LOS ANGELES 鈥 There is no roadmap to get into the worlds of animation and book publishing, according to artist Zachariah OHora.
A fan of comics and children鈥檚 picture books, he decided in high school to follow the path. But what path?
Little by little, OHora picked up pointers. 鈥淵ou need an agent to get into it. Or you need a book deal to get an agent. Which comes first? It took many years of rejections and doing things wrong until I finally landed something correct,鈥 he says.
Zach O'Hora's drawing style uses simple lines to create the illusion of fur on a character like Carl.聽
Simple characters led to illustrations and, finally, that book deal. While OHora considers himself an artist first, he鈥檚 also a writer.
鈥淚 got forced into the writing, to be honest. I was trying to present myself as an illustrator for other people鈥檚 stuff (and advisers said) get more control over everything. If you can write, you can get all the commission, instead of splitting it.鈥
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鈥淲olfie the Bunny鈥 got OHora on the New York Times Bestseller List. 鈥淢y Cousin Mom,鈥 鈥淣o Fits, Nilson,鈥 鈥淭he Not So Quiet Library鈥 and 鈥淣iblet & Ralph鈥 helped establish his style.
The next step: animation. It took OHora nine years to develop a character into a PBS KIDS show.
The winner: Carl the Collector, a raccoon who just happens to have autism.
"Carl the Collector" helps children learn about the differences they share. Carl, for example, has autism.
鈥淧BS Kids is always looking at ways to represent our audience,鈥 says Adriano Schmid, vice president PBS KIDS Content. 鈥淲e have seen throughout the years how autistic kids or young teenagers were always champions of the content. So, it was a great opportunity for us to work with someone like Zach to create a character that could speak to that.鈥
OHora hit on the idea after his sons were entering school. 鈥淚 had a lightbulb moment with inclusion schools 鈥 having everybody, neurodiverse kids and neurotypical kids, together in the same classroom. It was obvious that it benefited everybody. I saw my sons treated those kids just like anybody else鈥檚 friends and it was like a beautiful moment. More exposure to the whole spectrum of humanity is going to be better for everybody.鈥
In the series, called 鈥淐arl the Collector,鈥 the raccoon deals with a host of situations. His friends help him (particularly his desire to collect) and have fun in the process.
The PBS Kids series uses OHora鈥檚 short line style to create the fur on the animals.
鈥淚t comes from my printmaking background,鈥 he explains. 鈥淚 used to do a lot of woodcuts, and you鈥檇 leave those lines. I found drawing them a really relaxing thing to do.鈥
Because there are so many in someone like Carl, kids often wonder how long it鈥檚 going to take before they see a character when they watch him draw. 鈥淚 listen to Terry Gross and find it really a calming nice meditation.鈥
Through his company, Fuzzytown, OHora has shown animators and others how to recreate his style. In turn, they teach him about putting his characters into a moving world. 鈥淚 draw my characters in a three-quarter view, so we did have to figure out how much their noses would stick out and what kind of angles you鈥檇 see.鈥
The process 鈥 of turning one of his characters into the centerpiece of a TV show 鈥 is like grad school. While launching 鈥淐arl the Collector,鈥 he has learned plenty about television, the gaming world and the digital realm. A new map, you might say.
鈥淵ou do a lot of bad drawings to get one good one,鈥 OHora insists.
When creating characters or situations, he starts with pencil and paper, then moves onto computers. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a room full of paper,鈥 he says, 鈥渁nd you don鈥檛 have a giant pile of garbage.鈥
Carl, he adds, can trace his origins back to Charles Schulz鈥檚 鈥淧eanuts鈥 comic strip. OHora鈥檚 grandmother introduced him to the comic and the TV specials. 鈥淪he introduced us to Richard Scarry鈥檚 Busy Town stories, too,鈥 he says. 鈥淪he was a like a second mom figure鈥 and encouraged his drawing.
鈥淚 moved around as a kid 鈥 different apartments, different schools. Once when I was in fourth grade, kids saw what I had done and they wanted me to draw on their books. I realized that it was sort of a way to be seen and recognized.鈥
And now? He鈥檚 able to reach an even wider audience 鈥 one that could learn something about inclusion and find his works just as inspirational as Schulz鈥檚.
"Carl the Collector" premieres Nov. 14 on PBS KIDS.
