Ian Jones-Quartey (born June 18, 1984) is an American animator, storyboard artist, writer, director, producer, and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated series OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, based on his Cartoon Network pilot Lakewood Plaza Turbo, which ran on the network from 2017 to 2019.[1] He is also known for his webcomic RPG World and his work on Steven Universe, Adventure Time, and Bravest Warriors.
Early life
Jones-Quartey was born in Hatfield, Pennsylvania on June 18, 1984,[2][3] and was raised in Columbia, Maryland.[4] He and his family moved to Oakland Mills, Columbia, Maryland, around 1993.[5] His father was a pharmaceutical engineer, and his mother worked as a librarian for the chemical company W. R. Grace.[3] Jones-Quartey attended Long Reach High School in Columbia[6] and the School of Visual Arts in New York City.[7][5]
Career
Jones-Quartey created the webcomic RPG World,[8] which won Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards in 2001 and 2002.[9][10] In 2007, he collaborated with audio specialist and YouTuber Jim Gisriel to co-create the web animation series and comedy hip-hop duo nockFORCE, rapping under the stage name "effnocka" as well as voicing his character in Adobe Flash animations.[11]
His first job in television animation was on The Venture Bros..[5] He went on to be a storyboard supervisor and revisionist for Adventure Time[5][12] and a storyboard artist for Secret Mountain Fort Awesome.[13] He supplies the voice of Wallow in Bravest Warriors[14] and was the supervising director and co-developer of the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe.[8][15]
In 2013, Jones-Quartey's short Lakewood Plaza Turbo aired on Cartoon Network as a television pilot.[5][16] He had pitched the series two years prior when he had been a storyboard supervisor on Adventure Time.[8] The short was retooled as a mobile game entitled OK K.O.! Lakewood Plaza Turbo, which was released on Cartoon Network's Anything app in February 2016. Lakewood Plaza Turbo ran as a network series beginning March 2017, and OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes premiered on Cartoon Network on August 1.[5][8]
In 2018, he appeared in the first season of a podcast entitled Drawn: The Story of Animation, from Cartoon Network and HowStuffWorks, which provided listeners with a behind-the-scenes perspective on animation from voice actors, historians, and creators of animated series.[17][18]
In June 2019, he was a panelist at the Annecy Animation Festival, alongside Rebecca Sugar, at a panel entitled "The Making of Steven Universe".[19] In July 2019, he appeared as a panelist at the RTX Animation Festival at the Fairmont Austin.[20]
On September 2, 2019, the film Steven Universe: The Movie was released. Jones-Quartey was one of the co-executive producers of the film, which was executive produced by Rebecca Sugar.[21]
Between October 2020 and April 2021, the anti-racism PSAs "Don't Deny It, Defy It", "Tell the Whole Story", "See Color" and "Be an Ally", that he worked on with Rebecca Sugar, featuring characters from Steven Universe, were released on the Cartoon Network YouTube channel.[22][23]
Personal life
Jones-Quartey is a grandson of Theodosia Okoh, the designer of the flag of Ghana; he based the Steven Universe character Nanefua Pizza on her.[24][3] By 2017, he was living in Los Angeles.[5]
He married Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar on December 4, 2019, having been together for twelve years.[25]
Influences
Jones-Quartey cites Akira Toriyama's series Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump as inspiration for vehicle designs of his own. He stated, "We're all big Toriyama fans on [Steven Universe], which kind of shows a bit."[26]
Filmography
Animation
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–2010 | The Venture Bros. | Art director, animation director, inker | |
| 2007 | Supernormal | Animation director | |
| 2010–2013 | Adventure Time | Storyboard artist | |
| 2011–2012 | Secret Mountain Fort Awesome | Writer, storyboard artist | |
| 2013–2016, 2019 | Steven Universe | Executive producer, supervising director, writer, storyboard artist | |
| 2017–2019 | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Creator, executive producer, writer, storyboard artist | |
| 2019 | Steven Universe: The Movie | Executive producer, writer | Television film |
| 2023 | One Piece | Additional animator | Episode 1066 |
Voice work
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–2018 | Bravest Warriors | Wallow, additional voices | Main cast[27] |
| 2013 | Lakewood Plaza Turbo | Radicles, Darrell, A Real Magic Skeleton | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes pilot[28] |
| 2013–2015 | Steven Universe | Mr. Queasy, Cat Fingers, Actor | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Welcome to My Life | Bully | Short |
| 2017–2019 | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Radicles, Darrell, Crinkly Wrinkly, Pird, additional voices | Main cast[28] |
| 2018 | Mighty Magiswords | Radicles | Episode: "Let's Team Up Because We Aren't Bad Friends"[28] |
| 2019 | Steven Universe Future | Snowflake Obsidian | Episode: "Guidance"[28] |
| 2020 | The Fungies! | Insane Jolt | Episode: "Pam Runs Forever" |
| 2024–present | NOXP | Ezekiel | 2 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes | Radicles, Darrell, Crinkly Wrinkly, Mr. Logic, Gerald Nametag, Ancient Scroll | [28] |
| 2022 | Neon White | Neon Yellow | [28] |
Comics
- RPG World[29]
References
External links
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- ↑ Jones-Quartey, Ian. (2004) RPG World – The Comic That's in a Video Game, Volume 1: Unlikely Hero Out for Adventure. Publisher: Keenspot Entertainment.