D.J. Billings

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, D.J. grew up in the West Chicago suburbs and Glendale, Arizona. They attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, then joined the U.S. Air Force, serving in Desert Storm and the Bosnian Airlift. Upon returning to civilian life and the U.S. with his wife, Jenni, D.J. went back to art and animation. A self-trained animated filmmaker, they got their professional start in television animation after being hired over the phone to create storyboards on Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues (1996). After two years on the series they moved to Los Angeles and began working independently for Nick Jr. and several TV and film productions. In 2007 they created the art studio "Sparky Firepants," creating original designs for licensing, decorating high-end apparel and continuing to work on various film and TV productions.