Dianna Kim grew up in LA’s sunny South Bay, spending summers at the beach or immersed in Spongebob’s Bikini Bottom. She was totally enamored with the vibrant worlds of her favorite cartoons and discovered a love for art that started with drawings of her favorite characters. She paid careful attention between episodes, when Nick would air how-to videos of Butch Hartman drawing Timmy Turner (she swears that at 10 years old, she could draw Timmy better than Mr. Hartman himself).

Little did Dianna know that this magic was being made just over the hills in Burbank. The world of animation seemed so inaccessible that it may as well have been on the other side of the world. The well-intentioned adults in her life had drilled the image of the “starving artist” into her young mind.  When it came time to choose a course of study in college, all she wanted was to be an artist, but also she did not wish to starve. Thus, Dianna pursued a degree in Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and she felt the doors to an animation career slam shut behind her.

After graduating, Dianna found work at a FinTech startup. Pushing pixels as a marketing designer, she was content, if not totally fulfilled, to have a stable career. However, that stability was short-lived. As 2020 dawned, Dianna found herself among the millions who were laid off en masse. Faced with overwhelming uncertainty, she found comfort in drawing for the first time in years. While she scrolled through marketing job listings, the long-deferred dream of working in animation arose from its place in the back of her mind. This time, instead of shoving it back down, she leaned in and made the decision that she was not empowered to make when she was younger. Dianna resolved to begin a career in animation, turning around and kicking down the once-closed door to that dream.

Dianna started taking Concept Design Academy classes over Zoom, absorbing all she could from figure drawing to visual development.  She put her whole heart into her studies, and it all clicked for her in an environmental sketching class—she loved creating spaces that tell stories. With help from wonderful instructors, she honed her ability to use background art as a narrative force, eventually landing her first freelance gig as a background artist at Explosm. Despite the instability of freelance work, Dianna was finally making art that she was really proud of.

Dianna’s work serves as a love letter to Los Angeles, capturing the wonder of everyday life in the city and its coast. When she’s not drawing, she finds inspiration while rollerblading through the city or snorkeling in the same Laguna Beach waters that inspired Spongebob. In 2023, Dianna was chosen for the Nick Artist Program’s General Design Track, and she is absolutely thrilled to have found a creative home and community at Nickelodeon.