
I’m a queer, disabled illustrator, author, and silly-thing-enjoyer from Iowa, USA.
I can bring diverse characters to life, illustrate LGBTQ+ middle grade and young adult books, and more. Please reach out with any project inquiries!
(Email me at rachelehendel@gmail.com)
Iowa Safe Schools
Individuals + Families
Personal projects, gifts, and more!
You, perhaps!
I'd love to work on your next project!

I create each art piece to be approachable and soft, to bring out the inner child of the viewer.
If this speaks to you, have a look at the rest of my portfolio!
"Rachel was amazing to work with! We had a pretty broad vision of what we were looking for, and relied a lot on Rachel to narrow that into an illustration that fit perfectly with our website. From the consultation to the delivery of the final product, the process was seamless! Rachel had great communication throughout the project timeline, and we got exactly what we wanted! We couldn't recommend her enough!"
“Working with Rachel on my daughter’s birthday present was a joy! She was communicative throughout the entire process, paid close attention to all the details that were provided, and delivered an exceptional piece in the timeframe we agreed on. My daughter was impressed that she even got her flowery glasses right! Overall an excellent experience and I will be recommending her to all our friends!”
“WOW! I walked past Rachel and the cutest little drawings at a little market and suddenly had this lightbulb moment for a wedding gift for my sweet friends and wowowow after emailing and some inspo photos- the very best wedding gift was created! Such talent and love and joy went into this gift and the brides are obsessed! I can not express how meaningful this gift is for them, and how perfect it turned out!! Rachel was so flexible, and included me with every step of the process. 100000/10 would reccommend!!"
Email me at rachelehendel@gmail.com
A step-by-step breakdown of how I made a comic for Iowa Safe School’s Affirming Resource Library webpage.
Read MoreA behind-the-scenes look into the making of my illustrated short story book, Tropes!
Read MoreI review self portraits I made in 2016 - 2020 and rank them out of 10! I also muse about my evolving identity.
Read More