I’m Maya, a Japanese-American motion designer based in Los Angeles, CA. (Currently in the process of relocating back to my hometown, San Francisco, CA.)

In 2019, I earned my BFA in Film and Television Production from New York University, with minors in Studio Art and Child and Adolescent Mental Studies. During my time at NYU, I honed my skills in screenwriting, animation, and the greater art of storytelling. Outside of school, I spent most of those years on set, working as an art director and production designer on both student projects and larger productions with Buzzfeed, Comedy Central, and Under Armour, before moving into animation.

Since then, I’ve spent the last seven years (wow!) working as a motion designer and animator in the commercial animation world, creating spots for companies like Shopify and Wirecutter, as well as many, many, many corporate explainer, social-platform focused ‘edutainment,’ and children’s educational/ instructional videos. In 2019, I joined the Brooklyn-based studio, Fortnight Post, as an animator, and, in 2021, with the new studio, Mess Kit Inc., I became lead. Then, in 2024, I decided to go freelance and now work with companies as a contractor, spearheading the whole animation pipeline process, from concept to final delivery, to create engaging, beautiful motion stories.

In my free time, I love dancing, eating spicy foods, writing my contemporary romance novel, and spending quality time with friends and family!