Michael Dante DiMartino

Michael Dante DiMartino got his start in the world of animation when he studied at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. While there, he met Bryan Konietzko, with whom he created "Avatar: The Last Airbender," an animated adventure series inspired by Eastern aesthetics, including Anime. Before the debut of this genre-bending Emmy-winning cartoon, DiMartino worked as a director and in the art department at Film Roman for 12 years, While there he worked on such hit shows as Mike Judge's redneck comedy "King of the Hill," Seth MacFarlane's crude cartoon "Family Guy," and offbeat cult favorite "Mission Hill." It was during his time with Film Roman that he created his first solo project, "Atomic Love," an animated short that featured a woman-meets-machine love story. In 2005 he and Konietzko developed "Avatar: The Last Airbender" for Nickelodeon. The series was a huge hit for DiMartino and Konietzko, as fans of all ages were drawn to the complex story and gorgeously crafted world of Aang, and his fellow super-powered child warriors. In 2010 the series was adapted into a live-action feature film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan titled "The Last Airbender"; DiMartino worked as an executive producer on the feature film. Despite being widely and critically panned, and riling fans with sweeping changes and controversial cast choices, the big screen adaptation proved to be financially successful. Dimartino and Konietzko are developing a spin-off series entitled "Avatar: The Legend of Korra," which will premiere in 2011.