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Ian Jones-Quartey
American animator (born 1984) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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. He is the grandson of Ghanaian artist Theodosia Okoh.
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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]
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Career
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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]
In January 2025, Jones-Quartey mentioned that he had a "fun meeting" with The Walt Disney Company and Disney Television Animation.[24]
On June 11, 2025, at an Annecy International Animation Film Festival event, it was announced that a sequel series to Steven Universe, entitled Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars, was in development with Prime Video, with Cartoon Network Studios producing it, while Rebecca Sugar and Jones-Quartey will be executive producers. During the event, Sugar said she missed her world and characters, and said she couldn't wait to share the series and thanked everyone for their support.[25][26] Sugar also told The Wrap that the Steven Universe characters and world are important to her, said she was "thrilled" to do the series, and said the biggest part for her was that she is "co-creating it with Ian Jones-Quartey," and noted that all she wants to do is "make cartoons with him."[27]
On June 12, 2025, Adult Swim announced that Jones-Quartey, Patrick McHale, Rebecca Sugar and Pendleton Ward were developing an animated special under the title "The Elephant" slated for a 2026 release.[28]
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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.[2][29]
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.[30]
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."[31]
Filmography
Animation
Voice work
Television
Video games
Comics
- RPG World[34]
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References
External links
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