In creating this image, I used Poser Pro 2014, Gimp, Blender, and VUE 2015.  The main scene was created and rendered in Poser; Gimp was used for a lot of compositing postwork, as well as for doing the hair.  Blender was used in creating a few props, particularly his shirt.  The mistletoe was rendered in VUE and then postworked into the other image.

What inspired me?  I was inspired to do this image by an old photograph; the pose in my image is the same as in the photo.  It was not originally going to be a winter themed image, but when the contest was announced I couldn't resist.  It took me a while to find some "real" mistletoe, but I finally found a freebie mistletoe plant on cornucopia3d.

How long did it take?  Well, the contest was announced around the middle of November, and I've been working pretty much non-stop since then, so I guess it has taken around two weeks.  Most of that time, though, was spent in rendering and re-rendering to get the lighting right.  I spent quite a bit of time before the contest started, though modelling his shirt, so I think it is pretty safe to say I spent about two weeks on this.  I can't believe I was actually satisfied with my image before the last minute... usually I just barely make deadlines.  

Anyway, hope you like this; I certainly had fun putting it together.