy-m]

A little. My comic is based on a world where humans don't exist and magic does, so I really don't need to do a lot of research.

The research I do make is about the names (a group of the main characters are named after mythological figures, mostly Greek and Roman, or are named after things in the sky like constellations and satellites), and your typical standard "effects of emotional neglect on your child" and "autism experiences" kind of deal every writer has to go through when you're writing that type of stuff. Oh yes, also a good amount of research on animals (but I'm a bit of a nerd on that stuff so I know plenty already) since a lot of the species I have in the comic are based on real animals.

Once had to google if female deer have antlers and turns out they don't - got really disappointed because this means I can't draw antlers in the comic, realized it was for the best bc that would be a pain in the ass to draw all the time, then realized "hey, most of the species here don't follow what we the animal biology we know. I have a cat species with radioactive blood! I can do whatever I want!" and then gave the character nubby antlers.

Man, my internet history over the years must be WILD.

[domisotto]

Ngl, it was fun

[DiscountedArtist]

I mostly only need to think of funny ideas. But for "Ocean" I had to search up whether or not the pacific ocean was in two parts. I just looked at a map and it said pacific ocean twice, so I assumed I was right.

[UrMom]

I did a ton of research on certain medical conditions, mental illnesses, treatments, therapies and affects of everything before starting my comic. Although the research never really stops, even when I'm halfway through the comic I'm still gathering more info on the subjects. Sometimes I decide to change something just slightly based on new info I've acquired, or sometimes I'll change something then start doing research. (like how I changed one of my characters to being intersex, then started reading up on the medical side of it, along with people's experiences.)

Due to the subject matters in my comic I want to be as informed as possible.

[MorganaMevil]

I love researching stuff, so I end up researching quite a bit for my books. I have a 3” binder for my current WIP filled with historical research, translations, maps, and even some recipes. But I don’t normally do this much research. It’s just that my book is about a realm where the world’s lost civilizations (Atlantis, Roanoke, Malaysian Flight 370, etc.) are hidden from our world. So, I’ve got to respect the history and mythology surrounding them.

[RyzaCobalion]

@UrMom O.O 3 binders worth of research material? That's crazy!

[RyzaCobalion]

@domisotto btw with your novel being about the italian-american mafia will they sometimes throw slangs like "che cazzo?" (meaning what the f%&* in Italian) and what not?

[Panpan]

I spent months trying to figure out:
-Characters for my novel since most will be based on real mythological figures.
-Weather/aurora patterns.
-I also needed Old Norse words, so I have to look those up in a Norse dictionary.

Fox Fire | Tapas

[KhanSpring]

I can't tell how much time, but I do use various sources in order to describe the clothes accurately and present the traditions and customs as they are/were. I used both physical books, and various websites that were recommended to me. Representing the mythological creatures and how they are seen takes a lot of research as well.
I also try to post links, if I can.

[BlunderingAlbatross]

I do far too much research. My novel is a fantasy but with 1700s technology so a lot time has gone into looking into how the weapons work, how accurate they were, and other bit of technology. A huge amount of research has also gone into everything to do with sailing ships of the time because that's a big part of my story, getting the terminology right and how it feels aboard one, that kind of thing

I also spend far too much time researching the meaning of names but that's a whole different story!

[indysyew]

Waaay too much time spent researching my debut novel It's set in 1990 - but still an historical mystery, so mega important to me that I made it totally authentic. With hindsight I should've only begun the research once I was one or two drafts in, but I love that stuff and .. well ... you can guess where dozens and dozens of unnecessary hours went ...

[Lunar-Turtle]

My comic is based on astrology, it's my hobby since childhood, so I guess I research my whole life, lol.

[SagaHolmgaard]

Probably a lot. I read a full-length book on Byzantine history, listened to another audiobook, and a few podcast episodes. (I also read a little bit about the Varangian guard, but I found myself in a hole of information that isn't super relevant to the story, so I saved the book titles to read later in my spare time.)
I've read a lot of articles about fashion, armor, and where fabrics came from. And architecture, and I've looked far and wide for good books on daily life for byzantine peasants (Had to use the interlibrary loan services so I couldn't read the whole book - I could only had it for a week!)

I like researching, it helps me get ideas! If the people living there had a specific thing they did, or found a certain ritual or omen to be important, then that's fun to use both for plot and for subtle symbolism!

[sushiroll_woofwoof]

I do research for aristocracy names, the kingdoms system, the fantasy monster, and lot of things.

[MoseyP]

I've done a bit of research on psychology and cognitive therapy as my MC is a kind of counsellor in her universe. I have a friend studying as a counsellor so sometimes I pick her brain about it too!

[domisotto]

Not really. It takes place in 2016 and it is an outsider’s looking in, so they don’t pepper their speech with Italian. I only have one sequence where two older family members speak Italian to create a bit of a mystery. I do not speak Italian, so I didn’t feel like overburdening the google translator.

There is a few scenes with a little bit of French that are de Sade related, so I am more comfortable there because I have at least a dim recollection of French.

But I am not big on the guy going mi amor, this, mi amor that if he is the third generation.

[allenT]

There's not much of "research" for my fantasy story honestly, but I do collect background/tool pictures when needed for references. How much time? I don't know... Other than that I watch some writing advices/mini seminars, or manga drawing tips from YT channels sometimes.

[RyzaCobalion]

That is true. I can barely understand italian since it vaguely since i speak spanish so i recognize some of the words. XD That and i watch an Italian Youtuber called ThePruld who does all these funny vids and im slowly learning italian from watching him. The only language i mostly research upon is Latin because in my story the characters cast spells and they're in latin.

[RyzaCobalion]

Aristocrats names sometimes sounds so weird to me. XD but i have to research some of them because there are some Aristocrats in my series.

[MeltingCORE]

Oh yeah, as a sci-fi author I do tons of research on physics, astronomy, etc to build my imaginary worlds. I'm into creating constructed languages and I know five real languages, so linguistics come in handy too!