Participation on Ethora 2006 Special
Participation on Ethora 2007 Special
Hate! published on Neo Tokyo # 10 - October, 2006
Covers for Neo Tokyo issues 11, 12, 15-17, 19 and 20 - Between 2006 and 2007
Covers for Tarot Café (Brazilian edition) issues 01-07 (only the colors and manipulation) published by New Pop

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
I was born in Ferraz de Vasconcelos, São Paulo metropolitan area. Basically, I grew up in the east part of São Paulo.

Have you already taken a drawing course/art training?
I've never taken a drawing course. It happened naturally. When I was 13, I searched for some books like those "How-to-draw" ones. Now, I want to take an animation course.

How long have you been working professionally in comics?
Well, it's been over a year since I started working with comics/illustration. My first published work was in Neo Tokyo magazine (considered the best Japanese pop culture magazine in the country)

In 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 started as a freelance illustrator. I've done from logos to images to be printed in kickboxing and kung-fu academy uniforms to tattoo designs. For a good amount of time I was a private drawing teacher. When I started working professionally, I've done several covers for Neo Tokyo magazine and now I work as a colorist for New Pop publisher. I work full-time.

Talk about how you broke into the business -- Was it easy or hard? Did you get through ups and downs? Any interesting anecdotes? When you held your first published work in your hands, how did you feel?
It's never easy. Since 2003, I go to anime conventions such as AnimeCon and AnimeFriends seeking for professional contacts. In July, 2006, during a fanzine fair, I was presented to Júnior Fonseca, Neo Tokyo editor-in-chief, who offered me a job. That was when it all started. A curious note: who presented me to the editor-in-chief was Fábio Sakuda - who used to write for the magazine - and now he's my partner in some projects.
They were searching for someone to start a new section in the magazine called Manga Zone, where "Hate!" was published in October of the same year. I still receive e-mails from everywhere in the country, praising me for the pages.
I felt like I accomplished my goal. But it was just the beginning. Later on, the editor has invited me to change the look of the magazine covers, and so I did for some months.

Have you already worked as an assistant of any other artists? If so, please talk a bit about these experiences.
No, even though I've already turned down a few invitations.

How did your parents take the idea of working with comics?
At first, they thought it was a matter of age (I was 13 or 14 at the time). As the time passed by, they realized that my potential was a reality after a few freelances I've done for other countries. Nowadays, they take it as an ordinary job, despite the difficulties in our country.

How would you describe your work environment? Is it part of your home, or do you go "to the studio"?
My space is placed in my bedroom.

What work are you proudest of? What's your most embarrassing?
I think our last work is always the one we are most proud of. Embarrassed? Hm... I'd say bewildered instead. I think the printing on one of the covers I've done didn't come out as good as it should be. It ended up being way too different from the colors I've put on that. The readers complained a lot.

What are you currently drawing? Comments on that project?
I'm currently the colorist on Tarot Café covers (Brazilian version).
I have my own project called "Contos de Thalacya" (Tales of Thalacya) - it reads "falacë". It's an unfinished novel. Among some of the tales in the book, there's "Lengdus Poren" - an old fanzine - "Hayashi Young Blade" - that was a fanzine and now we're making a cellphone game based on it - and also "Giant Slayer" - our most ambitious project.

Talk about your family: Parents, siblings, home situation. Are you married? Do you have kids? What are their names? Do you have anecdotes about married life? How does it relate to your busy schedule? If you have kids, do they understand your job? What do they say about it? Do they read comics?
My mom is a housewife. My father is a retired public servant of the government. My two younger brothers work for different companies. I'm not married and I don't have kids.

What projects do you hope to work on in the future?
My biggest dream is to make my projects, such as Giant Slayer come true. I also want to be a well-succeeded game designer and I want to work with Marvel's and DC's heroes, specially Batman!

Where do you see yourself in five/ten years?
Hm, maybe married. And with a pile of work to be done.
How big is the interest in comics in the place you live? Do your friends and neighbors know you make a living from comics? How do they react?
It's relatively big. I know many people who are interested in comics and mainly in mangas. They know what I do for a living. Some see me as a dreamer, others are proud to be my friends. But anyway... I don't care that much about it. I only want to do what I like the most.

Tell us one thing we'll always find in your refrigerator.
Milk.

What's your favorite food?
Hm, I love lasagna!

What are your favorite interests? (i.e.: movies, music, TV, sports, any other hobbies, etc)
I have many. I love movies with Tom Hanks, Robin Williams and Depp. I like rock and melodic metal (my favorite band is Rhapsody of Fire). I don't watch much TV. Some of the series I like are Simpsons, Futurama, House, CSI and Monk. My favorite hobby is playing RPG, mainly D&D. I'm also enjoying playing poker!

Have you ever thought about writing your own stories?
See "Contos de Thalacya".
Have you ever been in a gang?
Gang? Like those ones in the movies? No, thanks.

What an average day in your life is like? Walk us through a typical day.
Well, I wake up around 8, have something to eat and then I start drawing, either it is at the drawing board or on the computer. At 12:30 I have lunch and then I get back to work. I take a shower at 4 in the afternoon, have something to eat again and get back to the drawing board/computer. Around 8:30 in the night, I have dinner and get back to work once again. I usually go until 11:30 and then I stop.

Do you have any humoristic or interesting anecdote about the comic book market to tell us?
I'm in this business for just a little time. That's why I don't have much experience. But I remember I once had to deliver a work (the deadline was over) to the editor through the internet and my internet connection wasn't working properly that day. I left the computer on the whole night to send that work and when only 3 or 4% were left to finish the upload, I got offline. Isn't it a reason for crying?

Do you have any great unsold projects in your files that nobody's got to see published?
Yes, I do have a few. I hope to be able to publish them in a brief future.

If you weren't a comic-book artist today, what would you be?
I love music and movies. Maybe something related to one of them.

Have you ever taught anyone comic book art or had any assistants? If so, talk about that.
I have already been a private teacher from 2001 to 2005.

The thing you'd most like to be remembered for in your life is...
That something I have created made someone happy somewhere in the world.

Any closing words for your fans?
Haha... well, I rather considering them my friends than fans. But I can tell that I'm really thankful for all the support. Thank you guys!