What is your name and your current occupation?
Lynda Nettleship-Carraher and currently I am a mother of 3; ages 5,4 and 2.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I never had any crazy jobs just boring. I would use a temp agency to get work and all they had was office jobs and the only thing I am capable of doing in an office is answering the phones. Very boring.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The first job I loved working on was The Wild Thornberrys. I enjoyed drawing in the show’s style and I learned so much about all the places the family would travel to when we would do the research for the backgrounds. My other favorite was the animated comedian routines that were created for Shorties Watching Shorties. We had a lot of freedom to put almost whatever we wanted to in the backgrounds, within Comedy Central’s standards, which were pretty low.
 How did you become interested in animation?
Watching Bugs Bunny cartoons with my Dad on Sunday morning.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was living in South Jersey outside of Philadelphia and majored in Animation at The University of the Arts. After graduating I moved to Burbank to look for work. I did production assitant work at Hanna Barbera for a few months and then I took a test for Disney TV and ended up on 101 Dalmatians the series.
What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
In animation our days would be spent drawing. We would start the week doing sketches after getting a script. The next day we would get approval from the director and spend the rest of the week cleaning up the BGs. Having only worked on TV projects we usually always had weekly deadlines.
What part of your job do you like best? Why?
Designing the BGs are so much fun. When you are creating the stage that the characters interact in it is such an integral part of the process that it just makes you feel great.
What part of your job do you like least? Why?
Deadlines. After you turn in a project you always feel like you could have done more to it.
What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
The instability of the work. Going from job to job and constantly looking for the work is hard.
What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
I love working with Flash. It is so user friendly that it makes every part of the process easier.
In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
When I was in college I stood in line for an hour or more at a Barnes and Noble waiting for Chuck Jones to sign my copy of “Chuck Amuck”. What a nice guy.
Describe a tough situation you had in life.
Getting laid off from Disney TV was difficult. It being my first full time animation job I naively didn’t expect my employment to end after the show was done. They had other projects I thought I would be moved to. It took a few months before I ended up at Klasky Csupo.
Any side projects you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
A friend of mine is creating a clipart website. I’ve been using my very little free time creating some small images for the site.
Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
I thought I was pretty good at karaoke until the last time I went and video taped it. Jack Daniels didn’t help, he never does.
Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
 I know it sounds cliche but, always keep trying. Everyone has there own style even if you think you don’t, you do. Studios are always changing styles from project to project. If you weren’t what they were looking for the first time you will be the next time. And if you take a test always tell them it took you less time than it actually did to complete. When they think you can help them get their project out on time your hired.
