Closer Look at The Life of Sony Pictures & Netflix Production Designer, Yuhki Demers
Yuhki Demers is one of the world’s foremost production designers. This woman is outrageously talented! Yuhki has had extremely successful stints working for giants such as Netflix, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Big Red Button Entertainment, Inc. He has led a plethora of projects during her illustrious career stemming almost a decade. The Hype Magazine’s Life & Style correspondent, Charles Myambo (CM) had an interview with Yuhki Demers (YD). Below are some excerpts from the interview.
Netflix Production Designer – “Yuhki Demers”
CM: Kindly provide us some insight as to who you are as a person and the story behind the rise of the phenomenal Yuhki Demers.
YD: I am a nerd at heart. I love comics, sci-fi movies, and video games, so I guess a career full of designing them was always my destiny.
CM: Your proficiency in design is evidently world class. How did you discover and nurture your talent which has enabled you to work for giants such as Netflix and Sony Pictures?
YD: As a youngster I was always drawing. Growing up, my dad gave me the choice between drawing or reading for an hour a day, and of course I almost always picked drawing. This love of drawing took a backseat for many years while I focused on academics, to prepare myself for a respectable career in engineering. It wasn’t until I took a figure drawing class in my third year of college that I rediscovered my love of drawing. It was there that my instructor informed me of the world of concept art and visual development. She showed me that you could draw cool things for a more than decent living. After that my sights were set, I was going to be a concept artist, and all the best concept artists went to Art Center College of Design. It was there that I built my foundation in art and design and developed my skills enough to get my first art job. It was on the job that I grew the most as an artist and learned from my artistic idols.
CM: What are some of the projects that you have relished working on most in your current role @ Netflix?
YD: I’ve only had the privilege of working on one project at Netflix Animation, a sci-fi action adventure called “My Dad the Bounty Hunter”. This is my first project as a production designer and I’ve absolutely loved being involved at almost every level of the making of this fantastic show, and I can’t wait for the world to see it!
CM: Early on in your career, you had a brief but majorly successful stint at Paramount Pictures. Was that a defining moment for you and how was the overall experience working for the company?
YD: It definitely was a defining moment for me and my career. Even though almost every project I worked on their got canceled, it was my first job working on animated feature films. I was also lucky enough to work on projects that were in early development, so I got to lend a hand at developing a handful of animated films and learn what it takes to bring a movie from script to a visual world.
CM: For slightly over 8 years now, you have combined both freelance work and full-time work. How do you balance it all so successfully?
YD: It’s tough. Earlier in my career I did a lot more freelance and learned that it’s very easy to stretch yourself too thin. After a few years of burning myself out, I’ve learned to only take on projects that were exciting and that could be done in the limited amount of freelance time I have set aside.
CM: Onto another pertinent subject, ADVERSITY! What are some of the steepest challenges you have encountered both professionally and personally?
YD: I wasn’t at the top of my class at the Art Center, so getting that dream job right out of school, like many of my super talented classmates, was not an option for me. I had to buckle down and really work on my drawing and painting skills to catch up to where they were, all this while working for smaller studios on projects I wasn’t super excited about. I worked every night on improving my skills and building a better portfolio, and after hundreds of rejections I finally got my shot to do real concept art on a Sonic the Hedgehog video game, “Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric”. From there I got to work at Paramount Animation on a few projects and then Sony on the “Emoji Movie”. As my time on Emoji was coming to an end I decided to talk to the director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse to see if he could use any design help. He loved my work, and I got a shot to design on a movie that would change my life.
CM: What does the future hold for the mercurially gifted Yuhki Demers and what word of advice would you give to upcoming prospects in your industry?
YD: I have no idea what the future holds for me. I just hope I get to keep working with awesome people and help them tell diverse stories that mean something. Once you’ve had the opportunity to work on a project you fully believe in, it’s hard to go back. My advice to those coming up would be to never give up and never be satisfied. There is always something you could be working on, some part of your skillset to improve, there is always something you could be doing to better yourself, and in turn your work.
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About the Author
Charles Myambo (@BigChaz14 on Twitter) is a columnist and correspondent for industry leader, The Hype Magazine. He is also well known for being a multiple genre #1 Amazon best selling author. In addition to that, Charles is a credentialed journalist as seen in Muck Rack & Press Reader and he is also a highly touted celebrity news correspondent. Moreover, Charles is an international celebrity host and interviewer who has been covered by some of the world's biggest publications. At present, his interviews have been covered by credible journalistic outlets such as Medium, Flipboard, Press Reader, Muck Rack and many others. He is also a columnist for huge African newspapers such as NewsDay, Daily News, iHarare, ZiFM Stereo (radio station), H-Metro, The Financial Gazette as well as several other European and American publications. (@charlesmyambo on Instagram)
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