I’m grateful to Vicki Wong, co-creator of The Octonauts for not only reading an early version of The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue, but for her lovely blurb that you’ll find on the book. Which you can preorder here!
Praise from the co-creator of THE OCTONAUTS Read More »
This Saturday, August 3, marks the one-month countdown to the release of The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue, and I’m celebrating with live streams where we can collaborate to make some spooky drawings!
For those who are new to Doctor Baer, he’s a dealer in occult objects. My middle-grade graphic novel is the story of how this spooky archivist learns to become an adventurer when his collection is released into the world. So the objects we make could be items in his collection!
I’ve been making these drawings at various events this summer. All I ask is that you show up with the following:
You can use the form below to send me the info I need to draw your custom cursed object. You can tune into the live stream to watch it come together, and I’ll even mail you the drawing when it’s done.
Let’s Make Cursed Objects Together! Read More »
It’s time to talk about another character who shows up in The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue. But this time I turn to talking about one of the villains, who happens to be the character I relate to the most viscerally.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
TPD 345 – Characters: Wilhelmina Read More »
In early July 2024 my old friend Rob Stenzinger visited me in Columbus, and we found ourselves having the kinds of discussions we recorded for the Lean Into Art cast. Particularly topics surrounding our projects we’ve been working on for the past two-to-three years and how we’re thinking about marketing them. So we turned on a mic and captured some of the thinking we’ve been doing.
We set up pretty hastily, so the audio quality isn’t what we had on Lean Into Art. But the gentle, thoughtful approach to art-making topics is all there. I hope you enjoy it!
Links mentioned:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
TPD Special – Marketing Your Personal Work Like a Pro, with Rob Stenzinger Read More »
If you live in Ohio and know young people who love making comics, I have some exciting news for you. I’m leading a week-long minicomic camp in Wooster, OH for the Buckeye Book Fair starting July 21:
If you’re around the Worthington area you can register your young artist for my 5-week workshop series, Minicomic Challenge:
I have more workshops and events for autumn 2024, which I’ll be posting soon on my classes page.
You can also get updates on my workshop schedule by subscribing to my calendar:
New Summer and Fall Comics Workshops! Read More »
https://www.youtube.com/@madebykokoro
A piece I worked on during my trip to San Diego for the American Library Association Annual Conference. It was a fun trip where I got to promote Doctor Baer to librarians, reconnect with friends, and check out the San Diego Padres’ baseball park (sadly, they weren’t playing at home that weekend).
It’s feeling like book tour/promo mode is officially underway, and it’s a wild feeling. I’ll have more reflections to share in text and in future Fabulous Secrets microcasts.
My thanks to Chloe Cordero for the color assists on this piece.
Pickles is Ready for Promo Read More »
It’s time to talk about the most cheerful adventurer in The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue. But is her joyful presence performative, and is there more to her than laughs?
Here are the first drawings of Pickles from October 2014:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
TPD 344 – Characters: Pickles Read More »
I’ve always been fascinated by sage heroes, but my relationship with them has changed from childhood to adulthood. In this Thunder Punch Daily I explore how these characters influenced the character of Doctor Baer himself.
Links mentioned:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
TPD 343 – Characters: Doctor Baer Read More »
Here’s an introduction to the general concept of The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue, along with a brief history of its development and some of the influences behind the book.
One of his earliest appearances on PPV: Pay-Per-View #2
If you look super close, you’ll also see him in the monster’s left hand next to the lady and the black cat on the cover of PPV #1.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
TPD 342 – What’s Doctor Baer About? Read More »
Besides ramping up development on the next Doctor Baer book, I’m also ramping up experimentation and creation of new in-world Doctor Baer ceramic objects. This time I’m playing around with developing some kind of charm or amulet of the fire skeletons.
Fire skeletons are creatures you’ll meet in The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue (click the link to see some sample pages and even order the book!). These ghostly dog skeletons blaze with a cheerful fire, but change into something dangerous after a calamity occurs in Doctor Baer’s home.
My first step was to design the stamps for the clay. I created some vector files in Affinity Designer which I exported as SVGs. Once imported into Blender I extruded the shapes into 3D objects and took them into Tinkercad to be turned into stamp models for printing on my Flashforge 4.
I tried a couple of different approaches. Some with a positive stamp, some with a negative stamp, some a combination of both.
After bisque firing, I glazed them with Speedball Mid-Fire Blackened Copper. The samples I saw showed a sparkly, ember-like color, which I thought would be perfect for an amulet for a fire spirit.
Here they are after glaze firing. I was hoping for something a little brighter, though I can’t deny that the shimmer on these is pretty.
I’ll be bringing a batch of these, and my other Doctor Baer talismans, to ALA Annual this summer. If you stop by the Iron Circus Booth (2534D), I’ll be glad to give you one! I’m also signing advance reader copies of The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue, and I’m drawing everyone custom cursed objects. Find out more here.
Fire Skeleton Charms, v1 Read More »