Michael Dante DiMartino (born July 18, 1974) is an American

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with

Bryan Konietzko Bryan Konietzko is an American animator, writer, producer and musician. He is best known, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, as the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...

, as the co-creator of the animated TV series ''

Avatar: The Last Airbender ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...

'' and ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelode ...

'', both on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

Career

Before ''Avatar'', DiMartino worked for twelve years at

Film Roman Film Roman, LLC is an American independent animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and later by Waterman Entertainment, ...

, helping to direct ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'', ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' and '' Mission Hill'', in addition to his own animated short, ''Atomic Love'', which was screened at a number of high-profile film festivals. The dedication to his father's memory can be seen in the penultimate episode of ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. In a 2010 interview the president of Nickelodeon,

Cyma Zarghami Cyma Zarghami ( fa, سیما ضرغامی, born December 15, 1962) is an Iranian-born American film studio and former cable television executive who served as the president of Nickelodeon and Viacom Media Networks Kids & Family Group until 2018. Sh ...

, confirmed that DiMartino and Konietzko were developing a new series for the network, called ''The Legend of Korra''. The series premiered on April 14, 2012, running 12 episodes for the first book "Air" and 14 for the second book "Spirits", which premiered on September 13, 2013, to 2.60 million viewers in the U.S., then the third book "Change" and the fourth and final book "Balance" of 13 episodes each. On October 4, 2016, DiMartino released a new original novel, ''Rebel Genius''. The story features a 12-year-old protagonist, Giacomo, who discovers he has a magical 'Genius,' the living embodiment of an artist's creative spirit, in a world where artistic expression is outlawed. In September 2018, it was announced that Konietzko and DiMartino would serve as executive producers and showrunners for Netflix's upcoming live-action adaptation series of ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. On August 12, 2020, Konietzko and DiMartino revealed on social media that they've both departed the show, due to creative differences with the Netflix team. In February 2021,

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...

(the parent company of Nickelodeon) announced its formation of Avatar Studios, a division of Nickelodeon centered on developing newer animated series and movies set in the same universe as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of Korra'' with both DiMartino and Konietzko helming the studio as co-chief creative officers reporting to

Nickelodeon Animation Studio Nickelodeon Animation Studio is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global. It has created many original television programs for Nickelodeon, such as ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Rugrats'' and ''Avatar: The ...

president,

Ramsey Ann Naito Ramsey Ann Naito (born 1974) is an American producer of animated films who currently serves as the president of Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation (both subsidiaries of Paramount Global). She is best known for her 2017 production ''T ...

. Its first project will be an animated theatrical film which is set to start production later the same year.

Personal life

DiMartino was born in

Shelburne, Vermont Shelburne is a New England town, town in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately south of the city center of Burlington, Vermont, ...

. He studied at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

with

, with whom he created ''Avatar''.

Career

Personal life

Filmography

References

External links