Q: Originally from the Bronx, what are some of your favorite things about living and working in Brooklyn?

A: I'm a townie in one of the greatest cities in the world! I spent my childhood in the Bronx and the 'burbs just outside the city. I moved back downtown when I was 17, then headed out to Brooklyn about 13 years ago where I work out of a home studio. While working, I look out onto trees, listen to birdsong, construction noise, and occasionally catch a glimpse of our neighborhood feral cats sunning themselves in the yards below.

Q: Do you keep a sketchbook? What is the balance between the art you create on paper versus in the computer? 

A: I always have a small sketchbook on hand to draw people on the subway. Because I worked digitally for much of my career, I never sketched for work, but rather 'sculpted' my drawings in Adobe Illustrator. I really enjoyed figuring out how to replicate the feel of traditional media such as screen printing or pen and ink digitally. Now I prefer to mix it up. It feels good to put pen on paper again.

Q: What is the most important item in your studio? 

A: It's a toss up between my computer, my Wacom tablet, and my chihuahua Francie [above right]. 

Q: What do you like best about your workspace? 

A: Home studio = bra optional. 

Do you think it needs improvement, if so, what would you change?

I'd love more room so I can work larger and get messier with painting and lettering projects. [Ed. note: Debra wrote to say she'll be taking a studio space in Gowanus next month.]

Q: How do you know when the art is finished? 

A: Oh man! It depends. Sometimes it all comes together effortlessly. When it doesn't, and time allows, I sleep on it. I actually like parameters and deadlines for that reason—they help keep me on track.

Q: What was your favorite book as a child? 

A: I went from Maurice Sendak to V.C. Andrews in less than a decade. Talk about innocence lost!

What is the best book you’ve recently read? 

I give myself a gold star for every time I put down my iPhone and pick up the New Yorker.

Q: If you had to choose one medium to work in for an entire year, eliminating all others, what medium would you choose? 

A: If I'm being practical, digital. If not, perhaps I'd challenge myself with cut paper and collage.

Q: If you could time travel to any era, any place, where would you go? 

A: That's easy. I'd like to be an extra in the Bea Arthur cantina scene from the infamously terrible Star Wars Christmas Special.

Q: What is preoccupying you at the moment? 

A: Which cheese to draw next! 

Q: What are some of your favorite places/books/blogs/websites for inspiration?

A: I think the most valuable inspiration comes from when I get off the computer and leave the studio. I find dog parks and cheese shops especially inspiring. The calligrapher John Steven's lecture at Cooper Union this past winter blew my mind. Last year's Al Hirschfeldretrospective at the NY Historical Society was so good it brought me to tears. 

Q: What was the [Thunderbolt] painting or drawing or film or otherwise that most affected your approach to art? 

A: I learned to draw with blind contour as a high school student attending Saturday Live classes at FIT. Learning how to 'see' and express myself through line was a revelation. I met and started drawing the late model Aviva Stone during this era and credit her with shaping my sense of aesthetics to this day.

Q: What would be your last supper? 

A: Nachos. And don't skimp on the guacamole. 

Debra Ziss is an illustrator and hand letterer living in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has received recognition from American Illustration, The Society of Illustrators, 3 x 3, Uppercase Magazine's Work/Life 3, and GDUSA. She recently had the honor of being invited to display her work at the 2015 American Cheese Society conference. Clients include Scholastic, Random House, Gap Inc., Emmi USA, Roth Cheese and Vermont Creamery. 

instagram and twitter @missziss