Ian Jones-Quartey

Last updated
Ian Jones-Quartey
Ian Jones-Quartey Cartoon Network New Comedies Panel.jpg
Jones-Quartey in 2013
Born (1984-06-18) June 18, 1984 (age 40) [1] [2]
Alma mater School of Visual Arts
Occupation(s)Animator, storyboard artist, writer, director, producer, voice actor
Years active2004–present
Known for OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Spouse
(m. 2019)
Relatives Theodosia Okoh (maternal grandmother)

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. [3] He is also known for his webcomic RPG World and his work on Steven Universe , Adventure Time , and Bravest Warriors .

Contents

Early life

Jones-Quartey was born in Hatfield, Pennsylvania on June 18, 1984, [1] [2] 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. [2] 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] [2] 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

YearTitleRoleNotes
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, writerTelevision film
2023 One Piece Additional animatorEpisode 1066

Voice work

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2012–2018 Bravest Warriors Wallow, additional voicesMain cast [27]
2013Lakewood Plaza TurboRadicles, Darrell, A Real Magic SkeletonOK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes pilot [28]
2013–2015 Steven Universe Mr. Queasy, Cat Fingers, Actor3 episodes
2015Welcome to My LifeBullyShort
2017–2019 OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Radicles, Darrell, Crinkly Wrinkly, Pird, additional voicesMain cast [28]
2018 Mighty Magiswords RadiclesEpisode: "Let's Team Up Because We Aren't Bad Friends" [28]
2019 Steven Universe Future Snowflake ObsidianEpisode: "Guidance" [28]
2020 The Fungies! Insane JoltEpisode: "Pam Runs Forever"
2024–presentNOXPEzekiel2 episodes

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
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

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References

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