Biography

Born in Rio de Janeiro. Studied painting at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, graphic design at the School of Fine Arts and Illustration at Hungarian Institute of Arts and Crafts in Budapest for six years. Also studied animation at the Pannónia Film Studio in Budapest, Hungary, where he worked as a film animator having made two short animation films.

In 1975, he was hired by Globo Television Network as an art director. He designed many opening sequences of soap operas and various programs including the highly successful children’s series, “Sítio do Picapau Amarelo” (Yellow Woodpecker Farm).

He has joined the Educational Television Channel of the State of Rio de Janeiro as an art director until 1983. Besides the various openings for Brazilian films, he has also designed posters and visual programs for movies. He has already illustrated more than 140 books and projected more than 400 book covers for the main publishing houses all over Brazil including the most important authors of Brazilian children’s and young people literature. In 2005 he has launched two of his own books, such as: “Magnólia” (Magnólia) and “Cartas Lunares” (“Letters of the Moon”).

He has won 18 awards as an illustrator in Brazil and abroad. His illustrations and adaptations of the play entitled “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare, published by Companhia das Letrinhas, got the Mention Highly Commended by the National Foundation for Books for Children and Young People – and then was nominated by IBBY Honour List 2002. The “Red Ridin´ in the Hood and Other Image Shortstories” introduced by Luciana Sandroni got the Jabuti Award for Illustration – 2003 besides being mentioned as Highly Commended on illustration by the FNLIJ – National Foundation of Books for Children and Young People.

He has participated in many exhibitions in Brazil and abroad. In 1998 he had an exhibition entitled “Five Brazilian Illustrators in Paris and Rome” at Maison de l’Amèrique Latine, Paris and Candido Portinari Gallery, Rome, Italy.

On April 2003 the D. João VI Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro presented an exhibition of his recent illustrations. In September of the same year The International Festival of Comic Books held in Belo Horizonte also organized an exhibition of his principal works.

On October 2005 there will be a retrospective exhibition celebrating his 30 years of books illustration at “Academia Brasileira de Letras” (Brazilian Literature Academy) in Rio de Janeiro. As an animation film director we point out the short film “Wanted Christ”(Cristo Procurado), which has obtained various national and international prizes, having been exhibited in festivals throughout Brazil and abroad. In 1999, he made his animation film called Indian Love (“Amor Índio”), the first film of the series “América Morena” (Tanned America). It was considered one of the best five animation shortfilms by the “Grande Prêmio Cinema Brasil”- 2001. Not only the animation film “Amor Índio” (Indian Love) but also the second movie of the series,”A Lenda do Dia e da Noite” (The Legend of the Day and Night), based on a legend of the “Karajá” indians were adapted for books and published by José Olympio and FTD Publishing Houses, respectively.

At the moment “O Bravo Pastor e Suas Três Irmãs” (The Brave Shepherd and His Three Sisters), the third animation film of the series, is being finished to conclude the “América Morena” (Tanned America) trilogy. He has been a Professor of the Industrial Design Course for 22 years at the Fine Arts School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He got his masters and doctorate in Communications and Audiovisual Aesthetics from USP – Communications and Arts School of the University of São Paulo.