Minoru Uenaka

is a Japanese artist working at Nintendo EPD since 2019. He joined the company in 2019 after completing graduate school, where he studied artistic anatomy of both humans and animals.Minoru Uenaka. より細部にこだわった3DCGを作りあげる (Creating detail with 3DCG). Nintendo. January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/jobs/keyword/117.html Uenaka was an artist for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, as well as a Character Supervisor for Mario Strikers: Battle League.
==Metroid Dread==
In his second year (2020) with Nintendo, Uenaka created promotional renders of Samus Aran (including her Arm Cannon), Raven Beak and the E.M.M.I., and designed the amiibo of the former and latter for Metroid Dread. He was not credited in Dread itself. In a post on the Japanese Nintendo recruitment website, Uenaka discussed his process. A translation of the post by Nintendo Everything can be accessed here.
He received the in-game sketches and designs for Samus and the E.M.M.I. from MercurySteam so that he could replicate them in key art and in the amiibo. Because these images would be used in marketing materials and packaging, he ensured they would be of high quality no matter how enlargened they were.
Uenaka examined industrial products to inform the machine-like appearance the E.M.M.I. was going to take on, while also comparing his work with that of MercurySteam's designers to confirm they matched. Once work on the 3DCG renders was finished, Uenaka turned his focus to the amiibo. They were intended to appear as if they were facing each other in a stand-off. Uenaka was ultimately proud of his work. 
===Gallery===
M5 art Samus 01.png|Samus Aran
M5 art Samus 02.png
M5 art Samus 03.png
M5 art Samus 04.png
M5 art Raven Beak 01.png|Raven Beak
M5 art EMMI 01.png|E.M.M.I.
M5 art EMMI 02.png
Metroid Dread Samus Amiibo.png|Samus amiibo
E.M.M.I. Amiibo.png|E.M.M.I. amiibo
Minoru Uenaka page header with E.M.M.I. amiibo sketches.jpg|Development images.
Minoru Uenaka Arm Cannon wireframe.jpg
Minoru Uenaka Arm Cannon render.jpg
Minoru Uenaka E.M.M.I. model pieces.jpg
Minoru Uenaka Samus posing wireframes.jpg
Samus Dread amiibo prototype.jpg
Minoru Uenaka photo of amiibo squaring off.jpg
==External links==
*Uenaka's Nintendo recruitment page (English translation)
*Uenaka on MobyGames
*Uenaka on IMDb
==References==
Category:Nintendo people
Category:NCL
Category:Artists and Designers