Yumiko moved to San Francisco from Japan in 1990, where she received a master's degree in Fine Arts, winning a scholarship from the San Francisco Society of Illustrators. Her varied professional experience includes work as an illustrator, painter, makeup artist, photographer, graphic artist, web designer and computer animator. Currently, her focus is on developing user interfaces for mobile and desktop applications,

After college, Yumi worked as an illustrator and then for several years as a computer artist/animator at ILM, Lucas Arts and other 3D studios. In 2003, Yumiko co-founded Monkeymen, a software company, as art director and interface designer. She designed the Monkeymen website as well as this website. In 2006, Yumiko completed a an illustration commission for Adobe Systems Incorporated consisting of the 12 animals from the Chinese Zodiac. The animals were created in pastel on watercolor paper, then scanned into photoshop to create a digital print. Also in 2006 Yumi painted a series of tropical inspired paintings which were hung for sale at Artisans Gallery in Santa Cruz. In 2007, Yumi started the Youmee Tees company to sell her designs on t-shirts.

In 2010, Yumi designed the UI and created the graphics for a photo effects iPhone app. In 2012, she designed the UI and visuals for an internal Android app commissioned by Mixi, the top Japanese social network.

Yumi's painting: Yumiko enjoys spontaneously playing with harmony of colors on canvas. Her painting work can be divided between fine art and illustration. While paintings spring entirely from her mind, a subject or story drives the illustrations.

Skills

Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver
User Interface Design
Visual Design
3D CG Character Animation for movies, TV commercials and games using Maya and Softimage
Illustration (Acrylic, Pastel, Digital)
Website Designs (English and Japanese)
Art Director

Fluent in Japanese and English