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 piece is available as greeting cards, prints and posters as RedBubble.com!

Huntress ©DC Comics 2012

Illumina: Eternian Solstice by Kevenn T. Smith

I did this piece for the Illumina Day fan project in support of awareness of the character of Illumina for the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line, of which I'm a big fan of.  Illumina was a character created by Val Staples and Emiliano Santalucia and slated to appear in MV Creations' 200x era He-Man and the Masters of the Universe comic book, and even appeared in print in an in-house ad, before things behind the scenes prevented her appearance.  Illumina was going to be a heroic Gar warrior, also gifted with powers of light, who was trapped on the Dark Hemisphere when the Mystic Wall went up, keeping Skeletor locked away for years.  Many fans hope she will win the upcoming fan choice contest from Mattel and will receive a figure in the MOTU Classics line.

I listened to a lot of holiday music as I was making this piece, and I get a Holiday feeling from it.  Since Illumina can light up the dark, I thought a lot about the Winter Solstice, and how it's the longest period of darkness in the year.  I'm sure Eternia has its own version of the Winter Solstice, with a longest night of the year.  Illumina, herself, spent many years confined to the dark half of Eternia with precious little light.  I feel like there's a sense of hope in this piece that accompanies the Winter Solstice.  A hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Pencil, ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

Tik-Tok: Robot Army of Oz

My latest piece of artwork is one I've been wanting to do for a while, and I finally made time in my schedule to transfer the image I had for so long in my head to a more physical form.  Tik-Tok is actually literature's first robot.  A clockwork machine man, Tik-Tok first appears in the book Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum.  He is rescued by Dorothy Gale from being run-down and locked away in a hidden room and proceeds to have several adventures with her.  Eventually, Tik-Tok takes up residence in Oz as one of the many unique inhabitants of the royal palace in the Emerald City.  Tik-Tok was also a featured character in the movie, Return to Oz, starring Fairuza Balk as Dorothy.

I drew Tik-Tok once before on a cover for Oziana Magazine in 2005, but I wanted to think more about the reality of his joints.  I also wanted to use aspects of his design by John R. Neill and how he appeared in Return to Oz, for instance giving him emerald green glassy eyes and making his hat more resemble and army helmet from World War I.  The text is also an homage to pop singer, Simon Curtis, who refers to his fans as the "Robot Army."

This piece is available as greeting cards, post cards, prints and posters at RedBubble.com!
Pencil, ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

The Tik-Tok illustration is also available as t-shirts, hoodies, kids' clothes, and stickers in assorted sizes, colors, and styles at RedBubble.com!

Pencil, ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

The Blonde Squad

This is a pin-up that I did for the forthcoming Blonde Squad issue #2 comic book by Michael Troy.  This piece shows the Blonde Squad: Blonder Man, Drain, Psight, and Speedbump in their natural habitat, the Red Carpet, while their arch-foe, Dark Swan, menaces them from above.

The Blonde Squad comic book is a fun take on celebrity culture using superheroes.  For this pin-up, I wanted to really find my own take on these characters, and I had a lot of fun with that, especially on Speedbump, whose back had never been shown in any source material I'd seen.  That gave me the opportunity to express his cheeky nature there.
Blonde Squad by Kevenn T. Smith ©Kevenn T. Smith 2011My take on the Blonde Squad Team is also available on T-shirts, hoodies, and stickers in assorted styles, colors, and sizes at RedBubble.com!
Blonde Squad T-Shirt by Kevenn T. Smith ©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

A Happy Birthday

Today is my sister's birthday, and part of my birthday celebration is showcasing this artcard I did of her a couple years ago for a Christmas present.  She and my sister-in-law wanted pictures of themselves dressed in Victorian style dresses.  So that's what I did!  Happy Birthday, Little Sister!

And here's the one of my sister-in-law - just to complete the pairing:

Both pieces 5.5 x 4.25 inches.
Pencils, inks, Prismacolor color pencils
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011