Since I can remember I have been fascinated by animals. All of them. Insects, fish, bugs, fluffy ones and even those extinct (total dinosaur fan at age 10). When I was kid, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up: a veterinarian! And not just a vet, a zoo veterinarian.
The reality of how much math and memorising animal parts this entailed, made high-school-me reconsider this plan. Environmental sciences seemed a more appropriate fit.
(And yes, before I became a full-time illustrator, I did a degree in environmental resource management.) *shock*
You might be thinking that by becoming an illustrator I have let go of my passion for nature. This couldn’t be the furthest from the truth! I have find that this subject is central in most (if not all) of my personal work. I like to gather information and facts about plants and animals, specially when travelling or doing nature hikes. I record these in my sketchbook, and then, when illustrating I incorporate these in my work.
Alebrijes Kwartet
As an illustrator I think that one key role that I can play in preserving natural habitats is to help create awareness. You do not have to travel around the world to learn more about specific habitats, plants or animals. Educational resources are key, and these do not always have to come in the form of school books.
This is why, together with my friend graphic designer Georgina Lira we decided to create an educational card game: Alebrijes Kwartet (Kwartet being the Dutch variant of Go-fish).
This game focuses on the Mexican biodiversity; since we both felt inspired by the variety our home-country has to offer.
The card game was made with two goals in mind:
Create awareness of the incredible variety of habitats and animals you can find in Mexico and,
To become a fun way of learning/exercising Spanish or Dutch; since the game is bilingual.
We of course hope that we can create a second edition Spanish / English! But we wanted to start with the local market and the Mexican/Dutch/Belgian community.
And this week I think this card game is truly relevant, as the United Nations has proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues!
So, if you are looking for a fun game to play during the COVID lockdown, or maybe you’d like to offer this as a gift for someone, get your Kwartet!
The kwartet has been printed on special plastified paper at an official card-game factory in the Netherlands.
The box includes a Kwartet set of 32 cards and game rules
learn more
If you’d like to know more about The International Day for Biological Diversity, you can find the key messages and more about what is biodiversity HERE.
And the youth/children’s page is HERE in case you’d like to share this with your kids, students or family!
