I’ve re-set and cleansed my psyche a bit over the last week or so, delving into a little visual and spatial creativity, rather than the reading and writing (and marking) that I’ve been doing for the previous few weeks.

While his face is still cartoony, the craggy eyes, puffy cheeks, and red nose all required me to put a level of detail in the face I’ve never before tried to tackle. Also, because of the extra weight on Santa’s frame, he has to waddle a bit and swing his arms on a slightly more complex arc. I’m also fairly pleased with the lighting. There are lights attached to the camera, so when we dolly in for a close-up, some extra lights fill in the shadows on the face.

A couple years ago I created a reindeer in the snow animation.  I had imagined putting the two figures together and making a little scene, but I’m satisfied for now, and I think I’ll move on to something else for my free-time project.