We wanted to dive deeper into the series, so we reached out to its creator with a few more questions. This time, Rosemary shared that some of her strips unexpectedly resonate with her audience more than she anticipated. She elaborated, mentioning one of her recent comics: “I made one called ‘Instinct is Weird’ that was about a bird whose instincts told her to lay eggs and hatch young, but she wasn’t totally sure what she was doing and she found the whole thing a little confusing and overwhelming. I thought it would just be a funny throwaway idea, but a lot of parents found it relatable! I hope any parents reading this are able to get a bit of rest sometime today.”
When asked about her personal favorite comic that she’s created so far, the illustrator replied: “I worked with a scientist named Tommy Tucker to make a comic about the very endangered Rice’s Whale. Although the topic of the comic was worrying, I enjoyed playing with colors and light as I drew those gorgeous animals swimming under the waves.”
We were also curious if Rosemary ever finds herself scrapping ideas she loves but knows won’t work as a comic. The cartoonist explained that she often creates comics, only to realize that nobody else would laugh because of her “terrible pun or obscure fact.” She continued: “I’m always trying to balance nerdiness with relatability. And that’s okay — I think most cartoonists scrap ideas all the time. I keep working until I’ve got a sketch that makes my family laugh, and then I know I’ve got a good one.”
Lastly, we wanted to know if there are any fellow artists Rosemary admires and would like to collaborate with. Here’s what she shared: “There are so many artists I love! I adore everything by False Knees, Pikaole, and Secondlina, just to name a few. They all have unique, colorful styles and they combine accuracy, heart, and humor. When I look at their work, I find myself learning something about the world while feeling better about my place in it.”
