"You Sit On A Throne Of Lies!"

Saw this today at my local Schnucks grocery store today— ELF cereal, based on the Will Ferrell movie. 

Timely! That movie came out in 2003, so good job rushing the cereal to the shelves there, guys!

I'm assuming there must have been some sort of likeness rights issue here, since Buddy The Elf's face is depicted in silhouette, and Will Ferrell's image doesn't appear anywhere on the box.

"You Sit On A Throne Of Lies!"

It's Buddy the elf, from the 2003 movie Elf!

Technically I guess Buddy's not actually an elf, but a human raised by elves. 

Elf is one of the very few— make that only— Will Ferrell movies I can stand to watch. In just a few short years it's become a bonafide holiday classic.

Much of the film's North Pole production design was inspired by that of the Rankin/Bass Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer TV special, particularly the sets, landscapes, the various talking animals and especially Leon the Snowman. 

In fact Buddy's costume is practically identical to that of the Elf Foreman in Rudolph.

Elf is also where I first heard the traditional Xmas song Baby, It's Cold Outside. I was aware of the song but had never actually sat down and listened to it until Buddy and his girlfriend Jovie sang it in the film. I was appalled to learn that it's basically a cheerful ode to date rape. But I digress.

Buddy is a vector drawing, done all in InDesign.

Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peek at this year's Christmas card. Like last year, my plan is to make a card/book combo, in the style of Little Golden Books.

I don't want to get into what it's about right now, because I don't want to spoil the surprise. I will say that it's not about an elf, although there are elves in it. I'm trying to make it look like that painterly kid's book style, which is something I'm definitely not used to doing.

I'm racing against the clock trying to get it done, just like always. I'm working 60 hours a week now in addition to the usual stuff that's going on, so it's probably gonna be a photo finish. Seems like no matter how early I start on a project like this, it expands to fill the available amount of time.

Herschel Elfkowsky

Herschel looks like one shell-shocked elf. And who can blame him?

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. At the risk of sounding like Scrooge, I say good riddance.

Christmas is the best when you're a kid, but once you become an adult, not so much. There's nothing fun about it. It's just a month full of high pressure and stress and worrying about how you're going to pay for everything.

I wish Christmas was more like Thanksgiving. Just get the family together for a special meal and call it a day. No spending money you don't have on things people don't need, no rushing around, no stress. Just a nice relaxing get-together.

I know that will never happen though. Our entire economy is fragile enough as it is, so taking Christmas shopping out of the equation would throw us back into the Dark Ages. But I can wish...

Drawn in Photoshop on the graphic tablet.

Here's the original sketch of Herschel.