Retro Gothic Skull Nutcracker

Create ONE original retro gothic Christmas merchandise illustration featuring a classic wooden Nutcracker toy whose face is an ivory human skull. The skull must be structurally integrated into the Nutcracker—not a separate skull, mask, or decoration. Its exposed upper and lower teeth form the actual nut-cracking mouth. Show the lower jaw attached with clear hinges at both sides of the skull. Place one walnut between the back teeth so the function is immediately understandable. Add a visible bone-shaped operating lever extending from the back of the Nutcracker’s head. The lever must look mechanically connected to the hinged lower jaw so pressing it would open and close the skull’s mouth. Use a three-quarter side view that clearly shows the skull face, hinged jaw, walnut, and rear bone lever. Give the character a recognizable traditional Nutcracker body with a tall military-style hat, structured jacket, shoulder epaulettes, fitted trousers, and boots. Make the mood clever, spooky, slightly mischievous, and darkly festive—but not bloody, gruesome, or realistic horror. STYLE: vintage tattoo flash blended with distressed retro Christmas merchandise art. Strong centered silhouette, bold clean outlines, limited colors, balanced negative space, crisp readable mechanical details, and screen-print-friendly shapes. PALETTE: aged ivory skull, near black, deep evergreen, dark wine red, and antique gold. Colors should contrast clearly on black and deep navy T-shirts. TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND. Isolated artwork only. NO TEXT. No scenery, rectangular backdrop, decorative frame, additional skulls, floating bones, blood, gore, flesh, weapons, brand logo, copyrighted character, celebrity likeness, watermark, pseudo-text, or unintended letters. No deformed jaw, duplicated teeth, extra limbs, or hidden lever. The hinged skull jaw and bone-shaped lever must remain the central visual idea.