This is one of a three part set that I drew back in November 2023. The prompt was to draw three pictures that, in theme and appearance, could be recognized as part of the same made-up Christmas Card box set. So I chose the idea of Christmas Carols to be the uniting thread of my cards. (Which I thought was pretty clever since both the carols and cards are celebrating the same blessed merry season! 
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It was challenging but fun! I had a monthâs time to finish it, with set goals for each of the four weeks: line-art, color, rendering, and detail. The idea was to progress all three pictures at once. (All of this during the month before Christmas no less! 
). Needless to say, the project definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone, as I had to do some first time tackling of the basic things that go into both an âoriginalâ picture and a set theme.
While overall Iâm happy with how they turned out - I think my favorite part of the project was the idea of creating a Christmas Card theme. I really enjoyed creating the template! I loved the idea of the unity and variety that a set must have. I knew I wanted each card to have:
- The Carolâs title
- Its sheet of music backdrop (public domain music carefully copied btw
) - A featured verse
- A colored sketch âsceneâ from the song
- A â3Dâ object/token to represent the carol
As a concept, I find myself unusually excited by the idea of a Christmas Carol Card set! (Not to be confused with Dickenâs A Christmas Carol as a card series. AlthoughâŚ
)
My tangent brainstorm on Dickenâs âA Christmas Carolâ Christmas Card set
Ok! If I was designing it, Iâd have each card center on a specific character. They would be the featured and most rendered object. Then youâd have a BKG sketch of a recognizable scene with them in it. And lastly, Iâd have a featured quote either of or from the Character. (The quote might need to be on the inside of the card⌠since, being Dickenâs, it would probably be a good length 
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You know, on second thought⌠maybe have the sketch of the character be inside the card with their respective quote. You know, the inner left hand side. Leave the front cover of the card as a festive illustration based on different scenes from the book. Probably the front page text for the cards would be a variety of some seasonal greeting akin to the style of Dickens. Eg. âA Very Mery Christmas to you!â âGod bless us, everyone!â âTis the Season of Good Cheer!â âGod rest ye merry Gentlemen!â
Off the cuff, for quote/character pairupsâŚ
[of] Scrooge: âAnd it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well⌠may that truly be said of us and all of usâ.
Nephew Fred: âThough its never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that Christmas has done me good and will do me good; and I say God bless it!â
Bob Cratchet: âHe hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, Who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.â
Tiny Tim: âGod bless us, everyone!â
Of course, I picked out the easy ones (esp the last guy ) - so I admit the whole project would take some more cogitating . The idea just sparked my imagination, I guess. Would have to make sure that the layout stayed true to a Christmas Card feel and not a Trading Card. (Hence, moving the character sketch to the inside of the card - like an accent/decoration piece)
Feel free to share if you have any thoughts on this idea!
Anyway, almost like collectibles, the Carol boxed set would give the allurement of familiar and unknown. Itâs like: âYou know the song, but what verse will it be? What object would you choose?â
Hope you all enjoy the idea at least as much as I do!
In fact, posting this now is making me toy with the idea of a personal challenge: try to make a new card each Christmas to add to the set. Just for fun.
The WIP! 
I think the only thing I miss that I ended up changing was the BKG sheet music being tilted in the earlier versions. I might have been able to leave it that way, but at the end of the day I felt the song title should be straight - hence the need to rotate the music with it. Also⌠the framing for the whole card was supposed to give an old piece of paper feel - and the tilted music would have been out of whack with the vertical frame format. But! I still enjoy the tilt look 
And here is my finished, virtual Christmas Card set! (The 3D mockup template was provided by the site hosting the challenge - Thanks, Paintable.cc ! )