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 Sea Fairies Illustration by Kevenn T. Smith

This is an illustration that depicts a moment in L. Frank Baum's 1911 book, The Sea Fairies.  At this point, Baum had written six Oz books and wanted to write other stories.  He wrote The Sea Fairies about a young girl named Trot and her friend, an old peg-legged sailor named Cap'n Bill, visiting the mermaids and exploring the ocean.  Yes, it was decades before Finding Nemo and Disney's Ariel.  The book is mostly travelogue in nature until the last third, when the plot about an underwater villain really kicks into gear.  This image features the mermaid, Merla, swimming with Trot and Cap'n Bill, who have been transformed into merfolk themselves, by the magic of the mermaid sea fairies.

Baum followed The Sea Fairies with Trot and Cap'n Bill's further adventures in Sky Island, which is one of my favorite books by him.  Oz characters Button Bright and Polychrome appear in the book.  However, Baum's readers wanted more Oz, and so he resumed the series.  Trot and Cap'n Bill traveled to Oz in the ninth book of the series, The Scarecrow of Oz, and joined the cast of Oz characters for the following books.  I consider these two "spin-off" books to be essential to Oz reading.

A grayscale edition of this illustration will be featured in the program for 2011's Winkie Convention.  Programs are available for purchase here.  The original colored art piece is debuting framed and matted today (Friday June 3rd) in the Lakewood, Ohio Beck Center for the Arts Student Art Show.  The piece will be on display in the lobby until the end of July.  It is also available for sale.  Contact me for pricing information.


8 x 11 inches bristol board.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor color pencil.

©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

Shh! Santa Scraps Is Sneaking by Kevenn T. Smith

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! This artcard is my way of saying "thank you" for all the support from so many people that I have been given this past year for my work.  It's been quite a year for me, and I am very grateful for what I've been able to accomplish.  Whichever of the Holidays you may celebrate this time of year, if any, I hope you find peace and love in your life.  Thank you.  So please enjoy this illustration of Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of Oz, sneaking as Santa underneath the Christmas tree.

This artcard is available as cards, prints and posters at RedBubble.com!

4.25 x 5.5 inches cardstock.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor pencil.

©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

Oz Artwork Merchandise by Kevenn T. Smith

Now you can own prints, cards, t-shirts, hoodies, and other apparel of many of the Oz character illustrations seen on this website.  They're available for purchase at RedBubble.com.  Also, from now until December 25th, all white apparel is 20% off! All of my t-shirts (women's, men's, children's, and infants) and hoodies are available in white.

Scraps the Patchwork Girl of Oz by Kevenn T. Smith


The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman T-Shirt by Kevenn T. Smith


Dorothy and Ozma T-shirt by Kevenn T. Smith


Polychrome T-shirt by Kevenn T. Smith


The Cowardly Lion and The Hungry Tiger T-shirt by Kevenn T. Smith


Yurgod the Gryphon T-shirt by Kevenn T. Smith


Ozma of Oz T-shirt by Kevenn T. Smith


The Wonderful Wizard of Oz T-shirt by Kevenn T. Smith


Emerald City Landscape by Kevenn T. Smith available in cards and prints


All artwork and images ©Kevenn T. Smith 2010

Singular Sensation: Yurgod the Gryphon

This Singular Sensation entry showcases my illustration of Yurgod the Gryphon that I did for the wrap-around cover of issue #37 of Oziana Magazine.  Yurgod the Gryphon is a character from the Russian Oz series of books.  When The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was translated into Russian, it seems that it took on a life of its own, and several follow-up books were written in Russian, completely separate from the Oz books that L. Frank Baum continued to write.

I was completely unfamiliar with Yurgod, but the challenge for the cover was to showcase characters that appeared in stories inside the issue.  Some characters I knew, but others, like Yurgod, I only had was a couple of images of him provided by my editor.  However, he was a visually appealing character, and I was eager to try my own take on him.  How could I resist the chance to draw a fantastical creature like this?  The drawings I had were very stylized, and I wanted to inject a sense of realism in anatomy to my version.  In order to depict him in a way that he would fit in even better with other Oz characters more firmly established in the canon, I wanted to add the bow to the end of his tail to echo the bows on the ends of the tails of the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger.  I think the bow makes him look decidedly "Ozzy."


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

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