Why not? A dark twist on the figure of Santa Claus. I wanted to try an evil version with haggard features, piercing eyes and a sinister aura. Pure malevolence. The gift sack reveals unexpected and disturbing presents. This is an unconventional Christmas Santa, aiming for something a bit darker, the shadowy side of the holiday season.
On second , the truth is that doing his job is not an easy task, everything in a single night and with so many schedules must be something complicated. The idea wasn't to create Krampus or the Grinch, which would be the opposite, but rather the most worn-out, evil version of Santa.
Usually, Santa Claus is associated with generosity and Christmas joy. But in this slightly contrasting version, those good things are not present. I wanted to add some small elements to accompany this drawing. I didn't want it to be a creature, but rather something worn out. I started this drawing in Corel and finished it in Photoshop, going from dark to light, which is a bit contrary to what I usually do. But I have done it on several occasions, and it works for me.
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I was going to make a sketch, and this is as far as I got. Well, I had a bit of what would be the structure of the face; that worked for the rest. I had been trying out some canvas types and brushes, and when I did the sketch today, it turned out with those colors. Well, shades of gray, if you can put it that way.
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Following the sketch, I started making some strokes with the brush, selecting different tones to add shadows and highlights, also to shape the figure a bit and finalize the pose.
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What I had previously, despite being a base, I wanted to start drawing from the darkness. I've done it a couple of times, and it seems very effective to me. The only thing I did to darken it was to place a solid color on a layer above and set it to "Gel" mode. It seems that the blending modes in Corel are a bit different, even if they have the same name, they give a different effect.
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Now that it was darker, it was time to gradually detail and add more volume to what I had. I shaped the face and Santa Claus's beard a bit.
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Little by little, I was shaping the figure of Santa better. There were some more detailed aspects. When everything was dark, I started adding the lighter colors, and that's how I also added brightness. Although Santa still looked quite dark, there was a lot left to do. On the back, there would be a bag, though not filled with gifts.
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Adding more colors and details to what I already had. Also, Santa's sack arrived, which comes with some unconventional gifts. I wanted it to look quite weathered; typically, Santa looks a bit more robust.
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To finish, there were a few details left to address, in addition to adding a bit of snow to give it the missing Christmas touch. Something was missing on the teeth, so I worked on that a bit. After adjusting some colors, everything was ready.
👉🏼👈🏼
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