[I have been in NY City for a few days. I had a wonderful time. I am now re-united with my computer and scanner.]

Artist: Jessica Shanahan

I love this image. You can click on it to make it bigger and see each individual hair in the Hermit’s beard.

This is how I make my pictures:

I spend anywhere from a few days to a few years trying to figure out what a card means to me.

I rack my brain for ideas on how to represent the meaning of the card using lovely curved lines and zero colors and two dimensions.

I draw a sketch in pencil on a piece of scrap paper. Again, this can take a very long time.

I scan the sketch into my computer and import it in Adobe Illustrator to use as a template for a vector graphics illustration.

I place points on the apexes of curves and pull vectors that approximate my hand-drawn curves. This takes one day or many, depending on the complexity of the image and how many times I edit it before it approaches completion.

Because one of my goals is to have as few points as possible, I go through a prolonged period of removing points that I have placed. I use no pre-formed “shapes” (squares, circles, stars, etc.) and, with few exceptions (see the hanged man), I do not cut&paste or re-use any of the images I have drawn. I am obsessive. However, my images are drawn by a human (me) and I want them to look that way. Another goal of mine is to reproduce the feeling of pen&ink.

Each image goes through a lengthy editing period— from a few days (rarely) to a few years (way too often)— before I say “enough!” and call it done. Many of the pictures have changed substantially since I began the deck. My style has become more refined and detailed. That is what happens when a project takes so long.

Because the pictures are drawn in vector graphics, the originals can be blown up infinitely large without losing definition. There are no pixels. Often times, when I am drawing an eyeball, it will take up my entire computer screen. That is how close I work.