Yonami

Penciller

Yonami or Paulo Teles is a designer and Professional illustrator since he was 19 years old, working at the graphic and digital area, illustrating for graphic publications and TV commercials.

Pupil of the best illustrators from Hyper Comics (Jucilande Jr. and Jo„o Vicente), drawing comics at your hometown (Manaus, Amazon, Brazil) making those for internet and fanzines. Moved to S„o Paulo in 2010, and since then has published for Stone Arch Books, Glyph Productions, Galaxy Graphix, Dynamite, Marvel and DC through  management by Glass House Graphics.

Designer by graduation and illustrator by profession, on nowadays Yonami works for GlassHouse Graphics as penciller and manager of a team of more than 40 talents.



Yonami ou Paulo Teles, Designer e ilustrador desde os 19 anos de idade, trabalhou com design gr·fico e digital, ilustrando para publicaÁıes editoriais, animaÁıes, games e publicidade.

DiscÌpulo dos grandes artistas da Hyper Comix (Jucylande Jr. e Jo„o Vicente) desenhando quadrinhos desde 2002 para a internet e fanzines em sua cidade natal – Manaus. Mudou-se para S„o Paulo em 2010, e publicou em editoras como Stone Arch Books, Glyph Productions, Galaxy Graphix, Dynamite, Marvel e DC atravÈs da Glass House Graphics.

Atualmente, trabalha como agente e desenhista da Glass House no Brasil, gerenciando uma excelente equipe de quase 40 artistas.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
I was born in a hospital near my house (at the time I lived with my granny), and I was raised by many people, such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. There I was raised surrounded by lots of cats; so many cats that I couldn’t count them up. It was a great time of my life…

Schooling? Art training?

Not exactly in Art. But I’m graduated in graphic and product design, also in industrial mechanics, which made me decide what I’d want for my life (laugh). Recently I’m very interested in studying animation and 3D modeling.

How long have you been working professionally in comics?

I’ve always drawn for fun. I’ve done some stories but never published them, besides in “fanzines”, but I’ve actually started to draw Comic Books it’s been 10 years now.

What things — both in art and otherwise — have you worked on besides comics? Are comics a full-time gig for you or part-time?
I’ve already worked as an industrial mechanic (my first job) and later, as an illustrator in a local newspaper for about two years. Then, I focused on publicity, working with print media, animation and motion graphics that is the area I’m working on nowadays. Comic Books have always been my “night work”, but at night I don’t change names nor go out (laugh). I’d say it’s my part-time job, because at night I can concentrate more on my pencils without daylight rush.

Talk about how you broke into the business –was it easy? Hard? Ups? Downs? Any interesting anecdotes? When you held your first published work in your hands, how did you feel?

Well, actually my ‘’début’’ into this business happened the moment I decided to start it. I’ve started to practice and pencil intensely, learning and knowing other pencilers and their ideas. It was something very exciting and a tough trail with many lessons to learn. Among them there’s one I kept affectionately. That’s when I knew my own limitations and of course, found a way out to overcome them. When I saw my first newspaper cover, I felt something inside me, swarming and asking for more, to produce more and as I said, it’s exciting (Laugh).

Did you work as an assistant to any other artists? If so, please talk a bit about those experiences.
Not actually, but I’ve already offered support to Hyper Comix artists, coloring their comic books with whom I’m still in touch even nowadays and I must say that they are great and precious friends.

How did your parents take to the idea of working in comics?
Since I studied Mechanics, my family had never attached much importance to my penciler’s life. To them, I’d have to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, but I always thought that we need to get into the profession we are really fond of, otherwise we’ll never be a good professional. Nowadays, my mother still thinks I do nothing on my job, but my father knows that my job’s not that easy. My mind gets tired, hands in pain, tension on my back.

How would you describe your workspace? Is it part of your home,
or do you go “to the studio”?

My workplace can be anywhere I’m able to sit down and support my drawing board, but I usually pencil in my bedroom and in front of my computer along with my anime miniatures and games, sound speakers playing a great music as background and many comic books references to help me.

What job are you proudest of? What’s your most embarrassing?
The job I’m proudest of is the one I’ve been working for years (Requiem) and it also served as my monograph model issue. At first, it’s a Comic Book project about witches and utopia worlds with some surrealistic characteristics based on the historic chronology. It was adapted to a RPG game in the defense of the project. The most embarrassing one? (Laugh) Yes, actually I have it even nowadays and it’s called PAULO VOLCANO (laughter). I did it when I was at the sixth grade, kid stuffs and I was a protagonist along with my school friends. We were justice defender warriors. I tell everyone about it so that they can know my origins, even if they are embarrassing ones. Want me to show it??? Not now (laughs).

What are you currently drawing? Comments onthat project?
Now, I’m just focusing on Requiem, producing a comic book and developing the interfaces for the game. I have six written scripts and one of them is already being produced (comic book), 4 of them for the game chapters.

Talk about your family: Parents, siblings, home situation. Are you married? Have kids? Names? Anecdotes about married life, how does it relate to your busy schedule, etc. If you have kids, do they understand your job? What do they say about it? Do they read comics?
I’d say I’m the family’s black sheep (laugh). I’m single, no kids and I’m the only lover of comic books, music, movies and games in my family. My father is retired, my mother is a biology teacher and my twelve-year-old brother likes youth latest stuffs (and fashion), just like Yu-gi-oh and Naruto. I’m from a teachers’ family, save my uncles who have different professions. None of them is an artist, but one of them made me get interested in reading comic books, buying me them every week when I was a kid. Unfortunately I lost them during my moving.

What projects do you hope to work on in the future?
Frankly, I intend to go on with Requiem and produce a 3D animation with the title and the characters, also promote comic books. However, I admit that since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamt about penciling Spider-Man professionally.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
In 5 years, I want to have established my own Studio. In 10 years, maybe make it become a famous Studio involving great artists.

What is the interest in comics where you live? Do friends and neighbors know you draw comics for a living? How do they react?

Most of my friends (from university, work) are fond of the same thing as me. They like the good and old comic books, buying monthly renowned Marvel comic books, DC and independent books. To my friends, working on it is amazing, mainly because most of them have the same vision regarding this business as me. They might think I got the world’s easiest job (laugh).

What’s 1 thing you’ll always find in your refrigerator?
Water is what my eyes look at first; I drink TOO MUCH water (laugh).

What’s your favorite food?
That’s a good question. I usually like to eat all kinds of food, but I must admit that a beef along with rice and beans are VERY welcomed. =)

What are your favorite interests –Movies? Music? TV? Any hobbies? Sports?

I love to watch movies and I usually go to the movies. Music is part of my day-by-day because I’m always listening to it (just like right now). I hardly ever watch TV because I don’t like the current broadcast programming so much, and regarding news, I end up checking them on internet (laugh). Kung fu is my hobby and I practice it every time I’m able to. I’d say it’s kind of therapeutic.

Have you ever thought of writing your own stories?

Yes, I wrote three out of Requiem scripts, moreover, I’m planning two more styles of stories (With cowboys, and the *typical* school gangs’ nonsense).

Have you ever been in a gang?
No, but maybe the clans formed in Lineage (MMORPG) fits? (Laugh)

What’s an average day in your life like? Walk us through a typical day.
I usually wake up early to check out my e-mails before going to the producer to work (my daily work). We finish our work and the art sector group start to talk, play on words and comment on comic books, movies and music. Then we exchange opinions and interesting information about software and tutorials. By the way, it’s a very pleasant workplace. During lunch, we go out together (still talking) and sometimes I go back to work to pencil a little, study or just go out to take some breathe in a shopping mall or some square. When I’m back to work the activities are not much different, except when we receive more scripts of the programs we do. When I get back home in the end of the day, I usually pencil until around midnight or 1am. I’d say that it’s my artistic hour of the day (laugh). I finally go to sleep and the coolest part is that in the following day, everything will have a fresh start.

Do you have any funny or interesting anecdote about the Comic book business to share?
No, I actually end up getting caught up in the humor intended by MAD (laugh).

Do you have any great, unsold projects in your files that nobody’s got to see published?
Well, my great Project’s been sold since some time ago (Requiem, as I said previously) and it’s about a journey through time of the midnight witch (time manipulator) and her assistant (a zombie woman who is symbolically represented by a doll) in search of her mother, the old witch of time. I’ve begun to create characters and scripts for this story, based on many popular cultures mythologies, bringing more versatility to the context and development of the story.

What’s your complete list of published credits?
Just fanzines as:
Requiem – the illusion joke and a participation in Ethora 2007.

Have you ever taught comic-book art or had any assistants? If so, talk about that.
I taught my friend’s daughter to draw. It was a very funny experience and moreover, I made a great friend.

The single thing you’d most like to be remembered for in your life is…?
My character ‘’the midnight witch” would be enough. 

Any closing words to your fans?
People, if someday you feel a strange emptiness inside yourself, take it as a blank paper and pencil.

Requiem – the illusion joke
Fanzine Ethora 2007
Diver Down (Stone Arch Books)
Warlords of Oz
Spirits of the Earth
The Midnight Witch Series; Rage#1 – #6 (Glyph Productions)
Marvel Greatest Battles Cards (Rittenhouse Archives)
Marvel Fleer Retro Cards (The Upperdeck Company)
Women of Marvel Set 2 Cards (Rittenhouse Archives)
Grimm – The Crystal Ball (Galaxy Graphix)
Space Girls (Galaxy Graphix)
DC Epic Battles
Marvel 75 years
Marvel Dangerous Divas#2
Marvel Universe 2014
Marvel Masterpieces
Blood Queen #5
Blood Queen #6
John Carter: Warlord of Mars #4
John Carter: Warlord of Mars #5
John Carter: Warlord of Mars #6

Gallery

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