The Making of Netflix’s “Blue Eye Samurai”

Jane Wu is at the helm as the producer and supervising director of the highly anticipated series Blue Eye Samurai. An emotionally grounded animated drama with a live-action cinematic attitude set to debut on Netflix, the series follows the epic journey of a mixed-race master of the sword, cloaked in disguise as she seeks revenge in Edo-period Japan.

Born in Taiwan and raised in Los Angeles, Jane found an early outlet in comic books, where she discovered a passion for storytelling and art. Her skills led her to the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design, but upon graduating with a degree in Fashion, she was presented with an opportunity to work in animation. Starting as a character designer, she eventually directed and produced such animated series as Men in Black and Jackie Chan Adventures.

Today, Jane’s unique background has made her an in-demand collaborator and she has built a formidable career in film and television that spans multiple genres. Inspired by her martial arts background, she has boarded action sequences for features such as Mulan, Into the Spiderverse, and multiple Marvel movies including The Avengers and Shang Chi. Her series credits include Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Interview with a Vampire. She has worked with the likes of David Chase and Alan Taylor, among many others.

As one of the few women in a predominantly male industry, she also has had the pleasure of mentoring young artists at her alma mater, UCLA, and the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

Toby Wilson is the production designer on Netflix's adult animated series "Blue Eye Samurai." In his role, he oversees the direction and execution of the show's visuals and aesthetic, guiding departments from design and development, into building assets, and through the entire shot production process.

Prior to joining Netflix, he was the art director on the Oscar-nominated feature animated film “The Mitchells vs. The Machines" and 3d visual development supervisor at Sony Pictures Animation.

Toby served as production designer and art director at Walt Disney Animation Studios on the Cars World and Tinkerbell franchises. He joined Disney after more than seven years in the video game industry at Electronic Arts. He served as production designer on the 2011 installment of “Medal of Honor” and was a lead concept artist and story artist on several games, including “Medal of Honor Airborne,” “Boom Blox,” “Lord of the Rings RTS” and “Goldeneye: Rogue Agent.”

Toby is a Southern California native born and raised in Port Hueneme, a small beach town in Ventura County. His lifelong interest in drawing evolved to a desire to work in animation when he saw Disney’s “Aladdin” in theaters at age 13. He went on to graduate from Otis College of Art & Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration. He lives with his wife, their two children, and two tabby cats.

Emil Mitev is a very experienced artist and leader in Animation. After more than twenty years in the industry, he remains excited and passionate about breaking ground in Animation, seamlessly blending design, lighting, and color, and building unique worlds to excite the eyes and minds about the story of the projects he works on.

Emil Mitev's artistic journey began at the Fine Art Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he earned his M.F.A. in Scenic and Costume Design. His creative prowess led him to design over 15 sets and costumes for theatrical performances in Bulgaria and France. However, it was in Entertainment Design and Animation that he discovered his true passion. Relocating to Los Angeles, Emil's career trajectory mirrored his evolving talent. He started as a Visual Development Artist, then became the Head of Location Design, Senior Animation Visual Development Artist at The Walt Disney Studio, Senior Visual Development Artist at Sony Picture Animation, Art Director at Warner Animation Group, Art Director and Production Designer at DreamWorks Animation, a Production Designer on a Feature Animated film at Skydance Animation. His most recent project was Art Directing, the mature action-adventure show Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix. He is on an unannounced feature film at Warner Bros Picture Animation.

Before, Emil worked at DreamWorks, Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Feature Animation to produce some of the most iconic animated films: The Iron Giant, Mary Poppins Returns, SCOOB!, Trolls, How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Rise of the Guardians, Puss in Boots, Bee Movie, El Dorado, Treasure Planet, Curious George, and The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Several publications and award shows have recognized his work. In 2016, he was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Production Design for the DreamWorks Feature Film Home.

He is the 2024 Annie Award recipient for Best Production Design - TV/Media for the critically acclaimed show Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix Series.

Brian Kesinger is an Annie-award winning story artist, illustrator and author. His 20+ year career at Disney has spanned both hand drawn and cg animated films from Tarzan to Frozen 2. In addition to Brian's film work, he has also become a celebrated author and illustrator of several books that showcase his style, wit, and ability to tell engaging stories in original ways. His artistic journey has led him to find an additional home with Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm, where he blends his animation background with the comic artform to create dazzling and expressive art.

With over 25 years in animation, James jumped at the opportunity presented by Blue Eye Samurai (2023). Joining the production as Art Director on this groundbreaking adult animated series for Netflix engaged all his skills of innovation, design, and management acquired over his time in the industry.

James started his career at DreamWorks Animation Studio (DWA) where he was part of the design team that played a key role in moving the studio from 2D animation to CG with the Academy Award winning Shrek (2001). At DWA, he worked on the Shrek and Madagascar franchises among others. James art directed holiday shorts including the successful Merry Madagascar (2009), drawing upon his wide experience to maintain and expand the quality required of all DWA productions. '

James has served as art director and production designer to a variety of animated productions. Highlights include Phantom Investigators (2002) for Kids’ WB that combined stop motion animation, live action actors, and puppetry and Ratchet and Clank (2016) for Rainmaker Entertainment, where he adapted beloved characters from a computer game to the big screen. These shows required good helpings of adaptability, design excellence, and good humor.