Quick Facts
Biography
Charles Steve Zembillas is an American video game art director, character designer, educator, author and concept artist from Burbank, California, founder of Animation Academy. Zembillas designed early concept art for games such as Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, and Spyro the Dragon, as well as animated TV cartoons such as Wish Kid, Where's Waldo?, James Bond Jr., and Ghostbusters.
He currently teaches art in his home state of California.
Career
Charles Zembillas was a character designer for the TV series She-Ra: Princess of Power from 1985 to 1987 for a total of ninety-three episodes. He was also a character designer in 1985 for the film The Secret of the Sword, and would go on to be the art director of the TV series Ghostbusters for sixty-five episodes in 1986. In 1987 Zembillas was commissioned for Spiral Zone as a character designer for sixty-five episodes.
In 1991, Charles Zembillas was commissioned to work as an animator, art director, and character designer for movies and TV shows such as Wish Kid, Where's Waldo?, Captain N, and James Bond Jr. In 1993, he was the character designer of the TV series Hurricanes as "Skevos Zembillas". In the same year, he also served as the storyboard reviser for the TV series Sonic the Hedgehog.
In 1996, Charles Zembillas worked for Naughty Dog Inc. on a new project known as "Crash Bandicoot", a video game series for the Sony PlayStation. Zembillas would continue to work for Naughty Dog in 1998 with Crash Bandicoot: Warped.
In the year 2000, Zembillas designed early concept art for Naughty Dog in the game Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, as well as Spyro: Year of the Dragon.
Charles Zembillas currently serves as the CEO and Founder and instructor at The Animation Academy in California.
Filmography and gameography
| Title | Date | Platform | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Secret of NIMH | 1982 | Film | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| She-Ra: Princess of Power | 1985-1987 | TV series | Character designer (93 episodes) |
| The Secret of the Sword | 1985 | Film | Character designer |
| Ghostbusters | 1986 | TV series | Character designer (65 episodes) |
| The Adventures of Ronald McDonald: McTreasure Island | 1989 | Short | Model director |
| Spiral Zone | 1987 | TV series | Character designer (65 episodes) |
| Wish Kid | 1991 | TV series | Character designer - as Charlie Steve Zembillas |
| Where's Waldo? | 1991 | TV series | Additional character designer (13 episodes) |
| Captain N and the New Super Mario World | 1991 | TV series | Character designer (13 episodes) |
| Captain N: The Game Master | 1991 | TV series | Character designer (7 episodes) |
| James Bond Jr. | 1991 | TV series | Character designer (65 episodes) |
| Defenders of Dynatron City | 1992 | TV Short | Character designer |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | 1993 | TV series | Character designer |
| Hurricanes | 1993, 1994-1995 | TV series | Character designer - as Skevos Zembillas |
| The New Adventures of Madeline | 1995 | TV series | Character and prop designer |
| Crash Bandicoot | 1996 | Video game | Art director |
| A Christmas Carol | 1997 | Video | |
| Crash Bandicoot: Warped | 1998 | Video game | Art director |
| Spyro the Dragon | 1998 | Video game | Art director |
| The Snowden, Raggedy Ann and Andy Holiday Show | 1998 | Film | Layout supervisor |
| Spyro: Year of the Dragon | 2000 | Video game | Art director |
| Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy | 1999-2000 | Video game | Art director |
| Source |