Tucci Trooper!
You’ve marveled at Gardenio Lima’s incredible artwork on Shi: Return of the Warrior, Haikyo and now, by far his best Shi work to date, Sakura!
Gardenio is my art-partner on Shi. An amazing young man who brings his extraordinary drafting skills to the Shi Renaissance and I could not be happier working with a finer artist. Gardenio is constantly bringing my rough pencils to life and crafting some of the most beautiful Shi pages of all time.
Gardenio’s always loved drawing. He was born in the countryside of Brazil, and his only to comics when he met Ed Benes in 2007. After that Gardenio started studying and soon improved in the production of illustration and pinups. But his true passion was always passionate comics. Gardenio became a ardent student of the craft, studying pages from so many other professionals. Two years ago, I came upon several of his beautiful pages, and hired him to do my “finishes”, a sort of inking through pencils. I’ve been using the pencil-to-digital color technique since 1995 and love the uniquely watercolor look to the final pages.
I think Gardenio and I form an incredible team, and his sense of design and layouts have improved many of my original panels and the result is simply awe-inspiring.
It is truly an honor working alongside such an amazing young talent and I am so happy to share Gardenio’s work with you all!
I do not want to give away too much, but here’s a sample: (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shi-sakura-graphic-novel-indiegogo-exclusive/x/20487910#/updates/19) of Gardenio’s black and white illustration before being colored by Brian Miller.
SO NOW IT’S TIME TO UNLOCK YOUR INDIEGOGO $140K STRETCH GOAL: GARDENIO LIMA SAKURA COVER TRADING CARD!
Thus far Six Stretch Goals have been unlocked and are FREE to all backers who have pledged for a physical-tier perk. They include:
- Shi: Sakura Graphic Novel being expanded from 56-pages to 64-pages.
- Shi: Sakura Graphic Novel being expanded from 64-pages to 72-pages.
- Shi: Kuroi Hana 5” Vinyl Sticker.
- Shi: Sakura Hardcover Edition Trading Card.
- Ana Ishikawa Kick-To-The-Face Trading Cards.
- Asha Kishna Sakura Cover Trading Card.
Again, thank you all for your amazing support. Let’s smash that $140K Stretch Goal!
#ShiStrong
Billy Tucci