Seated next to the jolly old fellow, you are curious what happens next. Heroes get one chance in their lives to play the role of Santa's Helper, but what does that mean? No hero fully remembers the night, Santa's magic prevents too much memory of him or his work. Then it comes, a portal opens and a creature from another realm flies at you. Santa deftly dodges the attack with a quick moving reindeer. But that foe is relentless, it swoops back around and comes after you. "THEY WANT THE BAG!" Santa calls out and surely enough, this demon is reaching for Santa's magical bag of toys. What could they possibly want with that many toys? You don't have time to consider the motives, you get a grip on the wrist of the monster and yank him toward you, planting your other fist in its face. It falls back and you get its foot and throw it in a spin over your head back toward it's portal. It vanishes away. Not two seconds later, a human villain arrives by jet pack, he lands on the sleigh and grabs the top of the bag while aiming a gun at Santa, "Night night, fatso!" The man pulls the trigger but Santa vanishes away in a pinch. You stand in the moving sleigh and grab the bag. You pull it hard, dislodge the man, and then grab his gun. Santa reappears, grabs the reigns and turns hard. The villain tumbles to the side. As the enemy slides off, you slap his rocket pack and grab his gun. His reactivated rockets send him flying out of control. After settling down you ask, "Is it like this every year?" Santa chortles at you and says, "Not at all, usually it's worse. Now, hold on, we're approaching Tokyo!" The sleigh glides over Mt. Fuji and you realize this is going to be one long night.
Nick asked me for three art pieces to be part of the Christmas fun. This was the first piece that came to mind. We had several Santa related cards, so I thought another Santa card would be good, but with a twist. I had the idea of a "Santa's Helper" card. First I wanted to do an elf, but that didn't really play too much into the superhero themes. So I went with a straight forward hero. I had fun with the art, mixing both a strong figure with a festive look.
The art was actually more difficult than it looked. I had to mix the soft, gentle appearance of a Santa-
esque suit and a superhero. I couldn't blend them too much or they would both be unrecognizable. I wanted him in a strong pose, lots of flex muscle, fists, dangerous looking. At the same time, I wanted his face to be happy, this isn't just another job, it's helping THE Santa Claus. I chose blue for the hero to starkly contrast the red/white of the holiday apparel. Both blue and red are nice, happy primary colors, which make heroes look good in our eyes. The background was easy, just a simple splash of color and festive elements. I chose green at first, but it just didn't feel right. I worried that the blue background would blend with him, but I was able to get the colors far enough apart that the blue actually sets him off and helps bring out the reds and whites as well. Color balance is a difficult game to play, and it can be very subjective.
I hope you enjoyed the card, and if you got anything from Santa this year, remember who beat the crap out of villains so it would be possible.
Nick asked me for three art pieces to be part of the Christmas fun. This was the first piece that came to mind. We had several Santa related cards, so I thought another Santa card would be good, but with a twist. I had the idea of a "Santa's Helper" card. First I wanted to do an elf, but that didn't really play too much into the superhero themes. So I went with a straight forward hero. I had fun with the art, mixing both a strong figure with a festive look.
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