SpongeBob SquarePants Fan Artist Claims Nickelodeon Swiped His Art

Online artists Matt Salvador, who goes by "Lolwutburger" online, went viral back in late June he pointed out that his artwork of a SpongeBob Squarepants background from 2016 was seemingly used in a recent episode.

"Hey @Nickelodeon you mind explaining this?" Salvador wrote as he compared his artwork to a SpongeBob promotion video. The new clip seemed almost identical to Salvador's work, minus his signature in the bottom right-hand corner.

"I'm still awaiting some sort of apology or explanation from Nickelodeon," Salvador said regarding the situation via the BBC, "as that's the least they can do.

"If they want to give me some sort of compensation, I'm fine with that too," he continued. "But my advice to all artists is to always put some sort of identifier such as a watermark on their works so they'll be able to prove they were the original creators."

Spongebob Squarepants was officially renewed for a 13th season back in July with Vince Waller and Marc Ceccarelli serving as showrunners.

Along with the new season, the franchise will release third theatrical film in The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge in May 2020. Unlike its traditional animation style, the film will feature a new look with 3D animation. Along with the same voice cast from the show, the movie will also star Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina and Reggie Watts.

Paramount Pictures describes the upcoming film as "love letter to SpongeBob's beloved creator Stephen Hillenburg (who died in November 2018), the fans, and the residents of Bikini Bottom.

The show's official synopsis reads as such — "The character-driven toon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny), an incurably optimistic and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends. Dwelling a few fathoms beneath the tropical isle of Bikini Atoll in the sub-surface city of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob lives in a two-story pineapple. Instead of taking the logical approach to everyday challenges, SpongeBob approaches life in a wayward and unconventional way. Whether searching for the ultimate spatula to perfect his burger flipping technique at the Krusty Krab, or just hanging out with his best friend Patrick (an amiable starfish), SpongeBob's good intentions and overzealous approach to life usually create chaos in his underwater world."