Javier Cruz Winnik is an illustrator based in New York City. He recently released a children’s book called “A Reason to Smile” The book features a little Latina heroine named Luiza.

We catch up with Winnik while he’s selling his work to get his bit of wisdom on representation.

As an artist, Javier Cruz Winnik has tried to be as versatile as possible. He persued a degree in Studio Art which lead to learning about graphic design. Both skills allowed him to hone his skills in illustration to the point where he has become part of comic book convention scene for the past 6 years.

That experience along with working in the school system pushed him towards writing and illustrating his very first book titled “A Reason to Smile!” which was successfully funded through Kickstarter. He is now a self published author and illustrator! He is in the process of having the book sold in comic book stores and local book stores.

If you would like to see his process and progress, please feel free to head to the links below to find the kickstarter campaign and website featuring the books debut. He is also on twitter under @thalearningcurv and on instagram under thelearningcurv. If you are on facebook, his art page is www.facebook.com/thecurv

Here is the link to his kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/969189472/find-a-reason-to-smile.