[5th Day of GIFmas] Saint Hoax Remixes The Weeknd's Hair

The holidays are upon us and 2016 is nipping at our heels. The only decision harder than what gift to get your grandmother is what GIF to attach to inter-office emails and Slack threads. We've gathered some of the most festive GIF artists on the net for a series called 12 Days of GIFmas. We'll shine a red and green spotlight on the creative process behind these shareable bites of holiday cheer.

Forget Bing Crosby, the real musical icon of the holidays is Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd. "Did he just put out the hottest holiday single of the century?" I hear you ask. No. Then why has he earned this place as spokesman for the GIFmas season? Saint Hoax—the pseudononymous GIF artist and Photoshop fiend who revitalized the Disney Princess meme and mastered the celebrity gender swaps—has used his magic to transform Tesfaye's eccentric hairdo into a festive tree, ornaments and all.

We talked to Saint Hoax about the process behind his Christmas transmogrification and what he's doing for the holidays.

A video posted by Saint Hoax (@sainthoax) on Dec 13, 2015 at 9:38am PST

Where did the idea for this GIF come from?

I was actually putting up my Christmas decoration. Besides the main Christmas tree, I had small ones to put around the house. As a joke I wore one on my head and I pretended I was Abel from the Weeknd. My friends found it extremely funny, so I decided to turn it into a GIF/video.

Run me through the process of creating this GIF. What tools/techniques did you use?

First I had to find the right picture. I was looking for a frontal picture where he's smiling. That was kind of hard to find since he doesn't smile much. Then I started adding layers of hair on top of his head. Finally, I added the Christmas decoration. After the entire image was complete, I started animating it. I work on Photoshop.

A video posted by Saint Hoax (@sainthoax) on Dec 22, 2015 at 9:07am PST

What kind of stuff do you have planned for the New Year?

I'm working on a lot of fun collaborations.

How are you celebrating the holidays?

I'm flying home to spend it with family and friends.

A photo posted by Saint Hoax (@sainthoax) on Dec 21, 2015 at 9:01am PST

See more of Saint Hoax's work on his website and Instagram.

Related:

[3rd Day of GIFmas] Have Yourself a Twisted Little Christmas

[2nd Day of GIFmas] A Very Snarky Christmas

[1st Day of GIFmas] Watch Santa Kick it Poolside