About Us

What we do

Cleos Studios LLC is a full-service animation production company located in New York, NY. Our team of fine draftsmen (and women) specializes in character-led, 2D Cel Animation.

We create original short films and narrative works. Our compact team of animators has completed Pilots, Short Series, and Commercial Advertisements.

We work with Actors, Agencies, Composers, and Sound Design Houses to accommodate full video and film production from pre- to post. All you have to do is approve- and we'll take care of the rest.

Services:

2D Animation Production (in any style)
Storyboarding
Animatics
Explainer Videos
Limited Animation (for limited budgets)
Concept Art
Character Design
Script Writing
Casting
Scoring

Your Video in Three Easy Steps.

It all starts with a script that you'll approve. Next is storyboarding and design. These elements comprise the blueprint for production.

During production, we create the puzzle pieces of your video. Voice-over and Animation are completed in this phase.

Post Production is where the puzzle pieces come together. We'll fine-tune until your stunning video is complete.

Our Founder- Chevez Jedai Sanchez

Chevez Jedai Sanchez is the Owner and Director of Cleos Studios.

And yes, his born middle name is Jedai.

His journey in filmmaking began in Brooklyn, New York, where he started animating at the age of 4, crafting simple animations on flip books. By 5, he ventured into stop motion films, and by 8, he delved into digital animations. His formal education in animation, illustration, and filmmaking took place at The High School of Art and Design, followed by further studies at the Art Students League.

Throughout his formative years, Sanchez produced numerous films, many of which garnered recognition in various festivals. Notable among these were "Paper Cut" (2016), which was selected for the Disney International Film Festival, and "The Red Maestro" (2018), Winner of the Best Editing award at the BRIC Film Festival. Upon completing his schooling, Sanchez leaped into the industry, establishing his own production company at the age of 18.

Since then, he has cultivated a team primarily composed of Latino Animators within the New York City area under the banner of Cleos Studios LLC.

The studio's inaugural short film, "Train of Thought" (2022), made its debut at the New York Independent Film Festival. This project, a fantasy/drama passion endeavor, was a labor of love spanning four years. Despite its classification as a short film, it boasts a runtime of 20 minutes, employing Digital Cel animation as its medium.

Sanchez's most recent filmmaking achievement involves the completion of a seven-part mini-series titled "Better Together" (2023), commissioned by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In this endeavor, Sanchez handled screenplay writing, storyboarding, and directing duties. With a background spanning five years in producing mini-series, pilots, and short films, Sanchez has accumulated valuable experience in various aspects of production, including writing, casting, directing animators, layout artists, actors, and managing the expectations of executive producers, all in the pursuit of telling a good story.

Our Culture

At Cleos Studios diversity is not our brand- its who we are. Thats why the stories we tell aren't just about People of Color, but they are crafted by people of color as well. The Studios first short Train of Thought told story of Arturo, a Latino toy designer from New York City. Like all of our productions, that film was completed almost entirely by a latino team, and stared an Ecuadorian Voice Actor.

Similarly to Live-Action Film and Television, the Animation industry is still dominated by white studio owners. Chevez J. Sanchez is proud to be a Puerto Rican Studio Owner.

Chevez was inspired by his Grandfather, Jose "Tuffy" Sanchez, who was a community leader that employed many Puerto Rican Residents in Brooklyn.

Chevez started Cleos Studios to create a door for people of color to walk through. Our studio is proudly comprised of many latino animators, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans, and Argentinians to name a few.