He started to develop the series in 1996 following Rocko's Modern Life's, and pitched the series to Nickelodeon in 1998 and was later greenlit for a first season. In the institute, he made his thesis film Wormholes (1992), which led to his hiring as a director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and executive producer of the series Rocko's Modern Life by creator Joe Murray. He left the institute to become an animator in 1987, and later attended the California Institute of Arts in 1992. The basis for SpongeBob SquarePants was formed by Hillenburg in 1984 while teaching and studying marine biology at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California, where he wrote the comic strip The Intertidal Zone, which starred various anthropomorphic forms of sea life, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters. First aired in 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants is a comedy animated series developed by Nickelodeon. As of 2011, SpongeBob SquarePants is the only Nicktoon from the 1990s that has not ended yet and is 15th in IGN's top 100 animated series list. 2) Click on the coloring page image in the bottom half of the screen to make that frame active. The series' popularity has prompted the release of a media franchise, contributing to its position as Nickelodeon's highest rated show, the most distributed property of MTV Networks, and among Nicktoons' most watched shows. To print the coloring page: 1) If you have JavaScript enabled you can click the Print link in the top half of the page and it will automatically print the coloring page only and ignore the advertising and navigation at the top of the page. What is Spongebob Squarepants Coloring Book The best thing about a coloring book is the fact that if it is a book, that means you have more than just one or two pictures you get to color and of course that the most important thing for a coloring book and for you to do a good job is for you to be creative. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom". SpongeBob SquarePants (often referred to simply as SpongeBob) is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg.