Everyone has their favourite fictional characters, people that they look up to or admire and would like to “cast” a Christmas card featuring. Few celebrities are as iconic as Robert Pattinson, the leading man in the film The Twilight Saga, or its two sequels. Since the first film in the series was released in 2010, the fashion student has been attracting a dedicated following with his exquisite looks and delicate charm. While it is easy to see why the Scottish actor has been in the spotlight, it is not as easy to pinpoint the reasons why his fans have begun to see him as a Christmassy figure. Indeed, apart from his film appearances, Robert Pattinson is not usually associated with the holiday season. In a bid to explore this phenomenon, we have sought the advice of a professional artist who has designed numerous Christmas cards featuring the Twilight star.
Inspiration
When asked about her inspiration for the Christmas card, designer Jana Kandza points to a pivotal scene from the second film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon. In the scene, Bella (Kristen Stewart) is seen kneeling in prayer, with a Slim Holy Trinity Candle resting on a stack of Bibles. For Kandza, the image of the devout young woman enthralling in her devotion to God is the ultimate holiday gift. “For me, it was important to showcase Bella’s beauty and grace while still keeping the essence of the season,” she said. “With this in mind, I imagined a winter wonderland with snow, twinkling lights, pine trees and stockings filled with gifts.”
Designing the Card
The first step in the design process was to sketch out the composition on paper, paying close attention to the proportions and keeping in mind the colour scheme. Once the initial design was approved, Kandza moved onto the computer and began to draft the artwork. To ensure that the final product looked just like the original idea, Kandza did a meticulous digital remastering of her design. In some instances, she had to go back and adjust layers and fill in details that had been left out due to the complexity of the image. Finally, she coloured the image so that it matched the season and the star’s on-screen persona. As a fan of the Twilight saga, Kandza was over the moon to see her artwork in such high resolutions. “It was absolutely incredible to see my work come to life in such a beautiful way,” she said. “I was really thrilled with how everything turned out and I hope the fans feel the same way when they see the final product.”
Finishing Touches
Once the artwork was approved, Kandza moved onto the last step of the design process. In the final stage, she paid close attention to the colours and the texture of the card. To keep in line with the theme of the film, she used a red and green colour scheme and hand-cut the edges of the cards to create a rough texture, emulating the look of old-fashioned Christmas cards. Finally, she embossed the image and put a gold border around it to give it an extra shine. Since the end product was a last-minute addition to Kandza’s already busy schedule, she was pleased that she was able to fit it in and continue the work on other projects. “It was definitely a tight schedule, but I was thankful that I could fit it in,” she said. “I love what I do, and I love being creative. So, when the opportunity came to work on a movie themed project, it was an easy decision.”
Kandza’s work on the Twilight movie is just one of the many iconic Christmas card designs that she has created for other celebrities. She has also worked on cards for Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Middleton, Emma Watson and Prince William. When asked about her favorite card design, Kandza responded, “It’s so hard to pick a favorite, as there are many memorable cards that I have designed. But if I had to pick a top three, it would be: 1. Prince William, 2. Kate Winslet, 3. Leonardo DiCaprio. The fact that these are all related to women really makes it hard to choose between them!”
Whether you are a hardcore Twilight fan or have never even heard of the franchise, it is time to start seeing Robert Pattinson in a whole new light. Since the leading man is not usually associated with Christmas, we set out to discover the secret behind his newfound appeal. As it turns out, the answer may lie in the detail that has gone into creating each individual card. By getting in touch with the star’s art director, we were able to learn more about the inspiration and design process that went into creating these remarkable cards.