Way back in 2008 I started making my own Xmas cards. They started out simply enough, but like everything I do, they quickly became more complicated and elaborate with every passing year. Eventually they were no longer cards but actual multi-page books.
I stopped doing them in 2013, as I got burned out on them. It's not that they weren't fun to work on— but they took up wayyyy too much of my time (up to five months for one book!) for little or no reward.
But that's neither here nor there— enjoy these blasts from the past!
This
is the first card I did, way back in 2008. This one actually is a
simple greeting card rather than a book, consisting of a single sheet
folded in half.
Obviously the front is based on vintage boxing posters, the kind you'd see in the early 1900s. I had a lot of fun writing the old-time copy.
Anti-Claus' choice of weaponry still bugs me. Why a crowbar? I still don't know. Maybe I was trying to find a weapon that kind of looked like a candy cane? I should have painted stripes on it to sell that idea better. As you can probably tell I'm never satisfied with my own work.
I guess the aging effects were successful. I sent one to my boss at the time, and when he saw it he accused his wife of bending the corner when she took it out of the envelope!
Obviously the front is based on vintage boxing posters, the kind you'd see in the early 1900s. I had a lot of fun writing the old-time copy.
Anti-Claus' choice of weaponry still bugs me. Why a crowbar? I still don't know. Maybe I was trying to find a weapon that kind of looked like a candy cane? I should have painted stripes on it to sell that idea better. As you can probably tell I'm never satisfied with my own work.
I guess the aging effects were successful. I sent one to my boss at the time, and when he saw it he accused his wife of bending the corner when she took it out of the envelope!
Gronkoor, The Monster Who Hated Christmas And Stomped On All The Shoppers He Saw
A terrifying tale of man vs. nature in the style of Gozilla and other kaiju films. Or maybe it's just a story about a monster who's not all bad, I don't know.
This was the first card/book that I did, in the style of Little Golden Books. It's the shortest of all of the books, consisting of a scant eight pages.
Originally it was going to be just a card like the Anti Claus one, and I was going to draw the cover only. Then I thought up an actual story and it grew into an actual book.
I burned off a week of vacation days at the beginning of November 2009 (I always end up with a surplus of time off at the end of the year) and spent the whole time working on this card/book. Those eight pages took a long time, mostly because I didn't know what I was doing. I learned to streamline the process in subsequent years.
Gronkorr Paper Craft Model
I also made a paper model of the Gronkorr character, which you can print and assemble. This was my first attempt at such a thing.
A terrifying tale of man vs. nature in the style of Gozilla and other kaiju films. Or maybe it's just a story about a monster who's not all bad, I don't know.
This was the first card/book that I did, in the style of Little Golden Books. It's the shortest of all of the books, consisting of a scant eight pages.
Originally it was going to be just a card like the Anti Claus one, and I was going to draw the cover only. Then I thought up an actual story and it grew into an actual book.
I burned off a week of vacation days at the beginning of November 2009 (I always end up with a surplus of time off at the end of the year) and spent the whole time working on this card/book. Those eight pages took a long time, mostly because I didn't know what I was doing. I learned to streamline the process in subsequent years.
I also made a paper model of the Gronkorr character, which you can print and assemble. This was my first attempt at such a thing.
An
unsettling and unflinching look at body horror and mutation, as Santa
Claus transforms himself into a half human, half reindeer chimera.
This
is my favorite of all the cards/slash books I've done. The story and
art really came together this time, if I do say so myself.
Looking
back, I honestly have no idea how I was able to finish this one in time
for Xmas. I didn't even start on it until midway through November! This
one was bigger than the previous card/book, clocking in at twelve
pages. It was also much more complicated, featuring more characters and
detailed backgrounds.
And
to top it all off, I had a second job in 2010 and was working around
sixty hours per week. Somehow I managed to write and draw the entire
thing in a month!
Maybe it came out well because
I didn't have a lot of time? I couldn't afford to screw around and had
to make art and writing decisions quickly. Quite often stress fuels
creativity.
I wish I had the time and resources to make an animated holiday special of this story, like the Rankin-Bass shows.
It's Xmas meets technology in this wacky story of irresponsible science nerds run amok!
Like Santataur, this one started out life as a drawing, and I later wrote a story around the characters and turned it into a card/book.
Unfortunately
I had way more story than space. The original version clocked in at
twenty pages. I had to do a lot of slashing and condensing and rewriting
to get it down to a more manageable twelve.
I
was also going through a downsizing trauma at the time, which kind of
put a damper on my enthusiasm for the project. But I started on it
anyway, and it turned out to be good therapy. Working on the Space Dweebs kept my mind off my job woes.
An apocalyptic account of Man vs. Nature, as the Earth is doomed by one man's hubris.
I
sound like a broken record, but this was another card/slash book that
was finished at the last minute. It's a well known law of graphic
design— a project will always expand to fill the available time.
Adding
to the lengthy production time was the fact that I went on a family
vacation in the middle of it, in addition to working on a massive
freelance project at the same time.
I
remember I started drawing the pages before I had all the details
nailed down, so a lot of elements were created on the fly. Things like
the hot young version of Mrs. Claus, the violent Elf names and the
Yetis' ability to shoot ice rays.
It's dangerous to work that way, but it all turned out OK this time.
A
sordid saga of revenge and brinkmanship as two powerful titans battle
to the death as the rest of the planet looks on helplessly.
Last
year's card/book was a massive twenty four pages, the longest I'd ever
attempted. I knew it was gonna be a whopper, so I started extra early.
Didn't matter. I still barely finished it by Xmas.
This
story is based on classic Looney Tunes cartoons, the kind where the
characters try to kill one another in an ever-escalating series of
attacks. Even with the extra page count I still had more ideas than
space, and had to pare down the number of attacks. Ah well.
I
also made a Dr. Killdeath paper model. It's probably the most
complicated one I've done so far. I'll probably make one of Count
Gothula one of these days, as soon as I figure out how to construct a
decent round head.
So
there you go, a rundown of all the Xmas Card/Books I've made the past
few years. Apologies to anyone who was expecting a new one this year.
Who knows, maybe after I've had some time away from them I'll get the
itch to create some more.
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