Spectator Christmas Issue

In the UK, they love a Christmas Special, and The Spectator Australia continues the tradition with the annual Double Christmas Issue - which runs for two weeks over the festive season, and hits the stands tomorrow.

Isn't this a lovely scene? Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott enjoy a nice Christmas Turkey at the end of a tough political year. Still, they both survived, didn't they? (And isn't it nice that Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd are helping out with the carving duties!)

A Quick Process

I had a lot of fun with this one. The editor suggested the idea and I naturally embellished it with a few more side gags. But I still felt compelled to offer a couple more ideas in the form of thumbnails (Santa with a sackful of politicians and Mr Clause whipping his pollie reindeer as he delivers presents). In the end, we reverted to the original concept, which I was very happy about - I knew it would make an interesting cover.

So, with the first thumbnail approved, I move on to the more polished sketch:

And then ink and colour, to final art:

Thanks for stopping by!

Anton