Rafael López (born August 8, 1961, in Mexico City, Mexico) is an internationally recognized illustrator and artist. To reflect the lives of all young people, his illustrations bring diverse characters to children's books. 

        Rafael López has received three Pura Belpré Award medals from the American Library Association for Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln (2020) Drum Dream Girl (2016) and Book Fiesta! (2010). In addition he secured three Pura Belpré honors. llustrated books in 2022 include The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson released in January and The Little Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu due out in September.

        His illustrations for Bravo! Poems about Amazing Hispanics were honored with the 2017 Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators New York Original Art Exhibition. The book Maybe Something Beautiful based on his own work reclaiming neighborhoods with community murals secured the 2017 Tomás Rivera Book Award. Additional children's books have received three Pura Belpré honors and two Américas Book Awards for illustration.

         He created a series of 54 portraits for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino. In 2022 he served as the first guest artist of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum giving workshops to children and families. He was asked by the Library of Congress to create the National Book Festival Poster in 2012, an event featuring best-selling authors, poets and illustrators on the National Mall in Washington D.C. He has created thirteen stamps for the United States Postal Service.

       He was selected by the Obama/Biden campaign to create two official posters at Artists for Obama in an effort to secure the pivotal Latino vote in key swing states.