I drew Paikea in 2012 and then painted her in 2014. Here’s my most recent version of her. I love love love this film. Whale Rider came out in 2002 and is based on a historic figure in Maori history. It was written and directed by Niki Caro and starred a new comer named Keisha Castle-Hughes. This time I leaned into the emotion more as this scene from the film was VERY emotional. IYKYK.
What other Maori, Polynesian, or Pacifika films have you seen that you enjoyed? One of my other favs is “Merata” about the pioneering director Merata Mita who was the first Maori woman to write and direct a feature film in New Zealand.
I even once did a film study of whale rider which you can check out here.
Hey, this is my most recent children’s portrait of a young boy named Maceo! I have had the pleasure of painting his oldest sister Niara in 2014 and his middle sibling Aissa in 2020. A whole family of kids and I couldn’t be more grateful and honored to paint children like these. Shout to their momma Emilia for entrusting me with this.
As always, here’s a bit of the painting process which is all done by hand. I take a photo, trace it, then transfer it to a wood panel and paint it step by step. I start with the light colors on the face and gradually build up the darker tones and then the garment the child is wearing or what I imagine them to be wearing.
What is this? This is a series of hand painted, hand crafted wooden panel acrylic portraits of children and or families. I began painting these for local friends in 2012 as a way to announce my new career in kids books. And this has grown to include friends of friends, families, and folks I dont even know. If you’d like me to paint your child please commission me by purchasing a portrait here.
For the young fathers ESPECIALLY. Key point here is reading with them. It won’t stick unless you read with them.
Text:
Young Parent tip: If u want your kids to keep their reading game up during the summer, try making a trip to the library 2x a month to get bks for them you’ll read w/them and bks they like. Puzzles, comics, fotos, picture bks, etc count. -Signed a former young dad.
Dig this? Check out this film about Parenthood by Kevin Hart, Or this short film about the children of Black Panther Party members (The Panther Cubs).
This Spring, I got the opportunity to work on something for the Berkeley Public Library! An illustration of famed Black librarian from South Berkeley, Mr Jim Jacobs who pioneered some historic programs at the library back in the 60’s! Here’s a little background on Jim.
And here’s the added bonus, when doing work like this I get to assist what librarians are already doing which is providing a rich array of stories, creativity, knowledge, and information for their patrons; finding what folks want to read, and showing what they might like! So, take your kids to any of the Berkeley library branches. Sign them up for a library card, get them reading, and log the books for prizes:)
Here’s a bit of sketching to do the illustration.
There’s a pretty cool photo of Jim reading and playing his guitar to kids so we kind of went with that but it was fun to imagine him a few ways.
Here i shared some color ideas with the staff there, shout out to Erica, Elaine, and Juan.
Here’s what the final linework looked like which they used to make……
Photo by my wife joy
If you’re a Berkeley resident and you’d like to get this bag, a free book, or other prizes go to this page, log the books you read , and get on it. Also, OG librarian ms Erica said these are limited edition so….
Hey, here are a few photos from my visit to Renegade Craft Fair in Los Angeles. I was booth mates with Queenie from Dear Mello who sells plush bunnies Go check her out. Her and her husband were super sweet and this photo was taken by her hubby James Giovanni Pan.
This year was the first time in a while that I shared a booth so I worked on my booth a bit before I took off and coordinated w/ my booth mate.
Once the time came I got my stuff ready, packed up the whip, and headed to LA.
I got down there to this wide open field at LA Historic Park outdoors and lugged my stuff up to my spot with countless other artisans, lots of working class folks trying to earn a living.
Craft shows are work. You make the work, the art, you produce original or reprinted or manufactured versions of your work. You carry it to the venue and you set it up in a way that shows off your stuff and hopefully invites folks to become a fan, and ultimately buy this work.
I got to my booth where Queenie was beginning to arrive and we got to work.
Folks started to file in, some just passerbys and many loyal followers of Renegade Craft Fair which I’ve attended or participated in up in the Bay and Seattle. The show went pretty good for a spring show, I’d hoped to make more but I keep tweaking my set u, trying out different events and cities. The event was well organized and promoted for sure.
While I was there my friend and author Danielle Davis came by and snapped some cool photos of me. Thank you Danielle! I also met Tori Drew it who was cranking out drawings, Story artist Anson Jew, artsy couple Aishwarya Chandramohan & Brandon Liu, jewelry maker Aracheli Studio. That’s it for this show. After all was said and done I got some ice cream around the UCLA campus and headed back to the Bay.
Last winter I got a chance to do a school visit in Daly City, California. Although I’ve been visiting schools and libraries for yearrrs this is only my second time reading out there so I was excited. Shout out to Ms Young who brought me out to Bayshore Elementary.
This was a quick one with a workshop about character design. We talked about facial expressions, line of action, body types, personality, and all the places character design is used such as the games they play and the shows they watch. Lots of fun!
I got to read to them as well which was also fun because they were an older group that appreciated seeing some of the behind the scenes work. Shout to Ms Young who took photos for me,
Dig this? If you were wondering if you can invite me to your school or library, I can answer that for you. Yes, you can and should 🙂 Check out some of these other schools and libraries I’ve read at:
I was a vendor at West Coast Craft Fair back in 2024 and I’ll be bringing the same love and energy this year with a few new stickers, prints, etc. I’ll have several kids books too. If you’ve never been to the event, it is a large craft fair where the makers are the stars. You have jewelry makers, potters, fashion designers, artists, houseware designers, cooks, foodies, and so many other types of makers. More info on the event here.
Here’s a quick video to show you the vibe at this event. I was at this exact event so I remember the rush of people and the wide array of folks there selling their work.
I will be at booth #308 so if you’re coming come say hi! If you have a friend who is vending there, an organizer, or friend going please tell them about me:)
Song was so excited for the summer trip! Last year they got to go to “Slide land” and this year it would be “Castle Ville” which had a huge hotel with a pool and water slide, and the amusement park. Oh they couldn’t wait to get on all the rides! But this trip was special because they’d get to try out their new suitcase. Here was a list of all the things Mama said they could bring. A Stuffy, tooth brush, favorite books, their ipad, a sketchbook, headphones, their sleep mask, and of course the new suitcase!!!
About this short story: I’m getting ready to go on a trip with my family and couldn’t help but think of how excited my youngest is to have their very own suitcase. The kid in this image is a bit older, maybe 9 but inspired by my child.
What is this? This is a short story. They are a way for me to sharpen my skills, to play, and to stretch out by trying new ideas for stories. In 2010 they started off as a way to practice the format of picture books but I’m interested in other formats now too. My name is Robert Liu-Trujillo and my most recent book is Fresh Juice/ Jugo Frescopublished by Lee & Low Books.
Check out some of my past short stories worth checking out:
I did the cover illustration for this book by accomplished teachers Dr. Luz Yadira Herrera (CA) and Dr. Carla España (NY) a couple years back. I had some footage of the painting process but I misplaced it and cannot find it. But, lemme share some of the process with you.
First and foremost, this is a guide for teachers and educators. It’s meant to help Spanish and bilingual teachers recognize the life experiences of their Latine students, outline kids books that affirm that, and pack in hella tips, tricks, resources, and guides for how to get it cracking. Get the book here.
In this book you’ll find Unit projects, Sample activities, Language study, Translation discussion and reading group guides.
You’ll also find guides for dozens of great kid lit books by creators such as Duncan Tonatiuh, Claribel A. Ortega, Adrianna Cuevas, Emma Otheguy, Margarita Engle, Juan Felipe Herrera, Aida Salazar, Lisette Norman, Yuyi Morales, and more.
Ok, when I’m vibing out and really diving into a story or project for a client I’m exploring lots of options. I probably had 3 or 4 times as many ideas for how this cover could look. I settled on three main ones and pitched those to the art director from Brookes Publishing; Rachel Word who would then share key images with Luz and Carla. They chose A3.
From there, I refined the sketch and added some grey tones to convey light, shape, and composition. After that I did an outlined version with the last few tweaks.
From there, I shared some ideas for color and I try to pick some that are a bit odd, or different from what I’ve seen on other curriculum books.
Then, the final cover painting was done with ink and watercolor.
I passed it on to Brookes and designers there brought it to life with the accompanying type and back cover design. It came out really fresh and I hope K-6 grade educators are able to make use of the wealth of information provided by these two bad ass educators. Cop this book here for your classroom!
Dig this? Check out my cover for Robert M. Alexander’s book “He Hit Me First”
Got damn, I just crossed the 2000 number mark on Etsy. To celebrate here’s a discount code (GREATEST7) for 15% off anything in the shop that will be valid until May 22nd. Hella appreciate the support whether you’ve bought something from my shop once or 3 times.
History: I’ve sold on We Buy Black, My own wordpress site (new store coming), Faire, and a few other sites here and there. But My Etsy has been the most consistent for the past decade. I remember the first time at a class at Parsons in NYC a rep from the company came to a class . I think Trey Hoyumpat’s class (2008). He broke it down, I started a shop but didn’t think much about it. I sold zines, handmade light switch covers, original art with affirmations on it, and that was it from 2008-2014.
Fast forward to 2016, I’d been sending out my postcards to art directors in the kid lit world since 2008 and after getting little to no response I launched my own kickstarter for Furqan’s First Flat Top and then distributed the book myself. That book and those that followed it reignited my imagination. I began to sell prints from the book and decided to go beyond those and illustrate kids of color relating to literacy, identity, and self respect. That really started to kick things off, it felt like it was serving a need for folks and myself, it inspired me, and it was affordable.
Although I’d sold original art before this lead to a series of events as a seller. Local events like the Malcolm X Jazz Fest, then later my first large events like the SF Etsy Emporium where the focus was on the artists, nothing else. Here’s a photo of my first time selling at Malcolm X Jazz Fest with authors Jill Guerra and Gualikuya Mariposa fka Melissa Reyes. And then at a holiday market in Richmond with my wife.
This was my set up at the 2024 West Coast Craft Fair, my how things have changed. Anyways, this is just a short walk down memory lane. I plan to release a pdf on how I got to 2000 sales. In the meantime….
