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Art for Rethinking Schools Magazine

Ok, Its been over a decade since I worked for Rethinking Schools but I’m so happy to be back in the mix. In a day and age where books can be too long, and tik tok clips too short, and the internet filled with AI slop its nice to have a form of physical media that informs. About what you say? Read on….

Rethinking Schools MISSION and VISION:

Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization dedicated to sustaining and strengthening public education through social justice teaching and education activism. Our magazine, books, and other resources promote equity and racial justice in the classroom. We encourage grassroots efforts in our schools and communities to enhance the learning and well-being of our children and to build a broad democratic movement for social and environmental justice. 

Our Zinn Education Project — coordinated with Teaching for Change — has more than 100,000 educators who have registered to access our “people’s history” materials.

Here’s a bit of process art to show my thinking when ingesting, sitting with, dissecting, and analyzing former principal Gilbert Juan Armenta’s piece about how school systems continuously target Black children by overly discipling them, singling them out, punishing them, and trying to track them into special education. I know this experience intimately after being suspended from my school for “talking” as a 3rd grader!!!!

The cool thing about this article and the magazine is that it talks about real issues that teachers, educators, and others are experiencing in the classroom. They talk about race, gender, identity, politics, class, racism, and how to address these issues in a way that is radical, sensitive to the age group, and respectful. This is what drew me to the magazine years ago. See my old piece here.

Here are some color directions for this piece.

Heres the final painting, done in ink and watercolor. Shout out to AD Nancy Zucker for the call!

Wanna get this magazine issue? COP Volume 40, Number 4 HERE.

Dig this? Check out

Wanna peak inside the magazine? See it a little bit here.

July 13, 2026
in Art, Ilustration
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Book Cover – 826 Valencia + De Marillac Academy

Last Spring I began working with 826 Valencia to illustrate a book cover for the De Marillac Academy, a middle school in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. And I have a history with this organization as I read there when I was just beginning to work in kid lit and I took my son and his class on a field trip there over 12 years ago.

The thing I remember back then was that the folks who started the org had a sense of duty and wonder. Duty in that they were taking it seriously; the charge to encourage literacy and creative writing. And wonder, in that their organization was housed in a pirate ship! Imagine pirate jokes and 4th graders telling you that they are “published”.

And they still have that dedication as this book is one of several published anthologies of creative writing by middle school students. Here’s the synopsis:

“In these vibrant poems, students in grades 6-8th from De Marillac Academy explore their own potential and the comfort of the things they hold dear. They find refuge in the bounces of a basketball and uncover a quiet hero in a cherished eyelash curler. In these pages you’ll find heartfelt declarations of love to their beds and a tenderness towards the quiet world their headphones offer. Students imagine life through the delicate wings of a butterfly, the sharp mind of a beloved teacher, and even providing hope as a lawyer. No matter who holds the narrative today, in the future they are building, these students assert one thing is for sure, they’ll be the ones.

Here’s a bit of process art from the making of the cover.

Shout out to Amanda Boesen and Lucy Goseline-Ratliff who assisted me in narrowing down and refining the sketch until it was right.

You can see the line work here and the color directions. Ultimately it ended up being a combination of colors. The uniforms for the actual students are red and grey though so thats what we ended up using.

And heres the final cover illustration! My fav poem from the book was called “lies” and I loved all the pieces about their video games, favorite foods, etc.

About the organization that does this work and commissioned this art:

826 Valencia equips students with writing skills to create change.

We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

Our services are structured around the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with individualized attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

And with chapters in:

  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Washington DC
  • Los Angeles
  • Michigan
  • Minneapolis
  • New Orleans
  • NYC

and the founding chapter San Francisco (Bay Areaaaaaa) they are taking the task to the next level.

Dig this? Check out this book cover I did for Robert Alexander’s book “He Hit Me First” OR the cover of Libros Solidarios written by Luz Yadira Herrera and Carla España.

July 10, 2026
in Educational Resources, Ilustration, Lettering/ Typography
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My Art on a Billboard! Somos Santuario!

Originally I created this illustration in collaboration with designer Jules Cowan, illustrator Micah Bizant, and the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant back in 2025. Individually we have each created artwork in service of social justice movements, campaigns, and issues affecting real people. East Bay Sanctuary Covenant has been doing this work since 1982!!!! Read that again.

The attack on immigrant families specifically Latinos has been hard as fuck for decades, but no one was expecting a level quite like that of 2025 and 2026. So it is especially meaningful to have worked with all these folks and now this billboard collaboration is done with the help of another Bay Area organization called the Multicultural Institute. They help support the housing, rights, fair pay, and advocacy of immigrant workers in the Bay.

Here are the original posters by Micah, Jules, and I. See my original post here.

Dig this? Check out this work for the ACLU in a report that studies how central cal sherriffs collaborate w/ ICE.

July 3, 2026
in Art, Ilustration
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Sticker art 4 Booker T Washington

Last year I began working with the Booker T Washington Community Service Center in San Francisco California. They are a century old organization offering tons of services and programming for the community in the Western Addition, Fillmore, the Richmond, and beyond. They offer summer camps, afterschool enrichment, free grocery and produce programs, groups for youth and elders, affordable housing, and more.

BTW Mission: Booker T. is a beacon of Black joy and self-determination. We uplift and serve our community, build intergenerational bonds, and work in solidarity with allied communities to reform and reimagine San Francisco.

Vision: All Black people are free to thrive in and shape SF to enable prosperity and belonging for everyone.

Here is some process art showing the originals thumbnail drawings I made, then redrawing them slightly more refined with grey tones to convey shape, tone, etc.


Here’s some color direction to give an idea of how I take an idea and share several color directions. I ended up using a combination of all of these color directions.

Here are the finals, drawn digitally. I tried to keep them loose and textured using photoshop and Astropad. I think the “lift while climbing” sticker is my favorite. Followed by Honor our Heritage.

Here’s a video of the actual stickers.

Dig this? Check out these stickers I designed for Convergence Magazine or Self Evident Podcast

July 2, 2026
in Art, Ilustration, Lettering/ Typography, Merch
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Art for Berkeley Public Library-Mr Jacobs

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….

They also made these cool stickers 🙂

Dig this? Check out my work for..

June 15, 2026
in Ilustration
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Short story 38 – Song’s Summer Packing List

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 Fresco published by Lee & Low Books.

Check out some of my past short stories worth checking out:

Dig this? Check out my first self published Art Book- 130 pages of sketches, paintings, characters, and more HERE

May 31, 2026
in General, Ilustration
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Libros Solidarios – Book Cover

photo by my wife

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”

May 10, 2026
in Ilustration
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Mini Comic 10 – A Break

Here’s a quick 3 panel comic about taking a break. There are so many things folks are going through. This past weekend I took a break with my family and it was lovely. Sometimes we gotta take a break and step away from all the things so we can recharge and come back better.

Whats this? I’ve had fits and starts with comics since 2007. In 2016 I started working on an epic graphic novel and it was too much, I couldn’t finish. So I took a break and began doing mini comics in 2021 (shorter more manageable stories) so I could do the most important part; finish them. This is a continuation of that. My accountability partner is my cousin and artist; Zhanne Easter.

Dig this? Check out some of my other mini comics

Check out Art of Rob feat 130 pages of drawings, sketchbook pages, illustrations, etc.

March 17, 2026
in Comics
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Mini Comic 9 – Following Orders

Here’s a short comic that had me thinking about how a system of government needs and thrives with loyal, unquestioning workers to follow orders. They need folks to not step out of line, to not think. But if they do, keep it to themselves. It does not work without obedience OR ignorance from its citizens. What is the United States rank education wise? So, I wanted to depict a soldier, defense contract worker, and journalists with the words “Stop Following Orders”. Right now, the US and Israeli governments are playing a vicious game with real lives by bombing Iran. Some questions come to mind when I think of this:

  • Why does the US have over 700 military bases worldwide? Why are they there? Would it be ok if other countries had military bases within USA borders? Why or why not?
  • Why are some countries permitted to have nuclear weapons and others not? Should nobody have them?
  • What are we as workers, individuals, and groups of people willing to go along with in order to have peace, safety? Will we put up with war, genocide, or child sex trafficking as long as it don’t affect our direct family?
  • What could the US government provide for our citizens if so much of our budgets didnt go to the military industrial complex? Policing? etc
  • Do people in the US understand how the US government and ultra wealthy corporations have tampered with, sabotaged, interfered with, destroyed, overthrown, or controlled other nations across the world? Especially the global south?

Whats this? I’ve had fits and starts with comics since 2007. In 2016 I started working on an epic graphic novel and it was too much, I couldn’t finish. So I took a break and began doing mini comics in 2021 (shorter more manageable stories) so I could do the most important part; finish them. This is a continuation of that. My accountability partner is my cousin and artist; Zhanne Easter.

Dig this? Check out some of my other mini comics

Check out Art of Rob feat 130 pages of drawings, sketchbook pages, illustrations, etc.

March 10, 2026
in Comics, General
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