My introduction to the HIVE COMMUNITY/ Who is Alejandra Her?

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Self portrait. Alejandra Her

Today I want to share a little of myself. This is my presentation on hive.

My name is Alejandra Her and I am an editorial illustrator. I have not always been it, I have gone through one or another trade and labor, and with great determination I have come to be able to do what I love as a way of life.

I am a teacher by profession, and I have practiced this career at different levels since I was 18 years old. Although I always enjoyed teaching, it was clear that it was not my passion. I worked with preschool children, teenagers and young people at university age in a fairly short period (approximately six years) and became a mother when I was still very young, it was there when I stopped teaching.

Me as a reader

My first years in motherhood were a beauty. Sharing with my daughter her wonderful growth process made me grow so much more. It was there that I became a regular reader of children's literature. I have always been a voracious reader, but as soon as I became a mother, my literature needs changed, because I wanted to share with my daughter the wonderful world of literature. In my childhood I didn't have much access to children's books so except for a couple of books, I was actually reading adult books.

So together with my daughter I discovered a whole illustrated world for children and adults.

Book fairs played a fundamental role for me. Our first books were these:
The private life of the rag dolls, Unknown and lost princesses, The little prince.

My discovery of a new art did not stop with children's picture books, but rather with adult illustrations. Persepolis by Majane Sartrapi, Oyasumi Pun Pun by Inio Asano and Blankets by Craig Thompson are some of the graphic novels and comics that have marked my life as an illustrator.

However, after having my second daughter, it was when I decided that I should turn my life around, and dedicate myself professionally to doing what I love. In my opinion it was the only thing I needed to consider myself a happy person.

Me as an illustrator

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Granizo. Written by Armando José Sequera. Illustrated by Alejandra Herrera (me) and Carla Ricciardelli. Cover illustration: Alejandra Her.

Although at first it seemed to be something very difficult, it was not. I just needed a little determination. My first step was to start a sketchbook to prepare to take illustration courses. As soon as I did my first course, I was caught by a small publisher that was dedicated to promoting reading to illustrate for them.

Although my first year was basically training, I had already started doing what I love, and from that moment a couple of years ago until now I have not stop.

I have received the respect of each author with whom I have worked and cultivated excellent relationships with colleagues in the publishing world, and this has given me not only the security of continuing my career as an illustrator, but the ability to choose what jobs to do to live and what jobs to reject because they don't align with the kind of work I want to create.

Sketchbook

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Sketchbook page by Alejandra Her.

When I started my sketchbook, the most frequent illustrations I did were self-portraits, since it is the figure I know the most, and through the self-portrait I knew myself even more, my anxieties, my desires and my dreams. But I also enjoyed drawing portraits in general.

Since I was a child, I drew portraits, so I was outlined by realism. However, as I learned more about illustration, it was the deformed aesthetics that I liked the most.
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Girl portrait. Alejandra Her.

So I decided to continue with my professional training through workshops orienting myself to what I wanted to achieve as an illustrator. I am currently studying original character design.

My goals are to be able to narrate stories where the power of graphics and words are combined in an essential way.

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I hope to continue growing with this community.

A hug for everyone

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If you like my work, visit my Instagram account

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