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