Profile: Robert de Michiell

Robert de Michiell has drawn a lot of Benjamins over the years, but he's not a counterfeiter. It's just that he's done about a gazillion EW ''Winners and Losers of the Week'' strips. ''It always comes down to who made the most money or who lost the most money, so I've probably done 200 varieties of someone sitting on a pile of cash, diving in cash, as a dollar,'' says the New York-based de Michiell, 42, whose vibrantly hued celebrity likenesses began appearing in EW during its teething years. ''I'm Mr. Media,'' he admits, ''so when EW came out I was like, Ooh, there's a magazine I could be in.'' De Michiell's fondness for the animated look comes as no surprise: The Rhode Island School of Design grad counts Bugs Bunny cartoons among his influences, alongside James Thurber and Al Hirschfeld. Favorites include Al Pacino, whose trademark eye-bags provided an ideal starting point. He loves drawing the stars, but would prefer not hitting Britney Spears one more time. ''I'd much rather be drawing Dusty Springfield,'' he says wistfully, ''but no one wants me to.''