For four years in a row, I have had the pleasure of creating a digital Christmas card for the company Purive. In the first year, it was still an animation; see Digital Christmas card (1) in my portfolio for a detailed description. A year later, it was decided to create only an illustration, because the animation was not opened by many customers. And now it has become a regular event for me in November/December to create a nice Christmas illustration.
The commission
The company Purive usually contacts me at the end of November/beginning of December to create a digital Christmas card, which they send to their customers as a nice Christmas greeting via email or WhatsApp. Purive is a Dutch interim management and consultancy agency in the industrial sector.
I often already have an idea in my head about what the card will look like, and I present that to the customer. Three years ago, the idea was a house where you could look inside and see a beautifully decorated table and other Christmas decorations. The following year, my idea was an entire street in the Christmas spirit. And this year, it was a charming Christmas market.
Depending on how much time is left and how much time I have myself, we will determine how quickly I can deliver the final product. This can be anywhere from one to three weeks.
The approach
The process for creating a digital illustration is always the same for me. I research the subject, create a composition, and send an example to the customer for two or three rounds of feedback.
With the initial idea in mind, I start looking for inspiration, mainly on the website freepik.com. Here you can download illustrations for free (with reference to the website). I look at which illustrations fit my idea and which ones have a similar style. Then I create a mood board combining the illustrations that appeal to me. This is what I will use as the basis for my own illustration.
Then I start drawing parts of the Christmas card. I use the Procreate app on my iPad for this. I create my own composition based on the examples from the mood board. I first make this as a line drawing without colour.
After a few days, I send a first impression of the card to the customer for feedback. Below you can see the first versions of the illustrations from the past three years.
Next, I work on the Christmas card in colour. I give the elements in the illustration some depth by adding light effects and shading. I also reuse items from previous years’ Christmas cards, such as the Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations. In this way, I build up my own library of Christmas elements. I add all kinds of new elements as well.
After a few more days, I send the second version to the customer. Below are examples from 2024 and 2025.
The card is becoming increasingly detailed and will include a Christmas greeting as well as the logo. In the 2025 card, I added people for the first time. This makes the card a bit more lively. I didn’t draw these people myself (it’s not my cup of tea), I got them from the website freepik.com and incorporated them into the card.
When the deadline approaches and I am satisfied with the illustration, I send it to the customer as the final version for a last round of feedback.
The result
Below you can see the final result of the Christmas cards from previous years. I feel that there is increasing cohesion between the elements on the card through the years. I also enjoy reusing elements from previous years and incorporate them in another way.
Are you interested in a digital illustration created by me? Please let me know via the contact form or give me a call.
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