Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Dr. Light

This is the 11th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Dr. Light is my favorite DC hero from Japan. Kimiyo Hoshi is not only a brilliant scientist, but a superhero and a single mother. The fact the she is a mother as well as a superhero reminds me of the many women that I grew up around and even worked with who were mothers and also in the military. Like those women, Dr. Light espouses that saving the world is also saving her children. She is a powerful member of the Justice League who can absorb and project light(including light energy beams), fly, create holograms, and even make hard light constructs. She's incredibly powerful, and I wish that she was used more often. In recent comics, she seems to be American, rather than from Japan, or at least lives in America, having been previously married to the villainous male Dr. Light.

In designing a look for her, I wanted to incorporate both of her looks. He original look was a black and white costume. In the 90's, her costume became white and yellow. In my opinion, there aren't many interesting costumes with only two colors. I like to use black, white, and yellow when I depict Dr. Light. In lieu of her wearing a cape, I opted to give her a wrap and a lovely back-skirt. For her facial features, I used Japanese actor, model and singer, Ueto Aya, as my inspiration.

With the recent violent and murderous bigotry that Asian Americans are facing, I hope DC Comics uses this version of Dr. Light more in their stories (check out the recent Generations Lost & Generations Found comics). #StopAAPIHate I also hope she appears in the DC Asian Pacific Spotlight special issue coming in May.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Dr. Light" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Dr. Light ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Isis

This is the 10th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

There are very few Muslim heroes in the DC Universe, and even fewer of them appear on any sort of regular basis. One of my favorites, is Isis, Adrianna Tomaz, whom I really enjoyed in the 52 series. She had strength, flight, speed, toughness, and could control the weather, the earth, and nature. Pretty powerful, yet she still mangaed to get fridged in that story, and then it was terrible story after terrible story about her coming back to life and being a corrupted version of herself. I am willing to bet that if her stories were written by women of color, they wouldn't have gone that way. Fortunately, the TV series Legends of Tomorrow, gave us a new version of Isis in Zari Tomaz, who commanded wind powers via an amulet that looked like the one Isis wears. Zari was vocal and proud about her Muslim faith and a really great character. I liked that her powers were divorced of Black Adam's involvement, and that she was able to stand on her own without his character. My ideal Isis is a combination of the two.

For her depiction, I wanted to visually honor Muslim beliefs. Whether Adriana Tomaz is Muslim or not (I think it's pretty darn likely that she was), it's hard to think that her character would travel throughout the Middle East helping others dressed like she was in the 52 series with the bare midriff and short skirt, especially while Black Adam is fully clothed below the neck. It's a very unequal visual pairing. It's rumored that Sarah Shahi will be playing Isis in the upcoming Black Adam movie, and if that's they case, I'd love to see her costumed to something more like this design, you know, minus the face mask. Visually, she is one of my favorites in this series.
 
Thank you for taking the time to experience my work here!
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Isis" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Isis ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Batgirl

This is the 9th entry that I've posted in this series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Batgirl is Barbara Gordon, daughter of Police Commissioner James Gordon, a gymnast, tech whiz and gifted with an eidetic memory, Barbara Gordon became Batgirl out of the desire to do GOOD in the world and for her city. Modeling a costume off of Batman, she set out on her own to fight crime. Batgirl traditionally wears a cowl, which doesn't translate well into formal wear. As of late, she's had an odd pair of bat ears just sticking out of her hair. It's a look I detest, in fact. At least for Batgirl. Instead, I opted to dress for Barbara Gordon, giving her Batgirl elements in the colors and bat smybols. I was hugely inspired by amazing artist and clothing & jewelry designer - and style icon - Stephanie Buscema(you really should check out her work at www.kitschywitchdesigns.com) with her hair and glasses. I wanted to give Barbara a hip look using some retro elements. I couldn't bring myself to use scalloped edges, mimicking Batgirl's cape, or to even use a cape, but I did go with a batwing sleeve design...which would be more noticable if her arms were lifted. *sigh* I also really like taking style elements from different eras, and mixing them together, all with a modern spin on them.

Thanks for taking the time to enjoy my work!
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Batgirl" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Batgirl ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Supergirl

This is the 8th entry that I've posted in this series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Supergirl is a very well-known superhero. She's Superman's cousin who was sent by her parents to protect baby Superman when he got to Earth, but her spaceship ended up going off course and arrived several years after Superman's own ship did. She awoke from her suspended animation to find that baby Kal-El was no longer a baby, but a full-grown Superman...and now she's kinda living in his shadow as a real refugee on the planet Earth.

There were some specific references that I wanted to hit and elements that I wanted to use in my depiction of Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, for this series. I wanted to emphasize her being younger than characters like Wonder Woman by getting away from the long gowns while still keeping a red carpet element to the look. The dress was inspired by Kryptonian crystals and the dress that singer Lisa Loeb wore in her music video for the song "Most of All." The hair was inspired by a couple of looks Taylor Swift donned in her music video for the song "Look What You Made Me Do." It was very important for me to take inspiration from performers whose music has a stong following with female fans and whose work is very feminine-positive.

That also lead to another major design aspect that I felt was very important to use: the color pink. It is very bizarre to me the way that the character of Supergirl has been curated for decades, of being a character that should ideally appeal to girls, but seems to be terribly frightened of scaring its boy audience away by leaning to hard on the "girl" half of her name. Supergirl has sported many different looks throughout the years, and to me, there seems to be a very conscious bias in the tones of red used in costume designs for her. The blue can run the gamut from light to dark, but the reds seem to be forbidden from ever being too light to be misconstrued as pink. (In fact in the weeks of anticipating writing about this, I could only come up with two superheroines in the DC Universe who had pink in their costumes - Crush, daughter of Lobo and a member of the Teen Titans, has a punk design and her pants are maybe magenta, sometime a dark hot pink; and the character Looker from the 1980's Batman and the Outsiders comic, who I think was eventually turned into a vmpire creature of the night, so no more "girly" pink for her either.) It is bizarre to have so many teenage heronies in their universe and for there to be what comes across as an absoulte fear of using pink in their designs at all. As if a color could keep them from being tough or strong. So yes, my Supergirl incorporates pink into her costume, maybe more of a dusty rose, but certainly not "red." She wears "ballet" slippers inspired from her 1970's costume design, and just because she's wearing pink doesn't mean that she's isn't Kryptonian strong. I hope to see these false definitions of strength challenged in the near future in actual canonical depictions of this character. It's one thing that I strive to do in my work.

Thank you for taking a look! 
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Supergirl" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Supergirl ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Mera

This is the 7th entry that I've posted in this series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

I'd say Mera is rather well known, after having been portrayed by actor, Amber Heard in both the Justice League and Aquaman movies. Her character has been around since the early sixties. She has the power of hydrokinesis, which can manipulate water - especially to make it hard. My favorite scene in the Aquaman movie was when she used an entire wine cellar as a weapon and took out evil Atlantean soldiers with wine because of her powers. She is super strong, tough, can breathe underwater and swim really fast. She is currently married to Aquaman in the comics and has also been Queen of Atlantis at times too.

This look came about because I really wanted to do one of someone's back, and showing off the curving line of her back and then a gorgeous train for this mermaid silhouette for someone who's basically a superhero mermaid. I fell into a whole other world rendering her hair, and I did not mind. I had so much fun creating the pearls that went in her hair and her bracelet and the "straps" of her scaled dress. She's one of my favorites in this series.

Thanks for chosing to spend time with my work!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Mera" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Mera ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Black Canary

This is the 6th entry that I've posted in this series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Black Canary is not nearly as well-known to the general public as she ought to be. She SHOULD be the second most famous DC Heroine after Wonder Woman, but alas, she's never had a "Bat" or "Super" attached to her name, and she's never had a live-action realization that TRULY did the character justice and accurately depicted her. She one of the best combat fighters in the DCU, but she also has a powerful sonic "Canary Cry" that has even been known to bend steel. Black Canary's origin is...complicated (where she somehow became her own mother at some point - don't ask!). Let's just say her mom was Black Canary back in the day, and Dinah Lance is the Black Canary of TODAY, and often with Huntress and Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle), they make up the core of the superheroine team, The Birds of Prey!

Black Canary has been traditionally depicted in dark blue costumes with fishnets or black costumes with fishnets. Sometimes no fishnets (not as fun and visually interesting), but many "black and blue" motifs with some yellow here and there, so that's what I went with for this look. I wanted to have a black leather look that honors her black leather-wearing, street-fighting history, but she's also been depicted as a singer, so I wanted to meld the leather with a "lounge singer" look to get what you see here. 

Thanks to taking the time to view this!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Black Canary" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Black Canary ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Huntress

This is the fifth posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This is the last one for Black History Month, but I think she's only historically notable on that front for being a character who has been portrayed as white for decades, and in recent years, due to Universe/Reality resets, has become a woman of color. The story is the same - Helena Bertinelli was the daughter of a mob boss who survived her family's mafia execution and trained herself to avenge them. In the Rebirth continuity, we learn that her father was a caucasian Sicilian man and her mother was a black woman. When finished avenging her family, Helena fights crime as Huntress and is a school teacher by day.

Design-wise, I was really inspired by the AMAZING hair a friend of mine has always rocked. I wanted to try to bring that look here. This piece also marked two Firsts for me - the first time I've ever done hazel eyes (I love how they turned out!) and the first time I've ever done French tipped nails. (Oolala!) I was also wanted to bring a little bit of influence from the Huntress costume that Mary Elizabeth Winstead wore in the Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey movie, so there's a *little* iridescence going on with the purple. Violet Vengence! 

Thanks for taking the time to experience this!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Huntress" by Kevenn T. Smith
 Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Huntress ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Bumblebee

This is the fourth posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry is also tying in with Black HistoryMonth - Bumblebee is Karen Beecher, a brilliant scientist. While Nubia was the first superheroic black woman to appear in mainstream comics in 1972, it wasn't until 1974 when Storm appeared in X-Men comics over at Marvel that the first actual black woman superhero premiered, because Storm was a code name and a persona. In 1975, in the pages of Teen Titans, Bumblebee became the first bonafide black woman superhero in the DC Universe.

Karen was dating a man named Mal Duncan, who worked with the Teen Titans, but for some reason, they never invited him to become an actual member. So, Karen put together an anti-gravity suit with "stinger" beams and dubbed herself Bumblebee, attacking the Teen Titans in an effort to give Mal a chance to be the one who sends her packing - just to make him look good. They discover her identity, and then...yep, they invite HER to become a member of the Titans. (The Teen Titans were kinda' jerks.) Eventually Mal did joint the Titans, and the two were married.

Over the years, Bumblebee has gone through changes. They've made her single again, she's had the power to shrink down to the size of a bee, for a while was STUCK at the size of a bee. In Rebirth, they gave her powers, so she was no longer reliant on technology. Check out the recent issue number 2 of the fantastic miniseries, "The Other History of the DC Universe" by John Ridley, who wrote Twelve Years a Slave. The entire issue is from Karen & Mal's point of view, and it's outstanding. It'll also make you really not like Roy Harper.

For this look, I wanted something less "opulent" and something slightly more "working class." The look homages her second Bumblebee costume, that I feel like she had the longest, and her design from the Teen Titans cartoon, that also ended up being adopted in the comics.

Thanks for taking a look!
 "Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Bumblebee" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Bumblebee ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Vixen

This is the third posted entry in this PSA illustration series to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry also ties into Black History Month, as Vixen was the first full-time black female member of the Justice League of America. Vixen is not just a superhero, who can access the abilities of ANY animal (speed of a cheetah, proportional strength of an army ant, flight of a condor, regeneration of a Gekko, etc.), but she's also a supermodel. Honestly, though, I feel like she's rarely ever depicted actually LOOKING like a supermodel. I'm here to rectify that. I used Angolan model, Maria Borges, as my inspiration and guide for the features in my rendition of Vixen, because I have no idea if Maria Borges can act, but by golly she has the LOOK. (Seriously, let's put it out into the universe that Ms Borges will even cosplay as Vixen!)

Vixen's power comes from the totem that she wears around her neck. Usually, Vixen is an African woman from the fictional country of Zambesi who has spent a while living in America, but the issue of Truth & Justice that came out in February of 2021 featuring her seems to suggest that she IS American...which has me wondering if they're now using the set-up from the TV show Legends of Tomorrow, where Vixen's grandmother operated as Vixen as well, and the modern-day Vixen, Mari McCabe, was adopted and raised in America? Either way, she's in my Top 5 favorite DC Heroes, and I LOVE her!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Vixen" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Vixen ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Nubia

This is the second posted entry in this series of PSA type illustrations to promote the pro-social and pro-health concept of mask wearing during the pandemic and depicts superheroes in "red carpet" takes on their superhero costumes.

This entry also ties in with Black History Month, as Nubia was the first super heroic black woman depicted in mainstream US comic books in 1972, two years prior to the appearance of Storm in 1974 in the X-Men book over at Marvel Comics. She debuted in a 3 part story in the Wonder Woman title. She initially started out being an antagonist, but ended up as an ally. Her origin is that she is the twin of Diana, Wonder Woman. When Queen Hippolyta was sculpting Diana before she was brought to life, she actually sculpted two babies, one using darker clay, which was Nubia. When the two baby sculptures were brought to life, the god Mars (Ares) kidnapped the infant Nubia and ended up raising her on a far-off island of warriors, where she became one of the fiercest warriors there. Years later, she showed up on Paradise Island to defeat the Amazons and Wonder Woman, but ended up rejecting Mars and his conditioning. She showed up later in an issue of Supergirl and an issue of Super Friends, where she had become the Wonder Woman of Africa.

Lately, Nubia has been showing up in her own back-up story in Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman by L.L. McKinney and Alitha Martinez, where I took the design cues here from. Also available is a Young Adult graphic novel also written by L.L. McKinney entitled "Nubia: Real One." Later in 2021, DC Comics will be putting out a comic called "Nubia and the Amazons," and I cannot tell you how excited I am for that!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Nubia" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Nubia ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Wonder Woman

Back in the day when I was in high school, there were two things that I loved to draw the most often: superheroes and fashion. My local comic book shop asked for artwork for a fund raising auction to raise money for the Cleveland Food Bank, and the theme was "The Pandemic." I wanted to apply those two things that I used to draw all the time and mix them into "The Pandemic." And so, this new "PSA" series was born mixing "red carpet" takes on superhero looks along with face coverings to promote a pro-social and pro-health message. Some of the pieces in this series go for a more literal take, while others go further away from the origins, but still strive to retain recognizable elements of that character's visual identity.

The first entry is more of the former than the latter. As my favorite superhero and the biggest superheroine in the DC Universe, Wonder Woman is of course leading the line. Mermaid silhouette gowns have always been my favorite. I really wanted to take Wonder Woman's look and "Plus It Up," and at the same time, figure out a way to incorporate the magic lasso beyond just hanging as a coil at her hip. So please enjoy the illustration, and I hope you are inspired to keep yourself and those around you safe during the current COVID-19 Pandemic that we are going through and will be for some time. And stay tuned for for installments in this series!

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Wonder Woman" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith 
Wonder Woman  ©DC Comics

"The Wizardess' Unknown Voice" by Kevenn T. Smith

I love a deep cut. This new illustration is a pretty deep cut. Honestly, at this point in the Great Rebellion series that I've been working on, nearly everyone left is a deep cut. This illustration features my depiction of "The Wise Old Wizardess."

There were two mini comics that came with some of the vintage She-Ra figures, "Journey to Mizar" and "The Hidden Symbols Mystery." Both of them featured a part where She-Ra needed help from a mysterious and magical woman in the woods. In both stories, the woman was depicted wearing a robe, having no hair, and a halo of light shining from the back of her head. While one was colored all in golden tones and referred to herself as a Seer or the Voice of the Unknown, the other was called The Wise Old Wizardess. She had a purple robe and a double halo of yellow and green light. Neither was depicted as particularly old.

To me, it seemed obvious that these were meant to be the same character. There were enough visual similarities in design and situation, while still accounting for the production situation of the minicomics, which I suspect were farmed out to different illustrators, probably done under a time crunch, then farmed out to different colorists with no time allowing to make sure the depiction of a minor character not included in the style guide was consistent. I would not be surprised if research showed that this character was a progenitor of both Madame Razz and Light Hope. Both were mentor characters to Adora and She-Ra that gave mystical knowledge as well, like this character did. Madame Razz was an ancient female magic user who lived in the woods and wore purple, like the Wise Old Wizardess. Light Hope, in the toy line, was at one point also concieved as a magical woman who lived in the woods (though much younger looking), and in the cartoon was depicted as a halo of colorful lights, much like the halo of colorful lights the Wizardess has. It seems to me to be a distinct possibility.

In wanting to depict this charater, I decided to combine visual elements from both depictions into one and get the greatest amount of "Visual Variety." I combined the design of the belted gown from "The Hidden Symbols Mystery" with the predominant coloring scheme of the design in "Journey to Mizar." I incorporated magical items that were given to She-Ra in the costume(the golden net worn around the waist, which she does in the comic and removes when she gies it to She-Ra) and the staff, where the piece at the end is the enchanted mirror used in one of the stories. In combination, we get the best of both worlds and exciting new story possibilities.

This illustration is available on a plethora of different products at my Red Bubble store, including prints, cards, posters, bags, phone & ipad skins & cases, pillows, t-shirts, hoodies, baby & kids clothes, dresses, scarves, socks, journals, clocks, stickers, bath mats, and many, many more. Click on the picture to go to this piece at my store.


"The Wizardess' Unknown Voice" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2020
Character ©Mattel 2020

The Archer's Affable Sidekick by Kevenn T. Smith

I have one last Rebel to post for 2018. It's been a busy year for me - doing the My Husband is Not a Rainbow book, singing with a band called Bullseye Womprats, working with a local high school's theater department, and working on illustrations for a 6-book series. I hope to do more Rebels to come next year, especially since there's a great new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power show on Netflix now.

This Rebel illustration features Josh. It's time to go in Deep-Fan Mode.  Josh was created to be a protege of Bow and only appeared in two mini comics that came with the vintage figures, "Across the Crystal Light Barrier," where he was named and seen having a picnic with Adora, Glimmer & Bow, and "Don't Rain On My Parade," where a character wearing "Josh colors" appeared playing a flute. If he was Bow's protege, and Bow played a musical instrument, the harp, then it's seems likely that Josh would have played an instrument too - the flute hanging from his side by ribbons. So yes, I maintain that *was* Josh in that panel of that comic.

I gave him a headband as an homage to the vintage Bow action figure, and I used the hat band from his appearance in "Don't Rain On My Parade" for it.

The mini crossbow recalls Bow's archery, and the clover bolts also hearken to Bow's heart tipped arrows. I gave him blue clovers because picnics can happen in fields of clover, and the trees in Whispering Woods are predominantly blue, so I thought that there could be a blue clover in the Woods. I also imagined that perhaps he had been in a Horde Youth Group, and would have had training with a crossbow, as many of the Horde characters have crossbows. I gave him shoulder epaulets like Adora's, but in blue, to tie that in.

His bracelets are the same as the vintage Bow action figure's, to further visually tie them together. The boot design, I took off the Dekker action figure from the Masters of th eUniverse Classics line, because I liked the element of stitching it had that was like the stitching that Josh's tunic had at the chest. Also, the boots were a turned-down style, and male characters on Etheria favored a turned-down style of boot - like Seahawk and Snout Spout. I also thought the gems on the boots were a nice echo of the circles on Bow's boots at the top and the ornamental flare many of the female characters have at the top of their boots.

And then, there's the bowl of potato salad - started as a joke by someone on He-Man.org, that Josh brought potato salad to the picnic in "Across the Crystal Light Barrier." The potato salad grew to have a life of its own, and is now synonymous with Josh. I used colors from his design and tried to give it an Etherian feel.

This illustration of Josh is available as cards, prints, postcards, t-shirts, hoodies, skirts, dresses, scarves, bags, pillows, phone cases, clocks, duvet covers, and more at my Redbubble store! Click the picture to go there.
"The Archer's Affable Sidekick" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2018
Josh character ©Mattel 2018

Rebels That Rock - And Dance!

I've finished some more illustrations for my Great Rebellion Series, and offered a couple new group shots as well. First off, we have the Rock People, which also contain the two "Comet Warriors," which Stondar and Rokkon were also known in the vintage Masters of the Universe toyline. However, at the time that the toys came out, new episodes of the He-Man cartoon were no longer being produced, and so the characters ended up being featured on the She-Ra cartoon - along with Granita, a female Rock Person, who was planned to be produced in the vintage Masters of the Universe, only Mattel decided that boys couldn't handle *ANOTHER* "icky girl" in the line. I mean, those poor boys of the 80's did have their precious and frail masculinities threatened by the introduction of THREE other females in the line, Teela, Evil-Lyn, and Sorceress, so goodness knows what sort of villainy and ararchy would have resulted if a FOURTH female had been introduced, so Granita was cut.

But she showed up on the She-Ra cartoon - TWICE! Stondar showed up twice, and Rokkon only showed up once. Also, another member of the Rock People showed up in an episode, a young female named Facet. As far as I'm aware, there was no other appearance of Facet in any other media. Stondar, Rokkon, and Granita all showed up in the Masters of the Universe daily newspaper strips, where they were all depicted in their simplified Filmation designs, but we wee told that Stondar is the father to both Rokkon and Granita.

For these illustrations, I wanted to largely begin with the Filmation design as a base, but add in a lot of details that the two Comet Warriors had in their vintage action figure and Masters of the Universe Classics action figures had. And in that, to make them all cohesive, I added more details and elements to the designs of Granita and Facet to bring them closer to the two males. All illustrations in this post are available on a variety of products such as T-shirts, hoodies, dresses, kids/babies clothes, posters, prints, phone cases and skins, iPad cases and skins, mugs, tote bags, drawstring bags, pillows, studio pouches, scarves, duvet covers, skirts, journals, clocks, acryllic blocks, and more at my RedBubble store. You can click the text link there to go to my store, or you can click on each picture to go to that illustration's listing at my store directly.

"Rebels That Rock" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Granita, Stondar, Facet, and Rokkon
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2017
Characters ©Mattel and Classic Media 2017

"The Gracious Girl of Granite" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Granita
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
@Kevenn T. Smith 2017
Character ©Classic Media 2017

"The Reckless Young Warrior of Rock" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Rokkon
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
@Kevenn T. Smith 2017
Character ©Mattel 2017

"The Stoic Leader of Stone" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Stondar
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2017
Character ©Mattel 2017

"The Fearless Faceted Femme" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Facet
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2017
Character ©Classic Media 2017

Another character that I completed an illustration of is of one that I call "Bubblerina." This character was previously only seen in one illustration in a German catalgoue that featured the never-produced Bubble Carriage. The illustration depicted She-Ra riding inside the carriage along with this mysterious new character, and Spinerella riding on the back of the carriage. For years, fans speculated whether this was a new character or a mis-colored Mermista, but I was of the opinion that it was indeed, a different and distinct character, and that the bubble morif on her was similiar to the bubble motif of the carriage and Bubble Power She-Ra. I suspected that this character was a dancer (because of the ballerina tutu) and for some reason, the bubble motif was given to She-Ra to make the Bubble Power She-Ra variant in Wave 3, and the character was cut from the wave but her dancing elements were given to Spinerella, and the element of her being Spinerella's sister and the largely blue color motif were taken up my Netossa.

This was all confirmed at 2016's Power-Con convention, when the Sander Brothers ended up revealing a lot of research that they did into Mattel's archives on the She-Ra: Princess of Power line, and said that this "Bubble Carriage Maiden" was a character initially named Joya, and that her bubble gimmick was given to Bubble Power She-Ra, because the gimmick for the Wave 3 She-Ra variant was not working. However, I do not think that if Joya had gone to production, that she would have been released with the name "Joya." It doesn't have the descriptive and pun-filled nature of the other She-Ra characters' names. We leared from that Power-Con that Perfuma's original name was Terra (like the earth). I feel that if Joya would have been released, she would have been released under a name that describes her abilities and who she is, thus "Bubblerina," which combines "bubble" and "ballerina" together to give us an idea of what she's about. In my illustration, I did want to give her a couple more details to make her fit better with the other female Rebels in this series. I gave her a belt that's reminiscent of the belt worn by Bow or most of the male figures in the Masters of the Universe line. I also wanted to make sure there was a gem in her costume's bodice like nearly all of the vintage Princess of Power figures had. So without further ado, I give you Bubblerina!
"The Joyous Bouyant Bubblerina" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Bubblerina/Joya
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith
Character ©Mattel 2017

I also created a group shot featuring Bubblerina and the wave 2 vintage She-Ra characters and a few other characters from the cartoon. The Wave 2 characters were very much representative of the elements, and I felt Bubblerina worked with that as well. Mermista as water, Sweet Bee as fire (her sting), Perfuma earth, Flutterina wind, and Peekablue spirit with her psychic abilities. Bubblerina has elements of water and wind. Sprittina also represents Earth, while Kowl and Kowla are wind. Madame Razz is spirit and wind. Loo-Kee is  spirit.
"Wave 2+ Rebels" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2017
Characters ©Mattel and Classic Media 2017

The Great Rebel Round Out

It's time to round out the year with more new Great Rebellion illustrations - with a 2017 calendar to come soon! All of these illustrations are available on an assortment of items like t-shirts, hoodies, dresses, kids'/babies' clothes, stickers, scarves, skirts, iPhone cases & skins, Samsung Galaxy cases & skins, laptop skins & sleeves, throw pillows, duvet covers, mugs, tote bags, studio pouches and more at my RedBubble.com store. Starting us off is a new collection of all the completed Rebels so far:

"The Great Rebellion #2" by Kevenn T. Smith. Featuring: (Front Row) Spragg, Loo-Kee, Sprocker, Spritina, (Second Row) Double Trouble, Seahawk, Frosta, Bow, She-Ra, Princess Glimmer, Castaspella, Perfuma, (Third Row) Peekablue, Tallstar, Starla, Jewelstar, Netossa, Spinerella, Mermista, Snout Spout, (Fourth Row) Sweet Bee, Kowla, Kowl, Queen Angella, Madame Razz & Broom, Flutterina, (Fifth Row) Swift Wind, Star Wind, (Top) Light Hope. Click on the above image to buy products with this illustration.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2016
All characters ©Mattel or Classic Media

"The Scrappy Wood Sprite" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Spragg of the Twiggets. Click on the above image to purchase products featuring this illustration.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
@Kevenn T. Smith 2016
Character ©Classic Media 2016

"The Shy Wood Sprite" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Sprocker of the Twiggets. Click on the above image to purchase products featuring this illustration.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2016Character ©Classic Media 2016

"The Three Main Wood Sprites" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Sprocker, Spritina, and Spragg, the three Twiggets who were featured the most in the She-Ra: Princess of Power cartoon. Click on the above image to purchase products featuring this illustration.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2016
Characters ©Classic Media 2016

"The Spectacular Leader of the Stellar Sorority" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Starla of the Star Sisters. Her design is a combination fo the vintage prototype figure, the vintage Style Guide/Magazine design, the Filmation design, and the Masters of the Universe Classics action figure. Click on the above image to purchase products featuring this illustration.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2016
Character ©Mattel 2016

"The Telescopic Lookout of the Stellar Sorority" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Tallstar of the Star Sisters. This expandable beauty takes design elements from the vintage prototype figure, the vintage Style Guide/Magazine, the Filmation design, and the Masters of the Universe Classics figure. Click on the above image to purchase products featuring this illustration.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2016
Character ©Mattel 2016

"The Gentle Gem of the Stellar Sorority" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring Jewelstar of the Star Sisters. This shy gal who can transform herself into a gem incorporates design elements from the vintage prototype figure, the vintage Style Guide/Magazine, the Filmation design, and the Masters of the Universe Classics figure. Click on the above image to purchase products featuring this illustration.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2016
Character ©Mattel 2016

"The Stellar Sorority" by Kevenn T. Smith featuring all three of the Star Sisters together. Had the She-Ra series and toyline continued, the Star sisters were planned on being a big focus. Click on the above image to purchase products featuring this illustration.
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2016
Characters ©Mattel 2016

Singular Sensation: The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman

This Singular Sensation entry spotlights the illustration of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman that I did for the header for this site.  These are two of my favorite Oz characters to do, and I especially enjoy drawing them together and showing the tremendous bond that these two characters have for one another.  In most of Baum's books, they both have castles in the Winkie country to the West that are very close to one another.

For the Scarecrow, I do go back to Baum's text with details like one eye being bigger than the other.  However, I'm also greatly influenced by the depictions that John R. Neill and Michael Herring did of him as well.  I wanted to convey a sense of him being a little off balance, like Ray Bolger was in the MGM musical.

Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, presents a special challenge when looking at how Neill and Herring depicted him.  Their renditions, quite frankly, defy the laws of physics.  They draw the Tin Woodman with nearly two dimensional limbs that are hinged basically with pins onto the sides of his torso.  This leaves him incapable of a wide range of movement, but didn't stop them from somehow depicting him holding his ax with two hands.  I wanted to base my version a little more in reality, so there was no real way that he would be able to reach across his own body to point toward the Scarecrow if his arm was simply pinned at the shoulder to his torso.  For me, the solution was to basically treat him like he was a human-sized action figure and give him ball joints that not only hinged, but swiveled and allowed for rotation.

Neill and Herring depicted him basically wearing a suit of tin with the collar, the side pockets, and the buttons down his torso, so I did as well.  They'd also draw him wearing spats on his feet, a bow tie around his neck, and a flower "pinned" on.  One thing that I added that's usually forgotten, is when the Tin Woodman gets his heart from the Wizard of Oz in the first book, he is patched up on his chest, and a gold star is placed over where his heart is.  This gold star is usually omitted by many artists, but I like to add it, because I think it's a nice detail that adds more character and visual interest to him.



Pencils, Ink, Prismacolor Color Pencils,  and Photoshop.
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

Now available on a t-shirt at RedBubble.com!

Singular Sensation: The Cowardly Lion

This Singular Sensation entry focuses on the Cowardly Lion illustration that I did for the original "contact Me: page of this site.  I wanted to present him bigger here than he appears on that page.  Everyone knows the Cowardly Lion, but most people are used to thinking of the Cowardly Lion in terms of a person dressed up in a costume, like Burt Lahr in the MGM movie.  However, in the books, the Cowardly Lion is a real lion who talks, like all of the animals in Oz do.

I think that when the lion is presented as an actual large lion who acts cowardly, as opposed to a person in a costume, the visuals get to be more interesting and contradictory to the behavior.  For this interpretation of the Cowardly Lion, I wanted to make him more personal.  I made his eyes bigger than an actual lion's eyes, while keeping the rest of the lion's anatomical proportions intact.  Another thing about the eyes, were that I based them on my dog, Humphrey.  He's like my own personal Cowardly Lion, who is all bark, but when someone actually stands up to him (like a cat), he runs away crying.

The bows are things that John R. Neill drew on the Cowardly Lion when he originally illustrated the Oz books.  I think they're great touches that serve to visually reinforce the contrasts going on with the cowardliness and the powerful frame of a lion.  Michael Herring usually painted the bows light blue in the covers that he did for the Del Rey paperback editions of the Oz books, and those were the printings of the books that I grew up with, so I tend to try to give little nods to him and Neill when I illustrate Oz characters.



Pencils, Ink, Prismacolor Color Pencils,  and Photoshop.
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

Now available along with The Hungry Tiger on a t-shirt at RedBubble.com!

Singular Sensation: Pig Guard

This second entry in my Singular Sensation series is of a character drawn for the cover of Oziana #37.  I simply call him "Pig Guard."  I got a request to draw characters that appeared in stories in the issue, but I didn't always have access to the actual stories.  In some cases, all I got was copies of artwork being used to illustrate the stories.  In this case, all I had was an illustration to go on, but one that really captured my imagination.  I am a big fan of the work that The Four Horsemen studio did on updating Mattel's Masters of the Universe property for the 2002 line.  The amount of detail they put into each of the character re-designs continues to impress me.  When I saw the illustration of this "Pig Guard" character, I thought it would be a really fun idea to give him that same kind of approach.  I wanted to put more detail into his look and to introduce a more aggressive and physical element to the entire wrap-around cover piece.

In the cover piece, the Pig Guard was going to be fighting on the same side as Bastinda, the Russian version of the Wicked Witch of the West.  I thought it would be a nice homage to the Winkie Soldiers in the MGM musical movie version of The Wizard of Oz if I made the Pig Guard's skin green.  However, when I thought about that, I worried that some people would think that I was trying to rip off the Gammorean Guards in the palace of Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi.  So that idea was nixed.  I still wanted to make the Pig Guard look more otherwordly, instead of a pink, tan, or brown skin tones that one usually found on a pig.  That's when I hit upon the idea to make the skin tone a nice "decayed blue."  It really worked too!  I thought I was being so original, until a friend pointed out that Gannon, the Big Boss in The Legend of Zelda game for Nintendo, was a big blue pig.  It's true, there really is nothing entirely new!  I haven't played that game in years, but from what I remember of the character, I think I made this Pig Guard look significantly different.


Pencils, Ink, Prismacolor Color Pencils, Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator.
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

2008 National NOW Conference

My frequent collaborator, Ray Caspio, was contacted by a representative of NOW, the National Organization for Women, concerning a Wonder Woman piece that he had posted on his website.  The NOW National Conference: 2008 was coming up, and they wanted to use his Wonder Woman illustration for the cover of their program book.  It was decided that a new character needed to be created for this, for rights purposes, and that's where I came in.  Ray and I talked about what the costume should look like and what goals we wanted to achieve with it.  We wanted to create a new character that had a classic 1940's Golden Age of Comics look, but I wanted to give it a slightly modern twist.  Ray had to use his original illustration as a basis for the illustration for NOW, but with a change in the costume and coloring details.  The design needed to be an homage to Wonder Woman without being Wonder Woman.  I came up with this:

Ray Caspio then used the costume elements that I came up with and transposed them onto his piece, creating what is now the program cover and image used by NOW to promote the conference, where the theme is "No Capes, No Masks, No Boundaries: Super-Women Unite!"  The design can be viewed in the Illustration Gallery at Ray Caspio's site.