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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Alisa Harris and I’m a freelance character designer and traditional Flash animator in New York City.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
One summer during college, I painted carousel horses in Canarsie, Brooklyn. It was pretty awesome. Some of the carousels I worked on are at the Willow Grove Mall in PA, Bryant Park in NYC and overseas. When I first graduated from art school, the animation industry had tanked. I ended up doing data entry for two years at an insurance company specializing in mental health and substance abuse. I like to joke that it prepared me for working in the animation industry.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
One of my favorite projects was my first lead design position at Flickerlab in NYC. It was a web series for Ritz/Nabisco on how to have cheap family fun in the summer. It was the first commercial project that I designed characters and props in my own style. There was a lot of freedom in designing the families and I enjoyed creating a more diverse cast. Because it was a small studio, I also boarded half of the episodes and did some of the Flash puppet setup. It was really cool to see my own designs and staging come through to the final episodes.
How did you become interested in animation?
As a kid, I loved Looney Tunes, classic Disney films, The Muppet Show and Rankin Bass Christmas Specials. In the ’80s, my family would watch The Disney Sunday Night Movie and I was riveted to the Continue…
