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He Hit Me First – Book Cover

He Hit Me First is book 2 in middle grade series written by Robert Mossi Alexander.

Here’s the synopsis from the book:

He Hit Me First is a powerful coming-of-age story for readers ages 8–13 that explores cycles of violence, emotional healing, and the power of mentorship. Set in East Oakland, the book follows Elijah, a young boy navigating school, family struggles, and peer pressure. After a schoolyard fight, Elijah is forced to confront the deeper pain behind his anger. With the help of his uncle, a former boxer, and guidance from community mentors, Elijah learns how to channel his energy into personal growth and self-control.

Written by Dr. Robert Mossi Alexander, educator, counselor, and author of She Hit Me First, this heartfelt story teaches young readers—especially boys—about emotional intelligence, accountability, and the strength found in respecting elders and listening to ancestral wisdom. Perfect for classrooms, mentorship programs, and parents looking to spark important conversations around conflict resolution, masculinity, and healing.

I illustrated and design the cover the story. 

The larger figure is the main character from the book. The characters rounding out the lower half of the cover are the boys father, a boxing trainer, his teacher, and one of his best friends. I wanted the character to be serious but also just be a kid surrounded by many voices with the city as another character at his back. Check out some of the art process.

Purchase the book here.

January 14, 2026
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Santa Clara Valley – Open Space Authority

Santa Clara Open Space Authority is an environmental conservation organization in Northern California.

More on their mission: The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority conserves the natural environment, supports agriculture and connects people to nature, by protecting open spaces, natural areas and working farms and ranches for future generations.

We envision the Santa Clara Valley and its surrounding hillsides as a beautiful place where a vibrant network of interconnected open spaces, trails, wildlife habitats and thriving agricultural lands enrich the region’s cities and make it an exceptional and healthy place to live, work, learn and play.

To date, the Open Space Authority has protected approximately 30,000 acres–providing nature-friendly outdoor recreation and preserving the natural beauty and environmental health of the Santa Clara Valley.

Coloring book: I was commissioned by the organization to illustrate a coloring book inviting young people to learn about nature and conservation broadly; and specifically to guide them towards this vast area of land in Santa Clara where they can experience it first hand. I had a blast creating illustrations, typography, and more for the book.

Here’s a bit of the artwork from it! For more information about the organization please visit them here.

January 14, 2026
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Fridays for Falestin – Artists for Radical Imagination

The purpose of this image and the following images are to share a fundraising campaign for a family who fled Gaza. It is organized by a relative of the family based in the US who represents the Alborno family. Please see the link in my bio for the full story and like, comment, share, and contribute if you can.

 

Image Description:
A set of slides with hand drawn watercolor illustrations of Jamil and Maria, Pal es tinian children around 2 and 5. Both portraits are held within a circle with an earthy green background, reds and auburns in their hair, warm skin tones and purple shirts. Maria has her hair in pigtails, and is smiling softly, while Jamil has lightly tousled hair with smile open and wide. There is a cream hand drawn background with yellow hearts and purple bursts on each slide and the text below Gofundme Link.

 

Slide 1:
“Help Jamil Maria and Family
Fridays for Fal es tine
gofundme.com/f/support-ezzeddin-family”
Slide 2:
“Jamil, Maria, siblings, and parents fled Gah zah to Turkey and need help recovering
gofundme.com/f/support-ezzeddin-family
Can’t help right now? Please help spread the word, Like, comment, and share”
Slide 3:
“Join Artists for Radical Imagination every Friday as we share a verified fundraiser to directly support a family in Gah zah. Follow and use the hashtag: #FridaysForFalestin

Art by @robert_tres text by Rob + @vulpinicvestements repping #artistsforradicalimagination Fridays for Fal’ es tin

February 13, 2025
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Ride Again Mini Comic

I drew this mini comic about bike riding. It’s an embarrassing story about being bullied or getting jacked. I’m sure there are kids who were champion boxers at 9 years old. I was not. I’d been in 1 on 1 fights but not against 4 or 5 older kids. Anyways, the point of the story is to ride again and thats exactly what I did. Hopefully you can relate as a bike rider or as a kid growing up. Get a copy here.

July 21, 2023
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We Are Yoga by Jill Guerra

This is one of my favorite illustrations from We Are Yoga / Somos Yoga, a book self-published by Jill Guerra in the spring of 2022. The book includes more than 13 illustrations in a vibrant, inviting color palette.

Synopsis:

We Are Yoga / Somos Yoga is a bilingual picture book (English/Spanish) and resource for teachers, parents, therapists, or anyone working with youth. Through yoga poses, affirmations, and reflections, we can build self-awareness and the tools to navigate this challenging and beautiful life.

July 13, 2006
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Watercolor portrait of a kid wearing a space helmet, painted red, with the word "Read" above; by Robert Liu-Trujillo.

Space Kid

I painted this in the summer wanting to begin a new series of “READ” posters. I was inspired by the traditional ones you’d see in a quiet city library, but I wanted to use illustration and feature children of color prominently. In the past I’ve illustrated a kid holding a book, but this time I decided to go more with themes. This is an example of personal work and art for merchandise.

Purchase
May 22, 2003
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Ethnic Studies 2 (Purple)

Ethnic Studies is a framework for teaching history that highlights the people in the United States who’ve been ignored or erased from school curriculums. It focuses on African American, Native American, Latinx/a/o, Asian American. and Middle Eastern people. More on my reasons for painting it here. Want a print? Cop that here.

July 18, 2000
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Character Mother & Daughter

Character 171

This is a recent character to carry on the series of doodling characters. I was thinking about “A Quiet Place”. For over 15 years I have worked on and shared characyer doodles, design, sketches, etc in an effort to get better at communicating an idea, a story, or a feeling. This isn’t connected to any one issue, its more fantasy, but drawing it helps me improve for when I do want to tell a story.

February 17, 2000
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Story Time – Classroom Reader

This was fun to make. Like the very first “Storytime Print” I made, I really wanted to show a classroom or library setting where children are being read to. This is the 8th one in the series I really dig it. Remember to read to your kids 15 minutes a day if possible.

The story time series began in 2018 as a way for me to make art prints of children from a diverse array of background holding, carry, interacting with books, or being read to. As a child who did not see much of that growing up, one of the reasons I dove into becoming a kids book author and illustrator was to provide a mirror for future children.

If you’d like a print of this image you can get one here. Its is a part of a set.

February 16, 2000
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Short story- Spooky Ride

Short story 31

Text: “Patrice and Larry had been practicing and falling on the track all summer. The older more experienced kids dared them to try the jumps but they always bit it trying. Tonight though, on Halloween before anyone got home to divvy up their candy, Patrice finally did it. She went up the biggest jump on “Shell Track”, now the only thing left to do besides puting on her costume was to land safely.”

What is this? Short stories are a way for me to sharpen my skills, to play, to practice, 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 middle grade and comics now too. My name is Robert Liu-Trujillo and my most recent book is “Fresh Juice” published by Lee & Low Books.

As a kid I LOVED bmx bikes so much and would spend hours riding around my neighborhood. I wanted to make a cool image of a girl riding a bmx bike on the night of halloween. The idea is for her to accomplish some big jump that is terrifying and gratifying at the same time. Then I just put a spooky tree, a costume on the friend in the background, and the moon with clouds.

February 15, 2000
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