The Pokemon card artist ‘taking the border off the artwork’

“It’s become my everything.”

Micah Yates is a 25-year-old art graduate living in Berea, Kentucky. She graduated from college in 2016 and set up shop at home.

And with her paintings sometimes selling for upwards of $300 (£230) a piece, you might be surprised to hear that she found her success painting Pokemon cards.

“I started in 2014 when I was going to school for art,” Micah explained. “I had just gotten into a card game called Magic: The Gathering.

“The painted card community with Magic was thriving. I was also into Pokemon, so I tried to find the same thing but with Pokemon cards.

“It went viral overnight. People were asking me to paint cards for them and paying me, and it hasn’t stopped.

“I sell two or three a week.

“They usually go for between $70 and $90, but my Snorlax card went for $300. I don’t know why – I think people just like Snorlax!

“The other big ones were the Umbreon and Espeon pair.

“They combine into one artwork and sold at $400 for both. I really like that pair – it’s hard to make the cards match up like that because the artworks are different.”

“The artwork on Pokemon cards is unbelievable,” she added.

“I always wondered what was behind the square on the Pokemon card. This is an opportunity to take the border off the artwork and see what’s behind it.

“It takes maybe 10 coats of paint that I’ve thinned down.

“I want them to not have texture. I want them to look like they were that way forever.

“I was not a painter when I started this, I actually hated painting.

“I went to school to be an illustrator. I wanted to be an animator. But this took off, and I’m very thankful.”

If you’re interested in how she does it, Micah helpfully shares videos of her method online, with one such video being viewed more than 500,000 times.

“I’m very lucky to have so many supporters that are interested in what I do,” she said.

All images copyright as stated