Space Santa : Sketchbookin'

Sometimes an idea grabs me, and for no rational reason, I become obsessed with it. It's the nature of the artist, I guess, to be drawn into an idea and explore it--even if the subject at hand or task is of questionable value.

And so it has become with Space Santa. Meant only to be a sketch study, the idea's pulled me in. I don't anticipate having the time to flesh it out completely, so there may not be a final. We'll see.

Space Santa is not the soft old man he's sometimes portrayed to be, but a guy who lives in the raw pioneer scrabble of space. He's strong. Capable. Someone you want on your side. Therefore, some of these Santas look mean. (As was pointed out on Facebook.) The goal is to make him fit the description above.

They are presented in the order they were drawn, so here's some of my journey as I explore this idea.

(click to embiggen)