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.

For sale as T-shirts, Skirts, Hoodies, Kids' & Babies' Clothes, Posters, Throw Pillows, Tote Bags, Studio Pouches, Mugs, Travel Mugs, Photographic Prints, Art Prints, Framed Prints, Canvas Prints, Metal Prints, Greeting Cards, Laptop Skins and more! Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request and inquire about pricing and size options.

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.

Wonder Woman and Circe ©DC Comics 2010

 She-Ra ©Mattel 2010

 Shadow Weaver ©Classic Media 2010

Now available as a print from RedBubble.com!

So Super Duper Issue #10 Pin-Up by Kevenn T. Smith

I am really excited about my pin-up piece that I did for Brian Andersen's comic book, So Super Duper, issue #10!  When I was asked to contribute a pin-up for the So Super Duper comic book, I was beyond thrilled.  Going into it, I wanted to make sure it was something that celebrated a milestone like the tenth issue.  For an indie comic, it's a big deal!  I ended up drawing nearly every character that had appeared in the comic's previous nine issues(some who are not even named).  I think I missed one and a half.  There was literally one unnamed character who only appeared half-way on one panel.  I wasn't going to cry over not being able to fit her in.

You can go here and read a free eight page preview of the issue that includes my pin-up.  And while you're there, feel free to order the issue.  It's only $4.00!  It's the cheapest way to own a piece of my art, and you get to support indie artists!  Plus, it's such a fun, cute comic book filled with action, humor, and heart.  How can you resist?  The original piece, complete with trim art, can also be viewed in the lobby of The Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood, Ohio (along with a pin-up piece I did for Kevin Conn's Lava-Roid comic book - but that is another post!) until July 30th, 2010!

From Left to right, starting at the bottom, we have: Mr. Keen, Sass, Feminazi (Don't know if that's actually her name), Bad Kitty, Giant Poop Monster, Bad Tink, Dr. Wicked, The Twins, Skip.  The next row is:  Fly-Girl, Crazy Curl, Unnamed Superheroine in Yellow and Black, Unnamed Superheroine in Blue and White with Pink Hair.  Row Three:  Fly-Girl's Unnamed Sister, Halo, Psyche, Comet, Briar.  Top Row:  Unnamed Pink-Winged Hunky Hero in Violet and White, Star, Hothead, Tink, Captain Idol, Ultra Woman.  All characters ©Brian Andersen 2010.

©Kevenn T. Smith 2010
Pencil, Ink, Prismacolor Pencil, Photoshop

Imperials by Kevenn T. Smith

This is a commission that I did for a friend.  When I was a small child, I drew pictures of characters from Star Wars a lot.  I don't think I drew Darth Vader very often, or at all.  I always liked the good guys better as a kid.

Earlier this year, I drew several Star Wars trading cards for a charity event to take place later this year, but I still hadn't drawn Darth Vader (or any Stormtroopers).  This piece gave me the opportunity to tackle those characters and find my own take on them.  At first, I got a little intimidated by the limited motion their armor would allow, but eventually, I figured out the way I needed to approach it that would work.



8.25 x 11.5 Bristol board.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor pencil.

©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

Darth Vader & Stormtroopers ©Lucasfilm 2011

Hop, Throttle, Soar: Adam's Picture

This illustration is a very special piece that I was honored to be asked to do because it's for a four year old boy named Adam Grover.  Adam's two favorite things in the world are frogs and the Blue Thunder Monster Truck.  Adam was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Myopathy Complexes I & IV on June 4th 2008.  This mitochondrial disease affects the mitochondria of the cells, which harness energy for the body.  The disease leaves him very tired, among other symptoms, that get in the way of living life as four year old boy who wants to play and go to school.  It ultimately leads to fatality, and there is no cure.  There are certain kinds of vitamins that can possibly help to treat this disease, but insurance does not cover them.  Here's a picture of Adam and his Blue Thunder toy:

This piece is going to be presented to Adam at his Make A Wish party this spring, where Blue Thunder and its driver will be present.  I am beyond touched and grateful at being able to participate in this celebration of Adam.  To find out more about Adam and/or to find out how donate to his fund to help contribute to medical costs, please click here.

The challenge for this picture was to come up with a way to integrate the frogs and the Blue Thunder Monster Truck into an image together so that it made sense.  I wanted to draw tree frogs because I think they are simultaneously beautiful and odd looking animals.  I love their bright green color and their contrasting bright red eyes.  Their bodies are a lot like rubber humans, which make them fun to draw.  I thought the best way to overcome the size difference between small frogs and a huge truck was to show the frogs in the foreground, and Blue Thunder behind them.  Because these frogs live in the rain forest, I thought it would be great to showcase the truck ramping off of the rain forest mountainside.  This gave me an excuse to be able to illustrate a lush rain forest aerial landscape shot.  I like these kinds of views because they let me to create the kind of picture where you want to go inside it and explore all the different places in it.  Click on the pictures below to access larger versions.


Blue Thunder Detail:


Frogs on the left detail:


Frogs on the right detail:


11.5 x 7.75 Bristol board.

Pencil, ink, Prismacolor pencil.

©Kevenn T. Smith 2011

Cold Hands, Warm Heart: An Ice Valentine by Kevenn T. Smith

This is a Valentine artcard featuring Justice League international character, Ice, whose real name is Tora Olafsdotter.  Ice is a princess of a tribe of magic people hidden in Norway.  Her powers allow her to create and manipulate ice.  And while her powers are very cold, Ice is known for her warm and sweet personality.

Because February is such a cold month where I live, and because Ice is such a caring person, I thought she'd be perfect for a Valentine's Day card.  Ice was stupidly killed off at one point, but has been thankfully resurrected by Gail Simone during her first run of the Birds of Prey title.  I am very glad Tora was brought back, because there aren't enough loving characters like her in the comics.  Not every character needs be be tough and hard or sarcastic and bitter.  She even charmed the heart of a hardened character like Green Lantern, Guy Gardner.  Ice brings personality diversity to the characters in comic books, and I like to give her features a more diverse look as well.  While I was doing this card, I really liked the idea of making her eyelashes white as well.  I think they give her a very fantastical quality.

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.

Ice, Tora Olafsdotter ©DC Comics 2010

Now also available as cards and postcards at RedBubble.com!