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Monday, February 19, 2007

Illustration Friday: Gravity

For all the children of the world the big event ends on the 25th with the opening of all their presents, but for the elves and Santa's reindeer that is just the beginning of a week long celebration with cakes and cookies, and lots of egg nog. It never fails that every year Blitzen tends to overindulge during the festivities. This is bad news for a flying reindeer since gravity's pull feels much stronger on a full belly. So, he usually stays grounded the rest of the year until his personal trainer gets him back in shape for the next big night.

This may seem a bit past season, but Christmas has never ended for me. This is the time of year when we're creating next year's designs. I was trying to come up with some holiday patterns when this fellow ended up in my sketches. I was thinking of traditionally painting him, but decided to work out the colors digitally, and bring in a little scanned texture.

Has anyone ever had figgy pudding? I found some recipes online, and I was just wondering if it would be worth trying to make it for the holidays next year.

16 comments:

Andrew Thornton said...

Very funny! I feel like Blitzen after the holidays too!

I like figgy pudding. It's more cake-y than American puddings. It's even better with a brandy custard sauce. Yum!

lil kim said...

very funny! well he was doomed from the beginning with a name like blitzen. great illo.

Diane Duda said...

i know that feeling! very cute!

Ginger*:) said...

Wow, Santa has to do some serious conditioning of his elves and reindeer! This one clearly has had too much of a good thing. Great illustration and concept!

Anonymous said...

Figgy pudding... it just made me think of the type of steamed pudding from my childhood which always had caramel sauce covering it (or it swimming in the sauce)... I want a gutt like the reindeer!
I love it.

Michelle Lana said...

hahaha....this is great! i like the full tummy :)

Heartful said...

I love this! But I heard that figs have a rather laxative effect...

tusen said...

oh, poor reindeer. Great illustration. I really like the colours and textures as well.

Michelle said...

I think we're all a little guilty of this.Very funny drawing.

Anonymous said...

I think he had something to drink with that figgy pudding. Nice work, Angela - the texture is tops!

Must be weird to work on Christmas stuff right now.

Angela Matteson said...

Thanks everyone for the kind words, and the figgy pudding tips!

Theresa H. said...

Haha! How delightful! I love his big round belly! Your style is so fun! Keep up the great work!

Cheers,
Theresa

carla said...

You've really got that overstuffed pose down perfectly! I love how his little legs are splayed out...he looks like he'll never be able to move again!Great piece!

Unknown said...

i feel a bit like that today lol!! he should eat more carrots. never had figgy pudding, i think i should stick to carrots too :)

Roz Foster said...

Ha! I felt like Blitzen last night after eating too much ice cream. This is just adorable, Angela. His splayed legs are hilarious!

Amy Zaleski said...

Great humor - love the texture as well. Never had the stuff...but if it makes me feel this way, I don't wanna try it!