Studio Zubio
- Open roles
- 2
- Founded
- 2019
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 2
About Studio Zubio
Studio Zubio is an independent animation and video game development studio based in Utah’s Salt Lake City metropolitan area. Founded in 2019 by character technical director Stephen Candell, the company combines stylized character animation with technical art, interactive development and augmented reality production. Its work spans original entertainment properties and character-based content for digital platforms.
The studio develops characters from initial concepts through finished production assets and animated performances. Its capabilities include visual development, turnaround sheets, cast lineups, environment design, polygonal modeling and physically based texturing. Character rigging, cloth and hair simulation, and production pipeline development support both pre-rendered animation and real-time projects. This combination allows the studio to address the visual and technical requirements of expressive characters across different production formats.
Characters for interactive platforms
Studio Zubio has produced augmented reality facial masks, interactive filters, virtual puppets and customizable avatar systems. Its reported collaborators include Google, YouTube and Snapchat, with work encompassing filters for Google Duo and Google Meet as well as stylized character assets for interactive experiences. These projects bring its character design and animation capabilities into mobile, social and other real-time settings.
Original worlds and game development
The company also develops its own intellectual property through Bunderkin, a world explored through an animated pilot and an original video game. Bunderkin: The Ocular Eclipse is a single-player, stylized 3D stealth action-adventure game built in Unreal Engine 5, with time-loop mechanics.
For its game production, the studio brings together character modeling, narrative design, animation and engine integration. Its supported gameplay capabilities include action performances, parkour, stealth and locomotion systems. As of November 2026, the game was in production following an October crowdfunding campaign, while the studio was recruiting developers and animators. The project extends Studio Zubio’s character-focused production work into an interactive original property.
More about Studio Zubio
Leadership and background
- Stephen Candell is Owner and Creative Director. Before founding the studio, he held lead character rigging roles at Sony Pictures Imageworks and DreamWorks Animation; his individual credits include The Croods: A New Age, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Rise of the Guardians.
- Nate Olson is Business & IP Development Manager, and Karen Barnash is Production Manager & Recruiter.
Production technology and operating model
- The studio’s proprietary Modular Rigging API connects motion and deformation sub-modules into reusable production assets across Maya, Blender and real-time engines. Its pipeline work also uses Python, while cloth and hair simulation employs Marvelous Designer and XGen.
- The report describes a central Utah production team supported by specialized remote developers and animators recruited across the United States.
Crowdfunding milestone
The October 2026 Kickstarter campaign raised $294,600 from 2,879 backers to support a multi-year development cycle.
Notable credits
4 creditsOffices
Where Studio Zubio is based
- 12481 South Fort Street, Suite 250, Draper, UT 84020, United StatesDraper, Utah, United States
Draper office
HeadquartersAbout this office
Physical production facility for animation engineering and interactive game development. The studio identifies its headquarters with the Salt Lake City metropolitan area; the saved Salt Lake City location represents these Draper premises.
- Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Salt Lake City office
Open roles
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