Swansons’ Reindeer



12/17/12 Black Velvet ink, Zig, Hand Book sketchbook

What’s up with “eight tiny reindeer”?

 

Any time I’ve seen Santa’s reindeer on TV or in books, they look like dainty Bambis gracefully hoofing the air. If the resident reindeer at Swansons Nursery are any indication, the team would look more like a small herd of stampeding cattle than Bambis. Dasher and Blitzen are huge, and so are their antlers. I started sketching Blitzen five times at the wrong scale, unable to fit his antlers on the page. Fortunately for me, he spent most of my visit chewing hay and dozing, not flying, so on my sixth try I finally got the scale right.



12/17/12 Black Velvet ink



12/17/12 Private Reserve Black Velvet ink, Zig markers