20 years in the making - Christmas 2018

I've started working on my Holiday card for 2018 and it suddenly occurred to me that I've made a card every year for the last 20 years!

 

1998 watercolour card

My first holiday card was in 1998 and I've made one every year since (except 2005 when I'd first moved to Scotland and I was super broke).

Looking to the first card for inspiration it made me really excited. It was done in watercolour and ink and was beautiful! I was actually really good. These were the days before photoshop so the only way to colour anything was by hand and watercolours were my favourite medium.

It was painted on a giant A2 sheet of paper and had to be reduced at copy shop. It was actually too big for the machine so you can see the edges were cropped. Paying for the printing turned out to be way more expensive than I thought so I could only afford to get 20 made. But, I wanted to have something to give to family and friends who I couldn't afford to get a gift for.

I can't remember the last time I'd used my watercolours so I decided it was time to get them out and get practicing. I started with a picture of a rose from our garden this summer. And I'm pleased with how it turned out... for a warm up!

It took a while to decide what exactly I was going to do for the card though. I considered doing an updated version of the first card (geez, I wished I'd used modelling in 1998 to get proportions right!).  Or did I just want to tap into the spirit of the card and do something new in watercolour?

For the theme of my card holiday card I like to think of what my wish for the year ahead is. After lots of sketching I decided to stop agonising over sentiment and meaning and just have fun. 2018 has been a packed year with lots of ups and downs. And reflecting on that 16 year old kid who just wanted to do something nice for his family and friends during the holiday is enough for me. Also, the fact that I've been doing anything for 20 years is a huge achievement! There's no need to force it. And actually a bit of whimsy and fun is what everyone needs.

So this year I'm going SUPER CHIBI!!!

Some sketches and a new design for Wishmaker

Why? Well why not?!! I decided to got the crazy manga route while I was watching Netflix's She-Ra and The Princesses of Power. The glittering glimmering transformation reignited my long dormant love of Sailor Moon and the desire for a little bit of kawaii in my life. (Side note: I totally applaud the show for its positive portrayals - for example that Glimmer and Spinerrella aren't stick thin and are still warriors. Even little things like She-Ra wearing shorts under her skirt make it endearing. I love that it's creating something all girls can see themselves in and characters I'd be happy for all of my nieces to emulate).

Eat it, haters!

So, what will the final product of the card be? Well, you'll just have to wait and see!

Hope you enjoy!
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Trows, Trows, Trows

I had this grand idea that half way through NaNoWriMo I would take two days out and work on my annual holiday card and bing bang bosh, I'd have a beautifully drawn card and could get back to writing. And yes, I say holiday card because #AllHolidaysMatter

Well that was idiotic. During NaNoWriMo I dutifully got out my drawing pad and set about my usual process which is thinking of 'What do I want most this Christmas.' The answer came instantly, a book deal. However, the creative drawing juices weren't flowing. I came up with an idea and instantly hated it. Sketched a few other things that I hated then gave up and went back to writing.

Well, Santa still has a few days to deliver on the book deal. But, now NaNoWriMo is over and I'm less stressed out my box I've gone back to my original idea (which I now love). But, above and beyond a book deal what I really want is a nice quite holiday to sit and read and recharge and reclaim a feeling of love, wonder and excitement for my life.

The card is nowhere near done and it's looking less likely that I'll be able to get them done and printed in good time to send home (less Christmas card recycling I guess). So, I'm going to share some early drafts. Firstly, my favourite little Christmas helpers have come out to play. The trows!

2 trows and a fairy

Shetland trows are some of my favourite Scottish mythology. They're similar to Nordic trolls with the difference that they're much more mischievous, love music and live in burrows that exist outside of normal human time. They, among other Scots beasties, feature in my new series The Kelpie's Heart


Kade Mon, King of the Trows has come out to play and one of his wee friends has joined him with a flute. I went back and forth on what colour their skin should be. I mean, they live underground so they'd be pretty pale. In the book they're described as having sallow skin. But, for Christmas I figured they needed something brighter. King Kade has a ruddy earthen skin and the other trow I've made a periwinkle blue-ish, the joke being that they're so pale they're blue! But, I definitely think green hair is a must - the colours of the forest and peat moss!

The flautist is also straight up representing Ravenclaw with his scarf! Ravenclaw ride or die!! Woop woop!!

Wishmaker, my greeting card mascot has returned for this year's card too. He's featured on most of my cards since I was 14! Every year he gets a bit of a makeover and it's one of my favourite traditions. I showed him to a friend and he asked, "So, is he some sort of a goblin?". The answer is, I have no idea. I guess he's an elf. Maybe he's a tailless trow. I don't know. Who cares. He's dressed like an old timey aviator and its awesome.

The rest of the card will feature me with my characters. This is the first year Ash and Ana get in on the fun because they're now fully part of my creative family. I honestly can't think of anything more relaxing than what this drawing shows, me in bed, my teddy bears and my creative worlds brought to life. Here's the black and white outline of the scene.

My favourite part of this is probably Ash and Mhetli trying to kill each other and Lauta passed out on her back.

It's going to be a sprint to finish as the trows and Wish took me two days to paint and that was with cutting corners and just giving up on shading. In the rest of the illustrations there's a helluva lot more to do with 7 people! But, it's a labour of love. And I can't wait to share my happy holiday vision with all of you!

Persistence and proliferation!
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Buy 'Black Star' or 'Spirit Shear' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook