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cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
@cyraofthesea.bsky.social
63 followers 83 following 54 posts
Artist, author, lover of silly things ✨
she/her/they, 23
Aspiring book illustrator 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🥄
Cryptid World Tour webcomic 💌👣🌎
[in pre-production]

Open to freelance/commission work!

rachelhendel.com
lnk.bio/cyraofthesea
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cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · Jan 14
Happy #portfolioday!! I’m Rachel, a queer illustrator open to commissions + contract work, esp for #middlegrade or #youngadult projects. LGBTQ, disability, & fantasy themes are my fav. I’d love to bring your characters to life!!

🎨: rachelhendel.com
✉️: rachelehendel@gmail.com
#artistforhire #kidlit
A collage of 4 drawings and the creator’s profile picture. Text in the center says “Rachel Hendel”, text at the bottom says “rachelhendel.com | rachelehendel@gmail.com”
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Happy Halloween 🎃 Bigfoot, Mothman, and Nessie are celebrating by carving pumpkins at Dee’s house. Thank goodness the shrinking spell worked or Ness wouldn’t have fit in the door! And hey, who’s that lurking outside…?

Cryptid World Tour - coming soon 👣🌎💌

#Webcomic #CryptidArt #ArtSky
A digital illustration. Bigfoot, Mothman, and Nessie sit around a circular table covered in pumpkins, candles, and Halloween themed cookies. Bigfoot holds a knife as he carves something unseen into a pumpkin. Mothman and Nessie watch on curiously. In the background, Dee, the Jersey Devil, is grabbing candy from a bowl on the counter. Their ear twitches as if hearing something. Outside the window behind them, Hidebehind stands with her hand pressed longingly on the glass. The interior of the house is decorated in various Halloween decor.
October 31, 2025 at 7:08 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
I think I’ve said this before but why is photographing prints and stuff such a hassle 😭

Least favorite part of being an artist
October 29, 2025 at 12:53 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Doing my first outdoor market tomorrow, come say hi if you’re in Des Moines!! I’ll have my usual wares plus a new Halloween themed Cryptid World Tour print 👻🎃🍫
A Halloween themed illustration of Hoyt Sherman Place by Adam Baldus with the text, “Halloween Horrors at Hoyt Sherman Place, art fair, October 30th, 4pm to 9pm”. I added a small drawing of myself with a text bubble reading, “I’m a vendor!” A promotional image showing a Halloween themed print of cryptids carving pumpkins and some cards from volume two of Cryptid Cards.
October 29, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
mythjae.bsky.social
The Traitor & The Wretch is a grim fantasy with a surprisingly tender romance between two minor villains trying their best to outrun their terrible fates.

Written by me
Illustrated by @skulkingfoxes.bsky.social
Cover art by @fusspot.rip
With editing by @cknightwrites.bsky.social
A trope map showing the cover of The Traitor & The Wretch, with the two main characters. It reads: "Minor villains dungeon-crawling their way to a happy ending." "On the run from an entire kingdom that wants them both dead." "This guy helped raise a Chaos God to bring about the end times (he's not coping well)." "This guy tried to kill the Prophesized Hero (it ended badly)." "Enemies-to-Lovers" and "Mutated cave creatures! Undead horrors! Endless pitch black caves! Somehow, it's a romance!"
October 13, 2025 at 6:36 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
For my friends in Iowa, I’ll be tabling at the Van Meter Visitor Festival this Saturday! Come out and celebrate Iowa’s very own cryptid.

You can get tickets upon arrival or right now at www.chadlewisresearch.com/shop but be careful, they might sell out!
A poster for the Van Meter Visitor Festival. It features a drawing of the Visitor and text that states, “September 27, 2025. 11:30AM to 6:00PM. Veterans Reception Center in Van Meter, Iowa. Admission $10.” An advertisement for new artwork, showing off a new Visitor print and a preview of Cryptid Cards volume 2.
September 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
lollibeepop.bsky.social
Free Palestine forever 🇵🇸
An illustration that says "free palestine" with drawn elements representing familiar Palestinian cultural iconography
September 16, 2025 at 5:35 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Market prep is so exhausting tell me why I just spent 3.5 hours hand stamping blind bags and I'm not even done yet 😭
September 17, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
gremren.bsky.social
train-crossed lovers 🚃💕
An illustration of two giant cats cuddling on top of a train track, as a train waits on the side for them to move.
August 21, 2025 at 11:57 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Finally got the prologue and first chapter of my webcomic drafted!! Hoping to get the prologue pages done and ready to post by end of September 🤞
July 11, 2025 at 12:52 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
A queer wedding gift #commission - my client’s friends are getting married this week!! Congrats to the brides, so happy to be part of their big day 🌈💕

#ArtSky #QueerLove #LesbianWedding #Illustration
A digital illustration of two young women embracing each other and smiling happily next to a field of yellow and pink prairie flowers. A small heart is above their heads.
July 10, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
totallydonna.kitrocha.com
I've never run a single ChatGPT prompt. Not once, not even to see what it said. I've never generated a single image, either.

And I have no regrets about this. I don't need to do it to know that I don't want to.
May 7, 2025 at 1:36 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Some new stickers, all your favorite Little Guys!! Mothman, Fitz, and… that Spider Guy, too 🕷️

#artsky #artshop #smallbusiness
A product photo of three stickers, each is labeled with its name. The first is Mothman waving happily, the second is a poorly drawn parody version of Spider-Man, and the third is a small drake named Fitz wearing tiny boots with its tongue sticking out. An individual photo of the Spooder-Man parody sticker. Text says “just your friendly neighborhood sticker!” An individual photo of the Mothman waving sticker. An individual photo of the Fitz sticker.
May 6, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
caitlindeangelis.bsky.social
Everyone in the past was neurotypical, which is how we got things like this single-author, eight-volume encyclopedia of ferns
eight leatherbound books all titled "FERNS" volumes 1 through 8
May 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Fun fact: aliens are queer! Show off your extraterrestrial encounter with these silly pride stickers I made 👽🌈

#artsky #artshop #lgbtq #prideflags #stickershop
A product photo of a sticker, it’s an astronaut reaching out to touch fingers with an alien in a UFO. A rainbow pride flag trails behind the UFO and text in the center says “aliens are queer, they told me”. Text at the top of the image reads “8 different designs”. A second sticker with the trans flag can be partially seen behind the first. The same design with a rainbow flag and the text “aliens are gay, they told me” The same design with a transgender flag and the text “aliens are trans, they told me” The same design with a non-binary flag and the text “aliens are queer, they told me”
May 5, 2025 at 10:08 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
A #commission for my client's daughter's birthday!! 🎂🥳

I had a lot of fun with the prompts "reading comic to small dragons" and "enjoys Pokemon". So happy to be part of her special day!

#commissionsopen #artsky #kidlit #illustration
A full color digitial illustration. A girl sits on a toadstool in a forest reading a comic to three dragons, one who sits on a toadstool across from her, one who sits on the ground holding a stuffed animal, and one who is distracted chasing a butterfly. Magic flows out of the comic book and above the girl's head, showcasing characters from the comic book - they resemble Pokemon characters.
May 2, 2025 at 11:03 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
My sticker photographing assistant for today was Very Helpful as you can see (he tried to lick all of them) #morkie #artshop #artbusiness
A hand holds a 3 inch tall Mothman sticker. In the background is the partially obscured face of a small white dog who is sniffing the sticker.
May 2, 2025 at 5:34 AM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Learned about a cryptid called the Hugag recently, still thinking about them… weird moose thing with no knees, so true 👍
April 29, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
oliviawhen.com
Some little illustrations of dogs reading to use up the last paint on my palette.
#art
A yellow lab holding a pencil in their mouth sitting at a desk made of negative space, with books on shelves behind them. A green lamp and some papers with a big question mark written on them are on the table. These are all spot illos on white bgs. A terrier pushing a library book cart with their head while a grey and brown chihuahua rides on the top shelf. A Lhasa Apso reading a newspaper at a desk in a chair. Their fringe covering the edges of their eyes. A painting of floppy-eared cream and brown spaniel lying down with their head in the crease of an open book.
April 20, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
gentlyburns.bsky.social
👉🏻👈🏻
March 14, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
kekeflipnote.bsky.social
Apparently Adobe popped to Bluesky like a flower in Spring.
And then ended like that.
April 12, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
inestheunicorn.bsky.social
Team Duck, Chick or Chicken? 🦆🐔🐤
Clay pins perfect for Spring are waiting for you on the shop! ✨️ www.inestheunicorn.com
April 12, 2025 at 10:31 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
Every time I plan a booth layout I make a digital collage mock-up first, I think they’re funny (and also very helpful!!)

This one is for a cryptid themed event in September - gotta fill those holes with new work over these next few months 💪
A pieced together photo collage showing OP sitting behind a large table. Things like art prints and stickers are sitting on display shelves. Some items are just black box outlines showing there's nothing made to go there yet.
April 8, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
kateammann.bsky.social
Happy International Asexuality Day!!!🖤🩶🤍💜
Digital illustration of a crow holding an asexual pride flag in its beak.
April 6, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )
rowansugar.bsky.social
It’s here!! My first ever Book Birthday!! You can now find Avery and the Fairy Circle"" In actual, real life stores!! I hope you all enjoy this sweet little story of fairies, botany, and friendship and I can’t wait to hear what you think!
bookshop.org/p/books/aver... #art #kidlit #newrelease
Illustration- a fairy girl with orange hair and a girl with dark curly hair picking and eating blackberries together. Reads "Out Now" Mock up of a book cover that reads "Avery and the Fairy Circle - Rowan Kingsbury - Flying Eye Books". There is a girl and a fairy on the cover, smiling, with ferns and mushrooms around them.
April 1, 2025 at 4:32 PM
cyraofthesea.bsky.social
I realized lately that I’m bothered by the lack of word count info in book spaces. Page count is harder to understand when I’m gauging length/reading time

Page count can change based on format, word count is always the same - I wish listings had word count alongside page count is what I’m saying 😭
March 31, 2025 at 4:31 AM