Christmas Newsletter Illustration, 2024

Deciding on what exactly to do this year proved a difficult decision for me. In years gone by the imagery flowed with greater ease, or I already had an image waiting in the wings. Starting around Thanksgiving, after mulling it over for a couple weeks, or so, I finally decided on sharing something that goes well beyond the Christian mainstream. A concept that is alluded to briefly in the Bible, that has an expanded meaning due in no small part to the Book of Mormon and modern prophetic revelation. This Christ centered idea of the Tree of Life is deeply meaningful to me and my family. Every Christmas, not only do I share the story of the nativity, but I also include Nephi's vision of the Tree of Life and its meaning. The ideas engendered in his vision of our Lord and the Tree have become inseparably welded into my heart and mind whenever I see a Christmas tree. For me the Christmas tree is a symbolic representation of the Tree of Life pointing us to God through the living Messiah, even Jesus Christ.

The first part of this post will be about the process and tools I used to create the illustration. If you are willing to stick around, the second half will be a more in-depth explanation of the meaning behind the illustration.

Maddy

Stats: 

Canvas size: 4200x3300 pixels

Brush: Custom-made paint brush (Krita RGBa)

Program: Krita 

Reference: Multiple

Earlier in the summer one of my cousin's daughters (Maddy) tragically sought to take her own life. Doctors fought to keep her with us. Many prayers were raised to the God of the universe. After all of this, God took her home and she passed out of this life. I would describe what led up to this, but her mother gives a far better description of Maddy's life and some of the struggles she endured that led to the series of events that resulted in her passing. You can read about that on her blog here.

I will only say this much about the passing of Maddy: As is the case with all of Heavenly Father's children, she was subject to all the vicissitudes of this life. That included her DNA, her circumstances and the choices she made. She was an incredibly complex beautiful soul. I am in no way qualified to judge her. Nor do I judge God as to why she was taken from us so young. His will be done in all things, and I have no doubt Maddy is safe and loved beyond anything we can comprehend in this life. When it comes down to it that is core reason for my attempt to illustrate Maddy in the arms of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. His love and power are infinite. God the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit have never let me down; they will take care of her and be there with her on her eternal journey.

The following is a glimpse into the process and struggles I experienced in digitally painting this illustration. Read on if you would like to know more

March Deseret News graphics in review

Here, again, is my top 10 picks for graphics done for the Deseret News for the month of March. Enjoy!

1. Big business verses local business

This graphic shows starkly how local chains stack up against national chains in how much money is recycled back into local economies. Couldnt find this story online, which leads me to believe it was only published in print. Sorry 

2. Timeline on depictions of Christ in media

I found this interesting for how many different ways in which the Master is depicted in our culture. Obviously some more accurate than others. Her is link to the story by Deseret news writer Mark A. Kelner.

3. Orthodox Jews are stalwarts

This is one of those rare times in which I was able to incorporate a visual element of the story into a graphic in a practical and pleasing way. This is a great faith-promoting story by Kelsey Dallas for the Deseret News

4. We still want better and bigger things

This really shouldn't come as a surprise to any of us. Who doesn't want to improve their quality of life? I certainly do. But where does too much become too much, and too big become too big? This is a Great story on Money and happiness by Lane Anderson for the Deseret News

5. Print! Its Alive, Alive!

Had fun with this graphic. Though perhaps a little cluttered. This is perhaps proof that books, you know, those dead tree sheets you can hold in your hands and read from, might be around for a very long time.

6. Fun Layout

Yes, I know it promotes Disney, but I had fun doing a small cutout of this air surfing whelp from Disney's Treasure planet. This is still one of my favorite Disney films from the early 2000s. Overall I think the layout turned out quite well.

7. Low pay in Salt Lake for sitters

I am not terribly surprised by this. Freelance work in general, is lower in Utah than the national average. Is this a result of savvy business dealings or just plain cheapness? I have no idea. Here is the link to the story by Matthew Jelalian for the Deseret News.

8. Death for those who deserve it, still favored in America

This graphic was published in an article that focuses on the 6th commandment. This and other articles are part of a series on the Ten commandments and what they mean to us in modern society. This article was written by Eric Schulzke.

9. Single parenting

One of the greatest indicators, in my opinion, of a failing society is how many children grow up in a single-parent household. I have personally seen how much more difficult it was for children to grow up without a father in the home. At best many turned out OK, at worst many go off to prison or worse. While  father is no guarantee that a child will make all the right choices, fathers are an undeniable stabilizing force for boys and girls. This transfers into the greater society. This is the link to the story by Lois M. Collins

10. Making babies better through genetics

Is it morally right to genetically alter babies? As medical technology and processes advance this question will need to be answered. Being a Star Trek fan I can't help but wonder if genetic manipulation could be used to create super-humans (Star Trek II, Star Trek: Into Darkness). Would said super-humans seek to eliminate who they deem unsuitable to continue the human race. Who knows. Here is the article by Kelsey Dallas.

Here is the rest of March Graphics. Enjoy!

Views of Conference Center spread

The week after General conference is an incredibly busy time for the staff of the Church and myself. We are tasked with producing a 24 page version of LDS Church News, covering all talks given by General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

A little vacation from all the text

Most of the pages are quite templated, having only a single mug, and maybe an additional photo. As you can imagine this becomes very boring and monotonous. Therefore putting together what you see above is refreshing. It represents a pleasant break from the text heaviness of the publication. 

Love the children

Another aspect of this I find enjoyable is incorporating children into the layout. As you can see I enjoy putting any photos of children front and center.

First man to speak in his native language

One other unique item to this layout is the inclusion of the first Authority to speak in his native language over the pulpit. Yes, this will just be a blip in the grand scheme of historical things. But I am a part of documenting that one blip. I find that hugely satisfying. Here is a link to an article in the Deseret News if you are interested in knowing more about the first man to speak at conference in a foreign language.

The important aspect of Columbus you weren't taught in school

Today is Columbus day. This year I had the opportunity at the Deseret News to produce a News in Education page about the man. In school they taught about how he "discovered America." But this statement is narrow and deceptive. As a child I didn't think much of this statement. As with pretty much all history, children place the importance of such things pretty low on their list of important things. I was no different. As a teen I began thinking of the import of Columbus coming to the Americas a bit more. Again, no truly in-depth thought or study of Columbus occurred until I took on this NIE page.

As a Latter-Day Saint, an additional element to the importance of Columbus coming to the New world is found in The Book of Mormon. According to revelation given to a prophet, 600 years before the birth of Christ, Columbus was moved upon by the spirit to make his journey. I quote the scripture here:

1 Nephi 13:12

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

According to Firsthand accounts, as well as what can be drawn from his own writings, Columbus was an incredibly devout Christian. He believed unwaveringly that he had been moved upon by the spirit to seek out a new way to the West Indies. He sought tenaciously for support for an expedition because of being moved upon by the Spirit of God. I believe this. If you are interested in a more in-depth description of Columbus and his voyage please read this article published in the Ensign in 1992. The Author talks about the practical challenges, as well as the spiritual aspects of Columbus' voyages.

As for me I have a new-found respect for the man. He was by no means perfect. He lived in a barbaric time full of superstition and extreme antisemitism. He had to deal with Monarchs that held the keys to his even going on the voyage. Later in life he was branded a crazy man for believing that God had impressed upon him such a strong desire to go. Many in his day, and today discount the things he wrote about his spirituality.

A box kite and a little faith

Last Wednesday I met with our local Scout troop. For about an hour we assembled a simple box kite. In preparing to show the Scouts how to do this I had to find a simple design. I found a tutorial on a site called MyBestKite.com. Looking over the instructions for this, I realized they were way to convoluted to share directly with the boys. I decided to simplify the instructions substantially by creating a single page with images and diagrams. The rest would come from me, verbally telling them what to do.

Blender 3D

I created the below images in about 30 minutes using Blender 3D. Of all the Open Software I have ever used, this is by far the most polished and developed. The sheer scope of the capabilities of this program are amazing. I have barely scratched the surface of what I can actually do with it.