Christmas Project

Christmas was drawing close and all deadlines have finished. I am snuggled up and thinking about the project that has recently just being given to us. “Evil Christmas character”. Now this is going to be fun! But where do I start. I don't particularly want to do a mainstream character such as a bad Santa stealing presents or a naughty reindeer. I want to go outside the box. So what better place than where did Christmas start. It was all based on the birth of Jesus on the 25^th December. So what could I do with that? Well there is baby Jesus, so let's try and use him and see where it takes us!?

General Mood Board

Refined Mood Board

I came up with many ideas to do with Jesus. Especially Jesus killing Mary and Joseph or killing the 3 wise men. But I realized that'd produce some debate and may cause some concern. But I only realised this when I was half way through digital painting baby Jesus. But because it is a baby I can change it into whatever I want. So how can I use a baby? I rammed my brain of ideas and none seemed to work and sometimes I just wanted to scratch it altogether.

In the end I started creating silhouettes of my baby holding a decapitated reindeer head. So it relates within Christmas since it has a reindeer head in its lap and it is based around Christmas Eve. I started detaching the antlers of the reindeer and putting it on the baby's head or just different positions of the reindeer head around the baby. I stuck to an idea that the antlers of the reindeer would be broken off and scattered. I then worked on the eyes of the baby. I wanted the baby to look like it was possessed. So I gave the eyes a cloudy effect to show it had been taken over but a sweet innocent baby on the outside.

Eye Experimentation

Reindeer Head Experimentation

But while I was working on my baby and reindeer I found it a struggle to adjust the reindeer head properly and in the end gave up. I decided that one side of the antlers I liked and used them. I used them in a way that they were behind the baby as if he hadn't done anything and acting all innocent, however he is covered in blood and there is bloody footprints around him and blood splatters everywhere. But I like how the reindeer antler is only a suggestion of what the baby could really do. As if it is only the start of something more. Now every time I look at this baby it creeps me out.

However I could improve. Maybe even work on the reindeer head more or make it even more christmassy be scrapping the idea altogether and starting from fresh. But with my very first major digital painting I am happy with the outcome. It at least put my tablet to good work!

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