Since Christmas is coming so I thought it's good time to make a related project for Christmas. My initial plan was to make a PCB X-Mas Tree. So I did a little bit of research and turned out that many creators already made some cool looking PCB trees. So I ditched that idea and go for the complex one. So the next thing comes into mind is Santa Claus. But there was a problem. Santa is a character, therefore it's shape is more complicated as compare to a tree.

Also I don't want to make just the outlines I want some details on it. So I started trying different methods and techniques just to make it as perfect as it can be. But as you know in a PCB you're limited to only a few color and gradient options. So After trying and failing for several hours I finally able to make it just like I wanted it to be.

Original Image:

PCB Version:

Now I don't want it to be just a image on a PCB I want some Electronics on it.

So I put some 3mm LEDs on the Backpack and on the Eyes because that looks cool! The circuit is driven by a 555 timer Ic and a CD4017 IC to make the random blinking effect. there's two pads on the bottom for connecting power supply.

After doing some more tweaking, Final Deisgn looks like this:

Now soldering the components is a little bit tricky, since most of the top part of the PCB covered with copper for detailing. So there's no place left for THT ICs and I don't have smd versions of CD4017 & NE555 ICs so I made SMD-THT hybrid footprints for the ICs. First you need to bend the legs of the ICs like this

and then you can continue soldering. this will be a fun experience.

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