Kevenn T. Smith 3/17/21 Kevenn T. Smith 3/17/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 3/15/21 Kevenn T. Smith 3/15/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 3/11/21 Kevenn T. Smith 3/11/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 3/9/21 Kevenn T. Smith 3/9/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 3/4/21 Kevenn T. Smith 3/4/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 3/2/21 Kevenn T. Smith 3/2/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 2/27/21 Kevenn T. Smith 2/27/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 2/26/21 Kevenn T. Smith 2/26/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 2/25/21 Kevenn T. Smith 2/25/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 2/23/21 Kevenn T. Smith 2/23/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 2/22/21 Kevenn T. Smith 2/22/21

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

Kevenn T. Smith 6/3/18 Kevenn T. Smith 6/3/18

Pagan Amazon Princess

My local comic book store, Carol and John's Comic Book Shop has an amazing Holiday party every year. During the party, there is an art auction to rise money for the Cleveland Food Bank. Each artist who participates gets a blank comic book cover to render however they want to, and last December, the theme was "The Holidays." Wonder Woman being my favorite comic book character, I wanted to draw her, but I also wanted to depict her in an appropriate holiday setting for one of the most famous pagan comic book heroes. I did a "by hand" piece for a Wonder Woman "Solstice Special" comic book cover. I ended up getting a sizeable number of bids for my piece, which ultimately generated 272 meals at the Cleveland Food Bank! Incredible!
"Wonder Woman: Solstice Special" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Prismacolor color pencil
©2017 Kevenn T. Smith
Wonder Woman ©DC Comics

When I posted this picture on my Facebook wall, it got a lot of positive reaction, and people asked about prints being available. Because I did this piece for charity, I did want to keep something unique for the person who won this piece. I decided to do a digitally colored version that I call "Pagan Amazon Princess," which is more "year round" than "seasonal specific." If you like it and are interested in t-shirts, prints, or all of the other sorts of items that I usually offer my illustration on, use the "Contact Me" for on the upper left of this website.
"Pagan Amazon Princess" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2018
Wonder Woman ©DC Comics

Kevenn T. Smith 5/22/17 Kevenn T. Smith 5/22/17

"Amazon Princess 2" by Kevenn T. Smith

Wonder Woman is FINALLY about to get her own major motion picture released into theaters! I have been waiting ALL my life for this! And to celebrate, I needed a new Wonder Woman T-shirt to wear when I finally get to see Princess Diana of Themiscyra in her own live-action solo movie! Hence, the new work here.

Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2017
Wonder Woman ©DC Entertainment

Kevenn T. Smith 2/22/16 Kevenn T. Smith 2/22/16

"Amazon Princess" by Kevenn T. Smith

My first piece that I complete in 2016 is an illustration of my favorite superhero, Princess Diana of Themiscyra, also known as Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman has played a very huge and important part of my life. I met my spouse through Wonder Woman fandom. And Wonder Woman stands up there with She-Ra for me as the kind of person and values that I try to emulate in my life.

For this illustration of Wonder Woman, I have been very inspired by the Wonder Woman '77 comic series and the recent The Legend of Wonder Woman comic series. I'm not fond of the way her mythos, history, origin, and costume were changed during DC's New 52. For me, my Wonder Woman has been gone since then, and the comic book has embraced a very effemophobic atmosphere, energy, and aesthetic.

My favorite Wonder Woman designs are Lynda Carter's CBS Wonder Woman costume and the costume designed by Terry & Rachel Dodson. I wanted to do a version that combined those two designs, and one that I want to celebrate feminine energy with. Wonder Woman is a fantasy princess to me, and I wanted her depiction to be joyous, feminine, fun, strong, and sexy. For me, the beauty in Wonder Woman is that she shows us it takes a special kind of strength to not be hard in a hard world. My Wonder Woman is soft and doesn't need to be hard in order to be victorious. I find Wonder Woman is far more impressive when she doesn't need large bracelets to deflects oncoming blows and projectiles and can do it just as well with small bracelets. I find it more amazing when Wonder Woman can subdue her foes using yonic instruments like her lasso, bracelets, and tiara without having to use a sword or shield or armor or an axe. That's my Wonder Woman, and that's the one I enjoy seeing and portraying.

As of now, this illustration is available on t-shirts, hoodies, kids'/babies' clothes, iPhone cases & skins, Samsung Galaxy cases & skins, laptop skins & sleeves, stickers, throw pillows, duvet covers, mugs, tote bags, and studio pouches at my RedBubble.com store. Click here or the image to go to the store.

Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2016
Wonder Woman ©DC Comics

Kevenn T. Smith 3/11/12 Kevenn T. Smith 3/11/12

Purrrr-Fect Eartha by Kevenn T. Smith

This piece has been living in my head for a while now, demanding to be made. Eartha Kitt, as a performer, thrills me. I think our world is a suckier place since she passed away in 2008. She is my second favorite live-action Catwoman. (I have to cop to Michelle Pfeifer's psychologically driven performance in Batman Returns as my favorite.) However, I think Eartha's Catwoman is the most fun and slinky Catwoman of all. When Julie Newmar (whom I also loved) bowed out of the 60's Batman series in its third season, casting Eartha Kitt was a no-brainer. Look at her album covers from the fifties and sixties - she already WAS Catwoman. Eartha Kitt was a global citizen years before the rest of us started to get onboard. She spoke four languages and sang in seven.

She was the kind of celebrity that is becoming extinct - one with a truly individual voice, the likes of Bea Arthur, Phyllis Diller, Grace Jones, and Carol Channing. Nowadays, vocal sounds are so homogenized. There's rarely any character and distinction in a lot of the voices I hear in mainstream singers and celebrities. I feel like everyone is too busy trying to be "hot" to be distinctive. You can't tell me Eartha Kitt's voice wasn't hot.

This piece is after Eartha's 1957 cover of Norsk Dameblad magazine. I chose red and leopard print for the background colors because Catwoman's lair in the Batman series had red drapery and a leopard print upholstered chair. This illustration is available at my RedBubble.com store.
Eartha Kitt as Catwoman by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2012
Catwoman ©DC Entertainment 2012

Kevenn T. Smith 1/15/12 Kevenn T. Smith 1/15/12

Dark Knight Daughter: The Huntress by Kevenn T. Smith

In the late 70's and early 80's, the character of The Huntress that appeared in DC Comics was Helena Wayne, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman on the alternate Earth known as Earth-2. She was a member of the Justice Society and also had her own series of back-up stories in the Wonder Woman comic book. DC Comics has just announced that the Earth-2 Huntress character will be appearing in a title called "World's Finest," alongside her best friend, Power Girl, also an Earth-2 character.

I thought I'd take the opportunity to dust off this old piece and give it a touch-up. I was never quiet 100% happy with the way it looked before. It was one of the first times I had tried to color digitally - with the background - while integrating it with hand colored aspects - The Huntress herself. I didn't feel like the two "meshed" together as well as I'd like. Now, after going back, I'm a lot happier with the final outcome.

This illustration is available as 8 by 12 inch prints on regular photo paper $20 + $8 shipping; or on metallic photo paper (which I highly recommend, because the quality is vastly superior!)for $25 + $8 shipping. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.

Kevenn T. Smith 4/6/11 Kevenn T. Smith 4/6/11

WonderCon 2011 Wrap-Up

I had an amazing time at WonderCon! I got to meet so many people who were more than nice and see some great talent there. I'd say it was an absolute success. Thanks to all who came by the booth and supported us. I made 3 artcards right before WonderCon, and one of them sold, and I wanted to spotlight them here. First up is Psyche from Brian Andersen's So Super Duper. This image is now available as cards, prints and Posters at RedBubble.com!

4.25 x 5.5 inches cardstock.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor pencil.

©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

Speaking of So Super Duper, I had the opportunity to go by Whatever Comics in the Castro, and issue #11 of So Super Duper with my 10 page back-up story was on display in the front window! You can't miss the hot pink cover:

Issue #11 of Brian Andersen’s So Super Duper is on sale at the shop at Prism Comics.com and Indy Planet.com!!! The 10 page back-up story that I wrote and created the artwork for is lettered by Ray Caspio (who also has a pin-up illustration in this issue!). Just click on the preview thumbnail images below to enlarge them.

Another artcard I did was of DC Comic's Batwoman. For this artcard, I wanted to capture some of the "feel" of J.H. Williams III's art in the Batwoman stories that he illustrates. This image is now available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.

4.25 x 5.5 inches cardstock.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor pencil.

The third card that I made before WonderCon was of one of my favorites, She-Ra. I also couldn't resist the chance to illustrate the Whispering Woods backgrounds from the She-Ra cartoon again.

4.25 x 5.5 inches cardstock.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor pencil, Prismacolor marker.

UPDATE: Brian Andersen wrote about his own experience at WonderCon and mentioned me in the write-up over at Comicbook Queers.com. Take a look!

Kevenn T. Smith 11/12/10 Kevenn T. Smith 11/12/10

"The Lasso Is Mightier..." by Kevenn T. Smith

This is a new illustration of Wonder Woman that I've done that I call "The Lasso Is Mightier..." I'm one of those people that thinks Wonder Woman is so much cooler because the only things she really needs in order to get the job done is her lasso, bracelets, tiara, and powers. All the other stuff like swords, spears, axes, and armor - they're cool for someone like Xena or Red Sonya, but what makes Wonder Woman so wondrous is that she can take on armies, monsters, villains, and gods with just a few tools. Yes, she's THAT good!

This illustration is available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor color pencil, Photoshop.

Kevenn T. Smith 9/16/10 Kevenn T. Smith 9/16/10

Wonder Woman Day V: Transformation At Horror Hall by Kevenn T. Smith

Once again, I am participating in the charity auction for Wonder Woman Day V, 2010. The auction will benefit Bradley Angle as well as other domestic violence programs. I continue to participate in this event because this cause is very important to me, and I hope you will consider bidding on my piece to help raise money for it.

As per my usual M.O., I want to continue to depict an empowered Wonder Woman who takes joy in her life and what she does. I also wanted to do a follow up to my piece last year, which had She-Ra in it. As I noted last year, Wonder Woman and She-Ra seem to contain some analogues in their Rogues Gallery, and I couldn't resist taking a crack at another pairing. I also love to put out more images of Wonder Woman and She-Ra working together, as opposed to fighting each other. Right now, the Wonder Woman comic book is being written by J. Michael Straczynski, who also wrote many episodes of the She-Ra: Princess of Power cartoon series by Filmation, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2010. I definitely wanted to do another piece with She-Ra to help contribute to the passing of that occasion.

Wonder Woman's designed changed a little from last year's piece. I wanted to simplify her outfit just a tad to make her more similar to the level of She-Ra's design, so I opted to leave off the diagonal side seams on her boustier. I also went with a more Lynda Carter-esque design on the boots, as opposed to the early Terry Dodson "w" shaped top cut to the boots. In addition, I rounded the edges of her bracelets. She-Ra's bracelets were also smoothed a little on the cuffs, and I added the raised circlet on the center of her choker that the Masters of the Universe Classics She-Ra figure by Mattel had.

Circe's design was a combination of the way she appeared as Terry Dodson drew her in the Heinberg-written issues of Wonder Woman, as well as the DC Direct action figure based on Dodson's designs. Shadow Weaver remained largely true to her Filmation depiction, but I wanted to "fancy" her up just a bit to bring her closer to the level of detail and design that the other characters in the piece had. I gave her a corset , still in red, but in a deeper red than her dress she wears, and gave it a shinier texture. In some early artwork of Shadow Weaver, her belt was a gold or yellow, so I went with that interpretation of her belt and added a row of spikes to it as an homage to a custom Shadow Weaver figure that I own made by Scott Falappi. I also depicted her with the wand that she used in the second season She-Ra episode, "The Caregiver."

Because Circe and Shadow Weaver are both very formidable and dark opponents in each of their respective franchises, I wanted to set the piece in a more dangerous setting, and Shadow Weaver's Horror Hall base, set on top of a volcano, was just the ticket. In preparing for this piece, I did a lot of research on Horror Hall and looked at shots of all the incredibly beautiful backgrounds used in the cartoon series. I also looked at different elements and creatures who were associated with Shadow Weaver in the series, such as her vulture, Syrax, her servants, her bird-like spy, and vermin that lived in the tunnels of Horror Hall. Ultimately, I didn't feel like they would contribute to the composition of the piece, and I wanted to refrain from doing "too much." I opted to depict the main "hall" and what looks to be Shadow Weaver's library, which seemed to be used the most, while taking elements from the background paintings made for the series, as well as adding several "easter eggs" for fans of the Princess of Power show and original Mattel toyline.

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Click on the picture to see a full-sized image:

Transformation At Horror Hall

11.5 x 8 inches Bristol Board.

Pencil, ink, & Prismacolor pencil.

Now available as a print from RedBubble.com!

Kevenn T. Smith 6/27/10 Kevenn T. Smith 6/27/10

Wonder Spin: Bronze Age Artcard by Kevenn T. Smith

My Wonder Woman work seems to be the most popular with people who know of my art, and since I haven't had a Wonder Woman artcard available for a while, I thought it was time to put a new one out there. Usually, when I draw Wonder Woman, I depict the Modern Age version. I'm a big fan of the costume the way Terry Dodson re-designed it, so that's why that look is usually my go-to version of the costume. However, for this artcard, I felt it was time to do something different, and that's why I ended up going with the Bronze Age Wonder Woman when she still had the eagle instead of the later double "w" symbol.

And what could be a more fun way of depicting Bronze Age Wonder Woman than in a Lynda Carter inspired Wonder Spin? Another way that I like to depict Wonder Woman, is smiling. I like the idea of a Wonder Woman who loves life and enjoys what she does. My ideal Wonder Woman is happy.

This artcard and all the other artcards I’ve done are all original hand-made works and can be purchased or $15 plus shipping ($4.95 USPS Priority Shipping – international shipping will be calculated upon an individual order).

4.25 x 5.5 inches cardstock.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor pencil, Prismacolor marker.