Blog

So Super Duper KickStarter Campaign

Kevenn T. Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:52:19 +0000

Brian Andersen has launched a KickStarter campaign to collect his comics So Super Duper and Reignbow and Dee-Va in collected trade formats with earliler issues of the So Super Duper comic re-colored and re-lettered by artist extraordinaire, Celina Hernandez. Since my artwork is featured in three issues of So Super Duper, and one of them is an entire story that I wrote and illustrated, I hope you'll consider donating to the campaign to raise money to help pay for the extensive upgrades and printing! You can learn more here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1366461100/so-super-duper-and-reignbow-and-dee-va-trade-colle

Purrrr-Fect Eartha by Kevenn T. Smith

Kevenn T. Smith — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 05:31:22 +0000

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 as 8 by 10 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 additional pricing and sizing options.
Eartha Kitt as Catwoman by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2012
Catwoman ©DC Entertainment 2012

Costume/Character Design: Antigone

Kevenn T. Smith — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:17:18 +0000

I recently served as the costume designer for Brunswick High School's production of Sophocles' Antigone. Antigone was actually the very first play I did designs for in costume design class back in school, so this was the perfect opportunity to get out my old renderings and bring some of those concepts to life.

You can view my original desgins along with photos of the actors in costume at the Antigone Gallery.

©Kevenn T. Smith 2012

Dark Knight Daughter: The Huntress by Kevenn T. Smith

Kevenn T. Smith — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:37:52 +0000

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.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor color pencil, and Photoshop
Huntress ©DC Comics 2012

Illumina: Eternian Solstice by Kevenn T. Smith

Kevenn T. Smith — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:42:11 +0000

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

Kevenn T. Smith — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:18:17 +0000

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

Kevenn T. Smith — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:12:42 +0000

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

Kevenn T. Smith — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:00:45 +0000

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:

Site Remodeling

Kevenn T. Smith — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:08:46 +0000

I've switched servers for my website, so right now, not all of the areas previously available on my site are up. The blog is still here. Also, my store at RedBubble.com is still up, so you can buy any items there in the meantime.

Thanks for your patience!

The Sea Fairies Illustration by Kevenn T. Smith

Kevenn T. Smith — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:59:57 +0000