Drodie Drawson

So the Doctor (from Doctor a Who) is now officially of the opposite gender. To commemorate this moment, here's a gender bent Droey Drawson. Don't worry, this one won't be taking over; say hello to Drodie!

This was a fun challenge, it has been a fair while since I ever gender swapped a character, I haven't done it since Droey's Draws began (at least not that I can remember).  The only thing about doing this, and this is just my opinion, is that people make too much of an effort to fit the stereotype of the opposite gender when a character is gender bent. Given that the only change is the gender, it should be primarily anatomical changes that are made and then small changes here and there to fit with the already made changes. Sorry, that might sound rather complicated.

Having expressed my opinion about gender swapped designs, I made as few changes to Droey as possible, while making sure the result was easily identifiable as female. The biggest change was the hairstyle, which is still long but is in a ponytail. I would've had Drodie's hair down but it may have poorly affected the silhouette for the design; most likely being too similar to Droey.

I added two accessories to the design, a moustache necklace and the shoulder bag. Now I actually have a shoulder bag, but since they seem to be a popular part of female fashion I made the bag a permanent part of the design. The trousers were going to be replaced with leggings but I reverted back to the idea of trousers, though so they wouldn't clash with the bag, I recoloured them to a darker shade of blue.

Had Drodie been given a symbol on her shirt, I would have used the female symbol in pink. The only reason I didn't draw this symbol of her shirt is because the strap of the bag and her arm were blocking the view.

I did a sketch prior to the final result in which most of the decisions were made. However one thing my mind was not made up on was the head. I originally was going to scrap the cap and replace it with a headband, having Drodie's hair going straight down. I did some experimentation with different hairstyles for Drodie, but had decided to give her the hat after all.

Will Drodie ever be seen again, who knows? Maybe she and Droey will do an Eddsworld and crossover from alternate dimensions sometime. But for now, the return of Drodie Drawson and her future are yet to be decided. Enjoy the rest of 2017!

December with Droey and Co.

And so we're returning to some form of normality. Hello again everyone, I hope you enjoyed the 25 Santa Expressions collection. Now without further ado, on to today's piece.

I couldn't let the festive season pass without drawing Droey and Co. feeling merry. I'm going to admit, because of the Santa challenge I was feeling a bit burnt out when I did this. However I refused to let that stop me from creating something for this day. So simply I had Droey and Tenvad out and about while Anne Natalie is Christmas shopping. I was going to draw the group carol singing, I'm not quite sure why I doidn't go along with that.

For the first time, I've used a set of pencils from Ryman that I've had lying around for a while. While some of their colours come out nicely, like the blue and dark green, I think these pencils won't be used for anything I'm completely serious about in future. Perhaps for preliminary sketches or technical design but these pencils normally would not be for me.

Now given that Christmas has passed, my supplies have been granted some new additions so perhaps there'll be a bit more experimental content to come. I'm not quite what'll be to come in the next few months, but you'll be garunteed the return of February's 'Mix'n'Match Shipping' poll very soon.

Sorry if this seems like a underwhelming post, it's been a busy month both in and outside of Droey's Draws and with possible changes along the way, there is an amount of thinking to do. In the mean time, the new year is coming up so let's look forward to that.

25 Santa Expressions | The Making Of

Hello everyone, hope you had yourself a Merry Christmas. Here is this last bit of content featuring Santa and Elle, two characters who have come quite a long way since the start of this month. 

While for most of the things you have seen on my blog to this date, not much of Ithaca any preliminary content, I usually jump straight into the final piece (which is a habit I need to break). However for bigger projects like 'Sbookies' back in October, there were some sketches and drafts. Although in this post I'm going to show as much as possible, so please enjoy reading about how the magic happened.

Materials

Given that I was going to make twenty five of these pictures, I wanted to keep my materials cheap so that they would be easily replaceable. I also had to keep the work minimalistic to ensure that I would be able to reach my deadlines. This would bring the style of black and white comic strips, with the addition of red to draw attention to Santa.

The first issue to tackle would be my source of paper. Luckily, I had stashed away a couple of Crayola drawing pads, filled with blank paper. They weren't huge sheets of paper so time would be saved as well as the amount of materials used to make each piece. The paper could be pulled out of the pads without ripping the paper, meaning every sheet was easy to work on without having to worry about keeping the pad open.

Another Crayola addition to the team was one of their slim markers, quite obviously the black marker. However this was only used as of the second entry in the challenge. This marker was used for the outlines. A separate pen was used to colour in all of the fillings, as well as outline the original entry; this pen was a brush pen supplied in a local shop.

Lastly there is the pencil to give Santa his red. Like with the pens, a different colour was use on the first piece. I never intended to change the red, I just accidentally used a different shade on the second day and preferred it to the original. These were Berol brand pencils that I had been given from an old school's art department.

Designing Santa, Elle And Others

The first thing that was necessary to begin this challenge was to draw a Santa. I was decided on drawing him in the Drawson Style, which you see the blog mascot depicted in. I did numerous pencil sketches, experimenting with the shape of Santa.

For most of his designs, I used a circle for his round body, but something didn't feel right about it.. My problem was largely between the body and limbs, trying to make them resemble the large man that Santa is. This was resolved by changing the body shape into he arch shape you are all familiar with.

For some time I went about Santa's face as being separate from the beard, but making such a large beard we ant either drawing the mouth on top of the beard or covering the mouth with the beard; the latter was obviously not an option given the challenge. I decided to do a Bart Simpson and merge his hair with his head, giving his head the shape of the beard so imply that he has one.

Santa was originally designed to have mittens, but when it came to the first illustration, Santa's pose clearly meant the mittens had to be exchanged for finger gloves.

Elle's design was just as experimental. The triangular body was always there from the start, as well as her pointy feet. Elle was originally going to have a more alien like appearance, with pointy fingers and a pointed head (this was changed to the conventional elf hat). I never inked Elle's final design since she would not receive a colour scheme.

Top Left to Bottom Right : Elaine, Elton, Eldon, Elle and Elias

As of the twelfth entry, Santa and Elle was no longer alone in their festive world. Three elves were designed for the party. These designs were given names, so as to be used later on in the challenge. Eldon was developed to become a partner for Elle while Elton was a confident but foolish elf, as is seen in the fifteenth entry. Additionally another elf was created to pose as the criminal, his design was changed from the standard elf drastically so as to make him look more evil.

Writing The Stories

I was undecided to begin with whether or not I would actually write stories with each picture. I wanted to but time was a problem. However a new addition to my art supplies (a more capable I Pad) enabled me to make more time to edit the blog in general. This meant I could write my stories right after or during the creation of each picture.

The first piece of written material that came into mind was the joke from Day One about how the legend of Santa has been around since King Henry the eighth. This sprouted the job interview idea and it made sense from then on for Elle and Santa to go through some kind of story together. While all the stories would be cannon and fit into a timeline, the stories were not meant to be continuous from each other (Days Fourteen and Fifteen being the exception).

There were a few small arcs placed in this challenge which contributed to some of the story ideas, so I'll leave it amongst yourselves for now to decide the order of events, though these arcs you would want to keep in mind:

Elle's New Job - Days 1, 2, 3
Believe - Days 11, 18
Elias - Days 14, 15
Elle and Eldon - Days 12, 16, 22
Farewell Santa - Days 1, 25

Watch

Now this is a rare treat, don't expect videos for quite some time again. Here I have actually recorded myself creating one of the pictures featured in the challenge. So the first video I give to you is the making of Day Eleven.

Now I did intend to take all twenty five entries and have put them in this slideshow video for you. The reason this is not present is because the file size was too big and I can't manage to make one that will be a small enough size. Sorry guys, you'll just have to take a look at the original posts.

Final Thoughts And Hindsight

I was a little nervous about this challenge when I began. For reasons as to why I have not done an Inktober before. To be making daily content and using the same sort of medium to me seems like it would be the fast lane to a burn out. Also, the fact you are using pretty much one medium (at least that's all I could do for Inktober) doesn't really help you develop in all areas.

I have to confess that post challenge, I did have a burnout, but luckily it was only around for about a day and then I was back to coming up with ideas and creating new content for you to enjoy in the future. I did try my best to make time each day to create outside of the Santa challenge to prevent this, but I suppose this is what comes from creating a set of regulars that you are used do (in this case being Santa and Elle), once it's time to let them go you get a little lost.

Had I have done more in advance, I would have loved to make the story a continuous one but clearly it was for the best that the stories did not try to link together, the story would just be a Jackson Pollock of different plot points perhaps.

I can say with absolute confidence that I do not regret doing this challenge. It has exercised my creative writing, my artwork, my timekeeping, video editing and has also brought more viewers to my blog. I will definitely be doing another one of these next year, though I shan't give anything away as to what to expect in next year's calendar.

And so for the final time this year, I thank everyone who has followed the adventures of Santa and Elle, supported the blog and motivated me to keep going and finish all of this content solely for you. I've been doing this blog for nearly a year now and it's great to see that it's audience is growing. Enjoy the rest of your holiday; as of this point, normality resumes.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 25

Merry Christmas To One And All!

Santa is Triumphant

It had been some decades since Elle started work as one of Santa's elves. Over time she had learnt many skills and helped many other elves to become great employees. However time catches up on us all and so people have to leave. There was one day when Elle was sent to Santa's to collect something.

'You're looking well.' Elle said as Santa invited her in to his home.

'Same as yourself. How is everything at the workshops?'

'It's all going well. Everyone's getting back to work and our last Christmas Cracker did no damage.' Santa and Elle sat in the longe, either side of the fireplace; the same fireplace where Elle once set her hat on fire by accident.

'Ah yes, that was a good send off. And that last run was a big success;the perfect way to wrap up my services as the Santa.' Now you're probably thinking of the time Santa got drunk during his rounds, that was years before his final run. Santa had triumphantly accomplished one of his best trips ever on his last Christmas Eve.

'Though I am concerned about one thing. With you now retired, I'm not sure for how much longer people are going to believe in you; you'll become one of those tales of old.'

Santa laughed a little. 'You seem to forget, Elle. I wasn't the first Santa. There was Father Christmas before me and Kris Kringle before him. And who's to say there wasn't a Santa before even him?'

'But the role was handed down the family and you don't have a child.' Elle pointed out. 'So what happens now?'

'Well I stayed on longer than my predecessors in hopes of having a heir to take over. But I can't keep up that amount of work much longer, it was for the best that I stood down.' Santa got up with the help of his walking stick and picked up a box. 'But not to worry, I'm sure something will turn up.' Santa gave the box to Elle and returned to his seat.

'Thank you, Santa; or should I say Nicholas.'

'Just Nick will do.' Santa smiled, there was a proud glistening in his eyes, as if once again he had been triumphant. 'Do you remember when you joined the team?'

'Oh yes, very vividly.' Elle replied. 'And I told you that in ten years time I'd be doing your thing but you'd-' Elle suddenly stopped, lost in deep thought.

'It's been a fair bit longer than ten years, but I hope you'll find it has been worth the wait.' Nick glanced down at the present on Elle's lap and winked at her. Elle decided now would be a good time to open up the box. She quickly got into it and found there, something that she couldn't believe.

'You're kidding!' Elle exclaimed in surprise.

'Feel free to try it on. Upstairs, first on the left.' Elle rushed up to the bathroom and returned in a costume excactly like the Santa uniform, though suited to her body. It was all clear now just why she was sent over to Nick's home.

'Of all the elves, I trust that you will continue the legacy best of all. There may be some controversy but I know you'll prove to the world that a lady elf like yourself can do the job of an elderly man just as fine.' Nick got up to shake Elle's hand but the rush of excitement prevented her from thinking straight, so she saluted to him instead. 'Congratulations Santa.'

'Thank you! I won't let you down, Nick.' Santa promised.

Now Elle, known to the world as Santa, is in charge of the workshops at the North Pole and does all of Nick's old jobs. She does it very well and is very proud of her work. Working all of that time at the North Pole, she never thought that she would actually get to be Santa and now she was living the dream. Maybe next year, you'll find out just how good of a job Elle is doing, as Santa Ellison.

THE END

We made it! The 25 Santa Expressions challenge is completed!

Thank you everyone who made it all the way through this advent calendar, but it's not over yet! Come back tomorrow for a behind the scenes post to see the making of this challenge if you enjoy that sort of thing. However if this is where you decide to disembark, then I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday!

25 Santa Expressions | Day 24

Happy Christmas Eve Everyone!

Santa is Incredulous

It was like any other day at the workshop. Toys were being made and all of the elves were working hard. Today, Elle was working alongside Elaine; they were making stretchable toys. They had a line of toys resembling Frosty that could stretch his limbs. It was a clever toy that apparently sold well across the world.

As part of the process for making these toys, they have to be stretched, quite obviously to make sure they can. While Elle was putting the toys together, Elaine was responsible for stretching them with a rack. Elaine likes to gossip but sometimes lets it get in the way of her work.

'So Elle,' Elaine began as she started stretching one of the toys. 'What's the story with you and Eldon? I hear you went to the cinema together.'

'Yes, we did.' Elle replied. She was wise to Elaine's habit of gossiping and knew just how much to say without giving too much away to her. 'We saw the film and just hung out for a bit.'

'Ye-ah, go on?' Elaine pried, still stretching the toy.

'Well that's it really. We just chatted, had a laugh about coincidentally seeing the film while Santa was-' Just then, Santa came by and both the elves decided it was best to get back to work. Elaine quickly continued to stretch the toy, unaware of how stretched it was already. She'd hate to have been caught gossiping by Santa again. Elaine stretched the toy so much that it pinged right off the rack and whacked Santa in the head, knocking him over!

Elle and Elaine rushed to Santa's aid and Elton, working nearby, sent for some medics. Elle used what she could of her medical training to help Santa regain consciousness. Santa awoke and thanked Elle.

'A doctor will be here shortly, Santa.' Elle explained to him. Santa looked confused.

'Santa, is that me?' Elle and Elaine realised that Santa had lost his memory!

'Yes, you're Santa Claus. A jolly man who gives presents to children across the world every year.'

'Huh!' Santa scoffed. 'What do you take me for, a fool? I may not remember anything but I know when I'm being messed with!' Elle was surprised at this reaction.

'I'm being truthful!' Elle retorted. 'You really do deliver presents across the world. That's what you do every Christmas Eve, while everyone's asleep!' Elaine tapped Elle on the shoulder.

'I don't think you're making this any better.' Elaine tried to say but Elle was too busy preaching to Santa.

'Really, youngster! There's no way such a stunt can be pulled. No man could deliver presents around the world in one night; have you seen how high the population is?' Soon the medics arrived and took Santa away. I can happily tell you that he has got his memory back now and he even apologised to Elle. Naturally she forgave him.

Santa was highly amused at the thought of disbelieving himself. Elaine was given a telling off and was moved to reindeer care for a while until she could learn to put her work before her social life. Luckily for her, she wasn't put on the naughty list. I'm sure tomorrow morning you'll find out how good you've been.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 23

Santa is Drunk

Christmas Eve is the night when Santa does what he is best known for; he travels around the world to deliver presents to all of the nice children of the world. It's a very important and demanding job for Santa, it's also the biggest job given to the reindeer. An elf is always in Santa's company on this night in case anything goes wrong; thank goodness Elle was there on one particular night.

'Jingle bells, Frosty smells, something rhymes with Elle's.' Santa sang, rather off key as he swayed in his seat and rang a little bell.

'Good grief, where'd he get that from?' Rudolph sighed.

'I think he's had it the whole time.' Elle replied, struggling to drive the sleigh. She had practiced driving the sleigh before, as is compulsory for the elf accompanying Santa on his trip. Santa held his arm around Elle as he continued to ring his bell and sing some more. 'This doesn't happen every year does it?'

'No, thank goodness. Though it's becoming more frequent over the past century.' Rudolph was piloting the sleig alone at the moment. It's true that eight reindeer pull the sleigh, but not all at the same time. Each one get assigned to fractions of the world and accompanies Rudolph for the journey. At the moment they were on their way to America where Prancer was waiting.

'We've had worse so far,' Rudolph continued. 'I don't suppose you heard about it but one time this pensioner was just on her way when Santa steers us right into her!'

'You're kidding!' Elle gasped.

'No, poor Dasher was didn't want to do the run next year. That's when we brought Olive into the team.' For those who don't know who Olive is, she's the other reindeer who stands in when another reindeer is out of commission. Suddenly out of nowhere, Santa burst into a fit of giggles, during which he dropped his bell.

'Elle.' Santa said after staring down at the falling bell. 'Elle.' Knowing it was the only way to hush Santa, Elle hesitantly responded. 'I dropped my bell. Momentarily Santa started giggling again.

'Tradition or not, I'm gonna speak to the board about those drinks everyone leaves him.' Rudolph grumbled.

'Yeah, maybe it's for the best. I only hope it makes a difference.'

Needless to say, Santa was not off the hook after his return to the North Pole. In the new year, there were discussions about the issue and Santa felt terribly guilty about the affair. Despite everything, Elle supported Santa in hopes of finding a solution that would benefit everyone. In fact, she came up with the genius idea of how to prevent the drinking issue.

Now when taking trips around the world, the elf has to collect an amount of the drink from each house and have it stored into a container now kept close to the front of the sleigh. Unfortunately due to the variety of drinks, nobody could say it would be safe to drink afterwards but the elves in research and development are working on a solution to the problem. As each year passes, they won't be short of samples to test their theories on!

25 Santa Expressions | Day 22

Santa is Flirty

Santa is a married man. Although you don't see much of her, there is a Mrs. Claus in his life who he loves very much. Like how Santa never forgets Christmas Day, he never forgets his wedding anniversary. This year, Santa decided to take his wife to the cinema to see the first film they watched together.

Eldon had found out about Santa's anniversary scheme and it gave him an idea. One day at work, Eldon approached Elle and made a proposal to her. 'D'you fancy going to the pictures?' If it was good enough for Mrs. Claus, it must be good enough for Elle. After finding out what film Eldon intended to take Elle to see, she agreed; it was one of her favourite films.

The big day arrived and everyone arrived at the cinema. It just so happens that Elle and Eldon were booked for the same screening as Santa and Mrs. Claus; not just that, but in the seats directly in front of them! The two parties enjoyed each other's company as the film progressed.

During the first half an hour of the film, Elle and Eldon couldn't help but hear Santa and Mrs. Claus talking between each other, mostly Santa. Santa was flirting with Mrs. Claus, though for their privacy I shan't go into details as to what was said. It had Elle almost giggling out loud; she never thought she'd be hearing Santa saying such things! Eldon was additionally amused, but more so just happy to see Elle so merry.

After the film, Santa took Mrs. Claus out to dinner, though Elle and Eldon went to lay on the snow and watch the stars. In case you weren't sure, Elle and Eldon are now a pair and have been together for some time now. What continues to amuse Elle is how she and Santa share the same anniversary dates now; though I doubt they'll cross paths every year.

Santa didn't know about Elle and Eldon being sat right in front of them until about a month later. He was also amused by the coincidental circumstances of his and Elle's first dates. But while they all had a nice time on their special days, it was time to put it behind them and get back to work. Those presents won't deliver themselves after all!

25 Santa Expressions | Day 21

Santa is Angry

Christmas Eve was three days away. Everyone was finishing up for the year, doing last minute arrangements and clearing up where everything was finished.

Santa woke up that morning and started to get himself dressed. He was to be collecting the sleigh from the maintenance workshop today. Santa turned on the television to see what was going on in the world while he got himself ready. There on the television was Elle, doing the weather forecast.

'And now for the worldwide forecast. Mr. Claus, sir, I hope you're paying attention.' Santa didn't look to the screen and continued to get himself ready, but he still listened to the forecast. 'We're expecting snow across most of the world for the next week. Only light snow for some of the southern religions but all across the northern, heavy snow will be expected. Possibly even falling throughout the nights.'

Santa was not happy. Snow looked beautiful and one of his closest friends was made of snow. But Santa did not like the snow falling when he had to deliver presents to all of the children. It was not very safe but Santa could hardly tell the world to wait until the snow stopped to celebrate Christmas.

'Blumin' snow!' grumbled Santa. 'It would be, wouldn't it?' Santa may be a man of many talents, but he can't control the weather. There was nothing he could do. Santa just finished getting dressed and left home for the workshops to collect his sleigh. In a few days time, he was in for one heck of a trip!

Three weeks complete, we're almost there! I hope you have been enjoying this journey; if you've stuck around this far then I thank you.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 20

Santa is Disgusted

It was an average day at the North Pole. Toys were being made, behaviours were being checked; it had been a very productive morning. After such a morning, it was time for lunch break. Santa had his lunch earlier than everyone else so that he can stroll around and make sure everything is well while everyone else has their lunch.

Santa was passing through the workshops where Elle was working. Well, at the moment like everyone else, she was having her lunch. Elle had packed herself a lunch of brussel sprouts. Elle noticed Santa doing his daily patrol and waved to him.

'Afternoon Santa!' Elle called. Santa approached Elle as she finished her sprout.

'Good day,' Santa began. 'And how are you today, Elle?'

'Feeling merry!' Elle exclaimed. She held a sprout to Santa. 'Want one?' Santa doesn't like to be rude so he leant over to take the sprout, until he saw what it was. Santa sprung back and kept his hands as distant from the sprouts as possible.

'Ho, Ho, no thank you!' Santa tried to keep a straight face at the sight of the sprouts; he failed.

'What's the matter?' Elle asked as she ate another sprout. 'Don't like 'em? I'd have thought you, last of all people would hate brussel sprouts.'

'I'm afraid you thought wrong!' Santa placed his hands behind his back and assumed a professional mannerism. 'I'll let you enjoy them for yourself.' Santa walked away and left Elle to enjoy her lunch. 'Have a good day, Elle.'

Elle watched Santa as he left, still rather surprised at his hatred for sprouts. She just shrugged her shoulders and continued eating her sprouts. Needless to say, she is the only elf currently who considers a portion of brussel sprouts to be lunch.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 19

Santa is Ill

Santa is a busy man. The last thing he ever needs is to become ill. Unfortunately one day, this became the case; Santa saw a doctor and was bed ridden for a few days. And so that's what Santa did, he got into his pyjamas and night hat, laying in bed and waiting for time to pass.

Elle had recently been through medical training, so she could treat elves in the workshop should anything happen. With all of her medical studies up her sleeve, Elle decided to pay Santa a visit. Santa was actually happy to see Elle, he needed some help and Mrs. Claus was out getting some supplies.

'Thank goodness, I thought I was going to have to get out of bed!' exclaimed Santa.

'Oh no you don't!' Elle approached the bedside to make sure Santa would go nowhere. 'You're staying there until you're better- or need to do something private.'

'I know,' Santa sighed. 'Could you fetch me my DVD collection, please? I might as well use this time to catch up on Doctor Ho Ho Ho.' Elle went to the shelf with DVDs on it and picked out the right one; she even turned on the television for him and everything. Then the show started.

'So that's the show with the spaceship that looks like a fireplace!' Elle exclaimed, quietly so as not to give Santa a headache.

'Oh yes, controlled by the bearded fellow.' Santa said as he made himself comfortable.

'Not for much longer though, I've seen the news.' Elle winked at Santa.

'Yes. That volume's rather low, I ought to-'

'Stop right there!' ordered Elle. 'You need peace, quiet and rest. In fact, I'll make sure of it!' And Elle dressed herself like a Royal guard; why she happened to have this costume on her person was a mystery. Elle armed herself with a candy cane and stood by Santa's bed, refusing to move.

'Shouldn't you be at the workshop?' asked Santa weakly.

'I took some time off to make sure you were alright.' Elle explained. 'Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere while you're solitary.' Santa would have groaned, but Elle was so close by that she would've easily heard him.

It wasn't until Mrs. Claus returned home that Elle could be sent away, in a polite manner of course. Elle stood down to let her take over, then returned to the workshop and back to work.

A couple of days Santa returned to work, feeling much better. As Santa went around the workshops, he discovered that someone was missing. It turns out that all of that time spent guarding Santa, had passed the illness on to her! Santa felt sorry for Elle, but couldn't help but wonder something. 'Now where can I find a Royal guard's costume and a candy cane?'

25 Santa Expressions | Day 18

Santa is Blank

All was not well for Santa. There had been problems regarding the fact that many grotto Santa's hearses had been tugged. There was also an issue with Santa masks apparently brig very unconvincing. This year, those problems were intended to be put to an end.

Elle was helping out in research and development when she saw Santa arrive. She saw some of the scientists take him into another room and when he returned, he was wearing a red onesie, though it didn't look very snug. 'What kind of outfit is that?' she asked Santa.

'This,' Santa said, pointing at his face. 'Is the future of grottos and masks.' Santa was guided to a special room which had recently been constructed. There was a glass window which Santa stood and faced. Elle shrugged her shoulders at Santa through the window but got no response.

'Goggles please!' demanded one of the scientists. Elle promptly put on a spare pair of goggles stored close by. Elle was very curious about whatever it was that was going on, Santa just stood in the room silent and still, his expressions was completely hollow.

'Scanners ready. The Saint is in position.' The scientist looked around to make sure everyone in the room was wearing their goggles. 'All exterior eyes protected.' The scientist pressed a button so he could communicate with Santa inside. 'This is control addressing subject. If you cannot see anything, please blink your eyelids.' A moment later, Santa blinked. Elle was very confused.

'Santa's wearing special contacts.' whispered another scientist to Elle. 'They protect his eyes from the scanner. We can see his eyeballs but he can't see whilst wearing them.' Now you may be questioning if such a thing can exist, but you have to remember this is the man who can travel around the world and give presents to all of the children in the same night.

'Silence please!' demanded the scientist at the control panel, then he pressed the communicator button again. 'This is control addressing subject. Should you at any point experience any possibility of concern, blink your eyelids and we will immediately terminate the scan. Please blink your eye lids now to acknowledge this communication.' Santa blinked his eye lids. 'Please do not move, the scan is beginning.' The scientist pulled a lever and the scan began.

A very concentrated light passed Santa along the window and scanned him, the same was happening from the three other angles. No wonder everyone's eyes had to be protected! It was a slow process but soon the scan was complete and Santa out of the chamber.

When Santa was back in his normal clothes, Elle rushed up to him. 'Santa, why such an elaborate scan?' she asked, still in awe over the complex machine.

'It was so as to create a completely accurate replica of my face.' Santa exclaimed. 'Now we can sell masks and bears that are excactly identical to my own face and beard! We've been developing this project for a few years now. Only time will tell if it has worked.'

And by the next year, the result had been a complete success. Every grotto Santa looked so genuine and all of the shops were selling the masks like hot cakes. But to this day, Elle always suggests that a simple few photographs would have sufficed!

25 Santa Expressions | Day 17

Santa is Silly

Every now and then, Santa takes a day to enjoy himself by spending time with his friend Frosty. Frosty, as everyone calls him is a snowman, which there are quite a few of around the North Pole. He and Santa enjoy a good game of golf together whenever they have the chance.

On one particular occasion, Elle was chosen to carry Santa's golf clubs. Elle had never been to a golf game so she was interested in seeing what it was like. Elle had never been so bored, she didn't think it was possible for a sport to be about walking at a leisurely pace after a ball whacked some distance by a stick, only to then place the ball in a hole and take it back out straight after.

Elle eagerly awaited for the final hole to be finished, she had been introduced to the idea that a general golf game has eighteen holes. The sooner this was over the better, for both her and her back. The golf clubs were incredibly heavy for an elf but regardless she kept hold of them and followed the golfers all around the course.

Finally they were on the seventeenth hole. 'Only one more to go!' Elle thought with great anticipation.  Just after Santa had hit the ball, a phone started to vibrate; it belonged to Frosty.

'Just a reminder.' he declared after checking his phone. Santa noticed that Frosty's phone was new.

'Had an upgrade Frosty?' Santa asked.

'Indeed I have. This phone is designed especially for snowmen; it's lenses are able to make it clearer as to where a snowman might be in the photos!' Snowmen aren't usually very good at being in pictures. Given that the Norh Pole is a land coated in snow and snowmen are made of snow, they are almost invisible without something behind them, something that isn't white.

Santa was intrigued by this new model of phone. 'I wonder if it will do the same for my beard?' The two of them decided there was only one way to find out. They leant close to each other and pulled silly expressions while Frosty took a picture of them. 'How are you holding up, Elle?' Santa asked as the pictures were being taken.

'Just great!' Elle said with all of her might, even mustering the strength to give Santa a thumbs up while still holding the weight of the golf clubs.

The game continued and at the end, Santa was the winner. They all went into the club house to have a  nice hot drink and a bite to eat, Elle was almost too weakened to have anything! By the time Elle returned home, she dropped straight onto her bed and fell asleep for the rest of the night. Her back kept giving hair pains for a couple of days after; the other elves felt sorry for Elle but simply told her 'That's always the way when we go golfing with Santa!'

25 Santa Expressions | Day 16

Santa is Happy

Every year the staff at the North Pole have their company photo day. This is where a picture of each employee is taken for their company I.D. cards and other official documents; there are a lot of elves and more working for Santa, so this is a rather important day. The pictures are also framed and displayed in a gallery like fashion around the company buildings.

Unlike when We have our photos taken for I.D. cards, Santa and the photographers encourage everyone to smile when they are having their pictures taken; it just wouldn't be merry otherwise. Santa and the reindeer were first to have their photos and Santa gave his most genuine smile.

Of course, despite the photos being taken, work must go on so the elves are taken in alphabetical batches. Elle would be a part of the fifth group to have their photos taken. Today she was particularly busy in the workshop making toys and was keen to keep herself looking at her best. Elle specialises in making toys, it's her favourite job- most days. Today she had hoped to be doing some less practical work, she didn't want to risk having a bad photo for a year.

Working close with Elle was Eldon, the stout elf. Practical work is Eldon's forte, he's not a very bright elf. The thought of having his photo taken had made Eldon easily excitable, to the point of which his work was starting to get a little sloppy. Eldon's responsibility today was to be one of the elves who was gluing pieces together. Elle was on quality control and found herself having to discard Eldon's efforts several times.

Elle decided after a few checks it was time to take matters into her own hands. She approached Eldon and was surprised at the sight of him. He was poorly gluing toys in a trigger happy fashion and getting glue all over his working space, including a large patch on his face! 'Eldon, I think you need to calm down?' Eldon turned his attention to Elle, Eldon likes Elle very much.

'Hey Elle!' Eldon started as he got up from his workspace. He wrapped his arm around Elle and leaned against her, attempting to come across as smooth. 'What brings you over here then?' he asked with raised eyebrows. Elle felt something sticky on the side of her face, and realised what Eldon had been doing.

'Eldon you've done glued my face!' she blurted out. Eldon realised his mistake and the two of them immediately tried to separate their heads from each other. Unfortunately, due to high traffic, the glue they used was very quick to stick, so Elle and Eldon were fused together until someone could have them separated using tools.

Poor Eldon, he was awfully sorry about the mishap, but still smiled for the photographs, which now there are two of the both of them sat together. For sometime afterwards Elle felt down about the photo situation, but knew Eldon had meant no harm. In fact, Eldon even arranged a private photography session for Elle to replace the photo! Elle was touched by the gesture and now the pair of them are the best of friends.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 15

Santa feels Fear

It was a relatively normal day at the North Pole. The elves were working very hard and Santa was to go about his daily routine. Elle was working with the postal department today and brought Santa his morning post, which included a big present. Elle drove a van of parcels to Santa's home, he had also ordered some new furniture.

'One of your fans must be very grateful. You're getting presents way ahead of time!'  Elle gave Santa the present first. Elton helped with the furniture boxes, the present was heavier than Elle expected and she needed a moment to get her strength back. 'What on Earth did they get you.' she asked Santa.

When the boxes were stacked, Elton decided a light a cigar, although it looked a lot more like a candy cane straightened out. Foolishly he lit his cigar right beside the present, although to be fair, I don't think anyone would expect the present to sample some of the flame from a lighter and reveal itself to be a bomb.

Immediately Santa called for a bomb disposal unit and everyone hid behind the boxes of furniture, which had been stacked a short distance away from the present. Luckily for them, they had time as the spark was burning away at the present very slowly.

The bomb disposal unit arrived soon after they were called and one of the elves approached the bomb cautiously. 'It's a small flame, I can still defuse it.' said the elf.

'Careful now.' warned one of the colleagues. The elf firstly tried waving at the flame hoping to create enough wind to put out the flame, of course this was futile. Elves don't often have to deal with bombs, it's a very rare situation and thus they don't really know as much about how to stop them. With the hand trick failed, the elf bent down and gathers some snow in both hands. Then their hands clapped around the flame, the snow putting it out.

Everyone was relieved but Elle was least of all impressed. 'All of that and we could've just thrown a snowball at it?' Of course, nobody really cared for they were grateful to have prevented a nasty situation. Elle still decided it was worth taking out her stress of Elton, perhaps he'll cut down on those  cigars.

It turned out the bomb had been sent by Elias, a former employee who had been caught out for stealing from the estate. After this Elias was relocated to the South Pole, where he will no longer be a problem for Santa and the rest of the elves.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 14

Santa feels Rage

Not all of the children around the world make it onto the good list, some are naughty enough to end up on the naughty list. Those who are on the naughty list always have the chance to redeem themselves the following year, Santa is a naturally forgiving man. Nether the less, there are children who get up on the naughty list sometimes.

Elle was working in storage where all of the presents are kept. She was one of many elves working here at the time. In fact, more elves had been put on storage duty to keep their eyes pealed, there had been reports of missing cargo. During her time in storage, Elle also did a few night shifts. One night she was on duty with Elton, Elaine and Elias. Elle was already familiar with the former two, they were good friends of her's, and she had recently acquainted Elias.

Elle was actually quite glad to be on night duty. During one of her day shifts, she had misplaced some of the cargo and so she hoped that tonight she would get the chance to relocate the cargo and put it in the right place. It was a good thing she did, for she heard the suspicious sounds of boxes being moved and a sack being filled. Elle knew where Santa would be at this time, on account of a previous incident involving a fireplace. Santa's home wasn't far away and so Elle rushed over to him as quickly as she could.

'Why aren't you at storage?' Santa demanded when he answered his door to see Elle. However rather than get a straight answer, she had grabbed him by the hands and dragged him across the estate. Outside the warehouse was a group of bins, including a tall stack of cardboard boxes, which strangely had not been flattened. 'What is the meaning of this?' asked Santa with suspicion.

To their surprise they had stumbled upon an escape route laid out by a thief, responsible for the already missing cargo and the sounds Elle had heard earlier. Santa dand Elle luckily were able to hide so they could make out the their as they started climbing down the boxes. The identity of the elf was clear enough. 'Elias Elders!' bellowed Santa. 'Stay where you are!' Elle was immediately sent to bring security over and Elias was promptly arrested. Elle was relived, she had almost been scared by Santa's brief moment of genuine rage.

Elias turned out to be a their who was stealing from the workshops and delivering to those who had been placed on the naughty list, with a fee for his troubles. While the mastermind responsible was never identified, it was clear now that there would be no problems of such nature, Elias was going away for quite some time.

Some days later, a short but special ceremony was held to commemorate Elle, she never had felt so proud of herself. 'Elle Ellison, I reward you this medal your quick actions and for preventing further losses in our progress of production.' Santa declared. Elle was on top of the world that day.

But what about the mislaid cargo that Elle intended to amend that night? Well it turns out that the goods in Elias' sack were actually the very items Elle sought to move in the first place, so she was completely off the hook!

Two weeks complete and I've made it past the half way point! Hope you're happy to stick around for another eleven days!

25 Santa Expressions | Day 13

Santa is Pleased

Given that Santa drives a sleigh that is pulled by several flying reindeer, you wouldn't expect him to drive cars. But you haven't been to the Norh Pole yourself, you wouldn't know there actually are roads there where the elves live. Keeping the roads clear is a job with a high employment rate, though not as much as to work for Santa.

For the past years Santa had been using a van that was reminiscent of the late sixties. It had orange and white paintwork, plenty of space and was even bearing the peace sign. However this vehicle was on it's way out, lately it had given Santa a lot of trouble to the point where he would barely use it anymore. After it's final M.O.T. Santa was finally convinced to give up the van and move on to a new vehicle.

It just so happens that in the past year, Santa had done a deal with a car company in which he was the spokesperson advertising their cars, there wasn't much else to it.  Santa got into contact with the car company and they were honoured to give him one of their models. Santa was promised something spectacular and he couldn't wait.

Soon the day arrived and Elle was sent to pick up the car. It took a while since Elle had to ask around for a booster seat, she had forgotten to bring one. Santa waited impatiently for his car to arrive, unaware of the delay. Eventually the wait was over and the car pulled up alongside Santa.

Santa was delighted with his car and got in the passenger seat straight away. 'So what do you think Santa?' Santa patted the door of his new car and boldly made his declaration.

'This is one nifty sleigh!' All of the elves were happy. Elle was quite proud of herself for brining the prize, she sat smugly on the bonnet of the car while the elves were cheering. 'And Any damage done to this car by elves sitting on it will be coming out of their salaries!' Elle promptly got off the bonnet.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 12

Santa says WTF?

The life of a working person isn't always as dull as one might believe. For example, there are companies that every so often throw office parties. Well at the North Pole, Santa's elves get to throw parties, believe it or not. Ever year just after Christmas, everyone gets the chance to celebrate before taking a short holiday and they do so with the party event that got the nickname, 'Christmas Cracker'.

For Santa, he doesn't really consider this a break, more so a present to the elves. Santa spends this celebration going around and watching the elves, happy to see them all enjoying the celebration. Now Santa is an elderly man and has seen many things in his time, so little surprises or disturbs him. However this year, he did find himself rather disturbed.

There were a group of elves cheering and dancing, that seemed normal. There was one who had passed out, wearing a hat that other elves had written on, this sort of thing Santa had seen before. But then he saw Elle, who Santa expected to be doing something, but not to the scale of which she was. Santa had originally approached this group from hearing not only the cheers but some rather questionable singing.

'Santa baby, and fill my stocking with a duplex and checks.' sang the voice. The voice turned out to be Elle who was thrown into the air by some of the elves. Elle was holding what must have been yet another drink for her, wearing a fake moustache, Santa hat and no top! Santa hadn't seen anything like this on his estate since the year two thousand, and was speechless.

Santa slipped away before the rather intoxicated Elle noticed him. Although he could have sworn Elle called out his name at some point, it turned out she was actually talking to a rather stout elf, not that she knew it! Luckily the worst that happened regarding Elle that night was a series of poorly sung Christmas songs and a lack of care as to where her top had vanished to.

Santa decided not to bring up any of Elle's escapades in the aftermath of the Christmas Cracker, what goes on during this celebration, almost always stays within the celebration. Although Eldon, the stout elf, certainly remembered Elle and struggled to ignore her. Elle doesn't have a clue why, nor why for some time afterwards Santa struggled to pay attention to Elle. Santa still hasn't spoken about what he saw, I should hate to see how he copes after our human parties!

25 Santa Expressions | Day 11

Santa is Sad

Have you ever been naughty and stayed awake on Christmas Eve to try and catch Santa in the act? Have you ever caught your parents doing his job instead because of this? Well, if you have then it's most probably because Santa doesn't exist- as far as many of the population are concerned. Santa is indeed real but with people walking around the house or staying awake, it's much harder for him to complete his deliveries; he does have an entire world to deliver to.

Every year a meeting is held between Santa, a representative for the elves, then a number of people in high places. This is to ensure that Santa's delivery night always goes smoothly. This meeting is held in the summer, giving enough time to review the previous year and prepare for the next Christmas. This year, Santa had chosen Elle to present the elves. She was honoured but not too pleased to have to attend the meeting.

The meeting progressed, going through their agenda until they came to the subject of belief. Santa showed everyone a graph that calculated the average belief. Last Christmas had been a struggle. Then Santa showed another graph, this time showing the average belief over the course of every five years. In the past fifteen years particularly, there had been a decline. 'I'm afraid it looks only worse as time goes on, this things keep up the way they are.' Santa said sadly.

Elle was in disbelief at the thought that compared to the previous years, so many people were having their doubts. The people of the meeting discussed how to increase everyone's belief in Santa. One of them suggested Santa made more appearances in public grottos. Santa wasn't too keen on the idea, but when put to a vote, Santa didn't get his way. 'At least you personally will get to make many more children so happy!' Elle optimistically pointed out. That was enough to stop Santa complaining, if there was ever anything he did his job for, it was the young of the world.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 10

Santa is Confused

Santa is an old man, you have to take into account that his kind can live for a very long time. Santa as we know him today has been doing his job for a few hundred years now. This means that Santa has seen a lot of change. 

He can remember putting King Henry the eighth on the naughty list (he did after all behead two of his wives) and the time that he gave the first teddy bear, just over a hundred years ago. Santa was very intrigued by the idea of a teddy bear then, but now he considers them a classic. One that is soon to be on it's way out, as once again times seem to be changing.

Because of how many children there are in the world, Santa has to give a lot of the work to his elves. But one job he has consistently done is the reading of his letters. This is so as to sort out his mail between requests for Christmas and other business. Once that's done, the elves take a look at the letters and list out the presents, so more elves can get to making the right amount of everything.

One day Elle was on duty with Santa as he was reading letters. Her task was to send the read letters to the elves from Santa. Elle was just about to leave the office with a stack of letters when Santa stopped her. 'Sorry Elle, hold on a moment. You're aware of the current tends and fashions aren't you?'

Elle looked back to Santa while still holding her stack of papers. 'Yeah I guess. Why'd you ask?'

'You might be able to make sense of this for me. I've got this letter here asking for what I can only assume is called a "fidget spinner". Elle blinked at Santa as she pondered, then she shrugged her shoulders. 'Oh well, thank you all the same.' Santa sent Elle on her way and decided he would have to use the Internet to find out what fidget spinner was. Poor Santa, he never liked having to use the Internet, he still didn't fully understand it!

Holy cow, I mentioned a fidget spinner? Perhaps it's time I went to see a doctor!

25 Santa Expressions | Day 9

Santa feels Bereft

Every year children await Christmas Day eagerly, each with a gift in mind that they have requested Santa to bring. Over the years a lot of young children have asked Santa for a pony, not the colourful plastic kind you'll find in toy shops, a real living pony. And just about every time, when a child has asked Santa for a pony, they are unfortunate. Elle decided it was time to get to the bottom of this.

Elle went up to Santa, who was jolly as ever, and she broke the ice. 'Santa, you know when all the kids ask for a pony but they don't get one? I was just wondering, only out of curiosity, what's the deal with that?' Elle noticed that over the course of her sentence, Santa had started to pout, a miserable pout. Elle realised she had plunged into something much deeper than she first thought.

Kindly she took Santa way for a private word and set up a therapy session. Santa lay down while Elle sat close to him, with a notebook and pen; she even put on a pair of glasses just to look the part. 'Okay, let's try some word association.' Elle began. 'I think you know how this works, I'll start with the word- pony.'

Santa immediately came out of his shell, in a flood of emotions he expressed a truth that was quite ironic. 'Why? I was such a good boy! I behaved extra good and I even took a writing class just so I could write you that letter in the most professional and polite manner possible!'

Elle leaned forward, and started to take notes. She felt sympathy for Santa as she started to take notes. 'I asked for world peace, an end to poverty, all other kinds of selfless things. But the one thing I asked for myself and you had the audacity not to grant that wish! One pony, that's all I wanted!' It was all clear to Elle now, Santa was the victim of his own design, the classic bully behaviour. Elle comforted Santa and when he was feeling better they went back to work, swearing not to speak a word of the session to anyone.

Some time later, Elle decided to track down the former Santa, who believe it or not was still alive and kicking! He was currently a master of golf, which you'd have to be very good at if you wanted to play at the North Pole. Elle found the former Santa and asked him about why the current Santa didn't give him a pony. 'Why? I was such a good boy!'

Elle sighed and rolled her eyes. 'Here we go again.' she thought to herself.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 8

Santa is Confident

When Santa makes his deliveries on the big night, he has to carry a lot of heavy sacks. Over the course of the year, while the elves are piling up the presents and sorting out the mail, Santa has his own personal objective to see to every day. This requires him to spend some hours in his private gym, keeping himself fit enough to lift those heavy sacks.

Elle is one of the elves who takes turns to assist him in the gym. On her first shift in the gym, she had to prepare a dummy sack, so Santa could practice the act of lifting and carrying. It took three elves to move the dummy sack out of storage. Santa was amused by this as he lifted weights. However Elle was rather concerned.

'Are you sure about this? I know you've got centuries of experience but I really don't think you're going to manage this sack.'

'Trust me, Elle.' Santa replied. 'I've got this in the bag, if you pardon the pun. I'm as fit as a fiddle and making myself a younger man every day!'

'I'm not sure if that's even possible.' Elle thought out loud. But to her surprise Santa managed alright. Elle couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of how easy Santa made it look. Clearly if he kept this up, he'd have no trouble when Christmas Eve next came around.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 7

Santa is Pouty

Every Christmas Eve, the citizens of the world eagerly await their visit from Santa in which he delivers gifts. As part of this tradition, the hosts will leave a few treats in gratitude of Santa and his efforts. For the reindeer, it is a bowl of milk and carrots usually. For Santa, it can vary from cookies and milk to his favourite, mince pies and a drink unattainable by the youth.

The Christmas deliveries are unsurprisingly stressful for Santa, but the treats he receives in each house make for an extra bit of motivation. If he had enough time, he would actually finish his treats. Elle is told that out of courtesy, Santa consumes as much of his treats as possible. However this act of kindness does have it's flaws. Without stating the obvious, Santa does struggle to fit up and down the chimney.

Elle decided to hold an intervention in Santa's office one day, regarding the matter. When Elle suggested Santa eats less of the mince pies, he definitely disliked the idea. Elle expected this, and confronted Santa as gently as possible about it.

'Hey, we're not saying not to have any! You'll still get your mince pies, just less of them.' Regardless, Santa started to sulk about it, in a manner ironically immature for someone hundreds of years old. 'Now don't pout your lips at me, this is for the best!'

Elle tried her best, but inevitably, Santa won the argument and so to this day will continue to eat as much of the mince pie as possible. Elle is considering joining him on his trips around the world to keep his dieting habits in check.

I've made it a week! Just two and a half times the amount to go, hope you are all enjoying this collection so far.

35 Santa Expressions | Day 6

Santa is Sarcastic

It's a busy life up at the North Pole. Like Santa, the elves work hard throughout the year to meet the needs of the children across the world. Now of course, if an elf has to take time off, it can be granted to them. This can be down to personal matters or injuries, but some elves can be rather naughty and try to take their time off for less important purposes.

Elle is rather new to her job and while keen, is still adjusting to the lifestyle of working as one of Santa's staff. Given that, Elle had made a request for some time off, which is rarely done by any elf. Santa was under the impression that something was wrong and so felt concern for the elf.

Now elves are rarely ill, because of this Santa is able to make some time to visit and elf in person when they are not at their best, to give them his best wishes. Elle hadn't provided an exact reason for her time off so Samta was also under the impression that whatever was wrong, must be really wrong.

When Santa arrived at Elle's home, he was surprised to find her fit as a fiddle and dressed for a special occasion! It wasn't a wedding, not an anniversary celebration, not an interview but a concert! Elle likes boy bands but has a rather soft spot for Backstrreet Elves.

'They're larger than life, Santa!' Elle explained. 'I just have to go and see them, they're playing at our local stadium for one night only!'

'Oh yes, those amazing boyish bands with their squeaky voices and meaningful lyrics that aren't an attempt to woo all of the young elves. That's definitely important enough to take time off work!' Elle did not approve of the sarcasm, but knew she was acting in the wrong. This didn't prevent her from preaching about her cause and a heated discussion followed.

The conflict was resolved between the two of them eventually. Elle was granted the night off to see Backstreet Elves, just so long as she got their signatures on a hat for Santa himself!

25 Santa Expressions | Day 5

Santa is Irritated

You probably wouldn't believe it, but that man who sits on the throne in your Santa's grotto indeed used to be Santa, back when there were less children in the world. Now that the population is so high, he has to hire people to fill in for him while he does all of the hard work. Of course if you asked Santa himself, he would probably tell you that serving the grottos was hard work.

Again you probably wouldn't believe it. All Santa has to do is sit on the chair and take note of whatever the children want, with the assistance of his elves. But to him, it was also a matter of grinning and bearing. Would you enjoy sitting in a shopping centre, constantly being watched by the passing people and spending the entire day listening to people? Santa wouldn't, not because of the children themselves but because he like to keep himself busy.

The grotto service is rather tedious but to Elle it was a real treat. She couldn't get enough of all of the young approaching their merry idol and being made hopeful promises. Plus she found it rather comical to be around people her size that weren't elves. One time she came across a young boy in a cap who was the same size as her, with two friends. One was a slightly taller girl with a questionable fashion sense and the other was a little video camera, walking and talking independently!

The young girl had just been given a present and left the grotto to wait for her friends. Elle let the young boy past the red line and smiled at the camera, which couldn't contain it's excitement as it started singing Christmassy jingles. Elle's attention was drawn to the young boy when she overheard his request.

'A moustache?' Santa repeated. The little boy responded chirpilly and nodded his head. 'Well I'm sure you'll get one. Just be patient and you'll find it very soon!' Santa promised before giving the young boy a gift and sending him on his way.

That Christmas the young boy got a pack of fake moustaches for Christmas, only more to add to his collection. That was a long time ago from now, we can only wonder whether or not that boy got the real deal.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 4

Santa is Fierce

One of the earliest signs that we get for the approach of Christmas is it's elaborate annual marketing. October barely finishes before the festive paraphernalia stocks up all of the seasonal shelves and more. A couple of weeks later the advertisements start broadcasting on the television. This year in particular, a rather big celebrity stole the spotlight of one of these adverts.

Santa questioned the script he had been given to work with from day one. He even considered walking but Elle, being her positive minded self, encouraged Santa to go along with it anyway. But what Elle never knew is that the director shooting for this advert wanted a more fierce approach from Santa. Santa doesn't really do fierce, at least not until now.

At last this side project was completed and Santa was able to return to his regular duties. But before it was all over for him, there was still the wait on seeing the finished result. Elle sneakily managed to bring a stool and some refreshments into the office just in time to see the production begin. Had you have been there, you would have noticed even Elle lose her smile as she watched alongside Santa, who indeed felt a cringe. It was an awkward silence after the advertisement was done before either of them could bring themselves to speak.

'Yeah, maybe you should have walked.'

'Maybe they should have stuck with the lorries.'

25 Santa Expressions | Day 3

Santa is Shocked

It had been a long day but it was almost over. Despite the amount of work that comes with being the Christmas icon that delivers gifts around the world, Santa still makes time for himself at the end of the day so he can properly unwind. Today would be no exception, that is until Santa returned home.

Santa would not wish to live without a fireplace, a real one at that. Perhaps it is the warmth and glow of the fire, or a convenience for him to excessive his chimney climbing skills. So like he would any day, Santa entered his lounge to have a nice sit down and watch the fire burn. But when he did, he discovered he had an uninvited guest. There was Elle, poking her head out from the fire place!

'Ho, Ho, holy smokes; get out of there!' cried Santa. Elle was at first rather disheartened that Santa did not improve of her taking after his own habits. However when Elle noticed Santa pointing at the fireplace rather than her head, she became suspicious. 

Now very few elves have actually been in Santa's home, so it's highly unlikely they know that he does not use electric lighting or heating. With that in mind, there is only place the heating could come from and only the warmth and glow from beneath Elle's neck, coupled with a rather high temperature getting closer to her own head from above, was enough to tell her where.

'Holy Crisp-mas!' yelped Elle as she flipped herself out from the fireplace. Santa helped put out her fire while she rolled around, luckily no harm was caused to anyone or thing; a Christmas miracle as Elle would put it. Elle was put in 'Elf and Safety' classes for a little while by orders of Santa, she didn't complain. Nor to this day has she attempted the same stunt again.

25 Santa Expressions | Day 2

Santa is Tired

Santa got quite a surprise on Elle's first day when he was woken up to his alarm clock ringing early! Elle believed that starting their day ahead of schedule would have made a good first impression, needless to say Santa did not agree. Elle has agreed not to start quite so early anymore.

Throughout her first days, there would still be a continuous ringing sound in Santa's head; he assumed he was haunted by his early morning. He soon found out from other elves, via complaints, that Elle had been carrying a clock of her own which she was using to keep to schedule. It's alarm would ring every so often to keep her in check, even though she'd be doing whatever the alarm was meant to remind her, prior to the ring itself!

After a quick word in the office, Elle agreed to sacrifice the alarm clock. It now sits in the office as an item of sentimentality, at least that's how Elle would put it. If you ever asked Santa, he'd tell you otherwise!

'So long that that clock sits in my office and it's cogs still, the North Pole can be kept safe from it!'

25 Santa Expressions | Day 1

Santa is Serious

With a whole world to supply gifts to and an ever expanding population of mankind, Santa often has to take on new staff. Today he interviews one of his potential employees, Elle. Elle is very keen for the job, it has been her dream to work for Santa as one of his elves since a young age.

'So Elle, where do you see yourself in five years time?' Santa asks his interviewee. Elle has waited a long time for this particular moment to provide a rather witty answer.

'Well I would normally say "doing your job" but holy cow, you've been on that chair since the eighth Henry!' There was no response from Santa regarding this unconventional response and the interview momentarily continued as normal.

A short time later, Elle was pleased to discover that she has been hired. Better than that, she would be working rather close to Santa, her dreams were coming true. Santa only hopes that Elle won't be too much for him to handle, only time will tell.

What's To Come This Month?

As you can imagine, I am providing you with an artistic advent calendar this month, in the form of the 25 Facial Expressions challenge. I will be drawing 25 expressions of Santa, who will be accompanied by my eleven OC, Elle. I hope you enjoy their journey, right up to Christmas Day.

After this, there will be two more pieces uploaded the week following Christmas, and then in January a new normality will resume. As for the Alphabet Challenge, I originally intended to post Y and Z this month, but they will instead be done in the month and posted in January where in just over a year the challenge will be completed.

For those of you wishing to stay along for this festive journey, thank you. Stay merry, and look forward to tomorrow's entry!

The Alphabet Challenge | X

X is for XJ9 'Jenny Wakeman'

Nickelodeon's slightly less famous comparative to The PowerPuff Girls, 'My Life As A Teenage Robot' starred one robot girl, XJ9 who prefers to be called Jenny. I watched most of the third season since I discovered the show after it's time but it definitely appealed to me, especially the artistic aspect. I was originally going to be putting Xever Montez (Fishface) in this challenge but since I had Master Splinter for s, there was little point in adding another TMNT character.

I spent a day sketching Jenny Wakeman, making sure I got her proportions correct and making note of her colour scheme, a simple but effective choice. Most of the sketching was towards deciding on a pose for her to take. I've realised the beauty of making this amount of sketches prior to the actual entry, as now my poses are becoming more dynamic and the the poses used are the best of what I can come up with. In the end I actually merged two of my sketches to cease the Jenny you see in my final piece.

And now for the sad news. So I used watercolour pencil on this piece, which is fine. However to try and stay closer to home with the official style, I used a coloured pen for the outline, of which I only have in the form of pens not conventionally designed for art. The result is that the watercolour bled in most places. It was too late for me once I started, I had to apply water to the who,e thing and hope for the best. Luckily little damage was done and I was able to use my white pen to correct the first oils takes, these being in the mouth and one of her fingers. I leave the rest down to just being a case of wear and tear in her battles, perhaps it's been a busy day.

Only two more entries left for the Alphabet Challenge, to find out when you will be seeing those entries, check my post on the first of December, where I will include a section regarding what's to come over the next few months.

Have you seen the letter W? If not you can check it out via my page for the 'Alphabet Challenge' as well as previous entries. Look out for Y coming soon!