Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
I’m an Indigenous (Seneca/Tuscarora) color designer and illustrator. After graduating from San Jose State University in 2017, I worked as a freelance color designer at Cartoon Network on The Powerpuff Girls. From there I went on to Netflix where I worked as a color designer on Kid Cosmic, and am I currently still at Netflix as a color designer on Boons and Curses. When I’m not working I’m usually either taking care of my numerous house plants or hanging out with my three cats.
What challenges have you faced in navigating a career in animation?
I moved to L.A. in 2018, and it took me a little over two years to find work in animation. There were times it felt like it would never happen, but I kept working towards it and here I am now.
How has the animation industry helped give you representation, and how can it improve?
Historically, there hasn’t been a lot of Indigenous representation in the entertainment industry, let alone animation. Even in my short career I’ve seen so many amazing leaps forward in representation. It feels like only really recently that the entertainment industry as a whole has realized that Indigenous people exist and have incredible stories worth telling. I’m really excited to see where this push for new stories leads.
What words of wisdom would you give to people in your community who would like to get into animation?
If you’re struggling to break into animation don’t give up. It’s definitely harder to make connections now, but attending mixers and meeting other people in the industry not only helped my career—making new friends helped me to keep going. There were times where it felt like it would never happen for me, but it did and I’m really glad I never gave up. There’s a place for us in this industry to tell our stories.
What do you hope to accomplish as an artist in the animation industry?
I would love to work on a show that centers on Indigenous people and our stories. I’m really hoping we get to see more and more shows like that.
Learn more about Longfish at her website.
Follow her on Twitter at @stllalngfsh.
Follow her on Instagram at @stllalngfsh.
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