What a year this has been. Like, it wouldn't surprise us if an asteroid was heading our way or a zombie apocalypse happened right now. Which is why I wanted to end this year on a hopeful note. I didn't want to give in to those annoying feelings that made me question my sanity or purpose. We could all use some extra joy and hope this year.
As the advent season begins, I thought this would be a good day to kick off the countdown to the day of all hopeful days.
We never had those fun advent calendars kids these days have - a little lego or candy a day. It's nice to have something to look forward to. A Shark advent calendar is just what I needed to give me something to look forward to - at least for the next four weeks.
This year, I wanted to include a few Tropical themed Christmas scenes as well because many of us live in places that don't get snow or have cold winters (and yet our Christmas decor is all about reindeer and snowflakes).
Here's to a hope-filled season ahead.
Posted on Day 8, December 6th 2020 - A Nurse and a Sturgeon message. I've been wanting to do a pandemic message with a nurse shark and a sturgeon for a couple of months and finally got around to it. The holiday season is a tempting time to forget safety measures but let's not forget that the coronavirus is still around. Keep safe and have a wonderful season!
Christmas Collaboration Cut-out crafts with Sharktopia! Download the page here.
Day 1, 29th November 2020: Christmas time at the beach
Day 2, 30th November 2020: Shark in a Christmas Stocking
Day 3, December 1st 2020: Sleigh ride
Day 4, December 2nd 2020: Clash of the carols
Day 5, December 3rd 2020: Nothing like Hot Chocolate
Day 6, December 4th 2020: Sharky Christmas Ornament
Day 7, December 5th 2020: Christmas Banister Slide
Day 9, December 7th 2020: Sand Angel Shark
Day 10, December 8th 2020: Singin' in the snow (modified from my Singin' in the rain one)
Day 11, December 9th 2020: Lending a helping tail
Day 12, December 10th 2020: Snow Shark
I'm traveling for a few days but will do my best to keep posting.
Day 13, December 11th 2020: Sand Shark
(I should've posted this one first because I got a few "what about warm countries?" in response to the snow shark :D)
Day 14, December 12th: Mmmmulled wine!
Day 15, December 13th: Catching snowflakes
I'm afraid it had to be a simple and quick drawing for today because I'm traveling but still wanted to try and not miss a day. This particular idea wasn't even on my list!
Day 16, December 14th: Cookies and milk (sorry, Santa!)
I like how the cookiecutter sharks ((Isistius brasiliensis) turned out. Deep sea sharks are not the easiest to draw! The "generic-looking" shark is the milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus).
No. 17, December 18th: Happy, Happy, Happy Christmas!
I've been wanting to do something with Happy Eddie and Happy Chappie for a while. I didn't want Pretty Happy to be left out. They're shysharks.
I missed a few days because I was traveling. I hope to catch up though.
No. 18, December 19th: And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet
"Auld lang syne" is one of my favourite tunes and the lyrics always make me feel nostalgic.
No. 19, December 20th: A Wonderful Life
When I did the "sharktivity" series earlier this year, someone had asked me to do a shark in a biology lab. I didn't get to do it then but I wanted to do it before this year ended. This is also a shout-out to all who worked so hard this year to find a covid-19 vaccine and I really hope that the vaccine is highly successful and that life can go back to being wonderful. And that this time round, we'll appreciate it better.
No. 20, December 21st 2020: Peace on Earth
No. 21, December 22nd 2020: Joy to the world
It's not the most joyful of Christmases this year for many across the world. I didn't even feel like captioning it this. But we need to hold on to something, preferably something good. Christmas is a reminder that all is not lost. May you be filled with hope, joy and peace this Christmas and in the coming year.
No.22, December 23rd 2020: May your days be merry and bright!
This didn't actually start off as an ugly sweater drawing. I'd originally intended it to be a "White Christmas" one because the sharks are all some sort of "white" sharks.
L to R: Whitenose Shark, Whitetip reef shark, White Shark, Oceanic Whitetip, White-bodied catshark.
PS - It's really hard to draw ugly sweaters!
No. 23, December 24th 2020: Tidings of comfort and joy
It was extremely difficult to draw anything for today because there's just been a stream of terrible news all around. But I guess I needed this - something comforting and joyful to focus on. It's Christmas Eve. Soon it will be Christmas.
No. 24, December 25th 2020: A new and glorious morn
This was actually the first drawing I'd done in this series but it made most sense to post it on Christmas Day. It's a line from one of my favourite Christmas songs, "O Holy Night". What better way to conclude a series with the theme of "hope".
