Jeanne Erickson

As a child, Jeanne Erickson always wanted her silhouette done by one of the artists on Main Street at Disneyland. That never happened, but years later, when she had her own daughters, she thought it would be fun to draw their silhouettes along with those of other relatives for gifts. “I enjoyed making them, and they were such a big hit that I thought I’d try selling them,” she says. “That’s when I opened my Etsy shop Royal Paperie.

A character layout artist who started as an intern, Erickson has been on The Simpsons for 19 years. While it might seem that Bart doesn’t have much in common with the historic art of silhouette-making, Erickson says, “I’ve learned in animation how important a good silhouette is when telling a story. You want your drawing to have a clear silhouette of the action and mood you’re trying to show. I love how they relate to each other so well [and] how a silhouette can show so much character even though it’s just an outline. It’s really made me appreciate silhouettes more as I see them in antique stores and in animation.”

Erickson draws digital custom silhouettes of children, adults, and pets. She also likes to draw silhouettes of actors and characters from popular books and movies, and “I’ve done silhouettes of customer’s loved ones who have passed away,” she says. “I love that I can be a part of making a special memory.” She emails her customers JPG and PDF files that they can print out, and she’s seen her silhouettes used for gifts, logos, craft projects, social media, and even tattoos, which she thinks is “so cool.” 

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