Vincent Waller

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Vincent Waller

SpongeBob SquarePants (creative director)

Vincent Waller was 15 years old when he was hired for his first art job drawing caricatures at Six Flags over Texas. There was very little training. They practiced a formulaic drawing method that was supposed to make it easy to capture a likeness of the subject, but wasn't a true caricature. Vincent still has to consciously throw out the above method of thinking whenever he draws.

After two seasons of working at the park, making 20% of the $4.95 charged for each drawing, it occurred to him that if he were working on his own, he could make 100% of whatever he decides to charge. Vincent spent the next few years in New Orleans, drawing caricatures on Bourbon Street, in front of a bar called The Paddock Lounge.


Vincent’s first big break came through a friend, Bob Camp, who he had met while working at Six Flags. Bob Camp landed a job doing movie parodies for Crazy magazine, and soon after he introduced Vincent to his editor, Larry Hama. Larry was also editing and writing several other titles for Marvel. Vincent started sending Larry drawings, and Larry was kind enough to critique them, giving him notes on construction, layout and story telling.


Since 1990, Vincent has worked in the Art Department of TV shows such as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, The Ren & Stimpy Show, The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Incoherent Thought: Vincent Waller's Blog.