Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Finale
I spent a year working on all of these individual designs and the setting for this composite piece. When I was working on it, several times throughout the year of 2021 I wondered if this piece would be obsolete or no longer relevant by the time I finished all the planned entries. Sadly, the answer is that it's more relevant than ever. With the Omicron variant being five times as transmissible as the already more transmissible Delta variant, whether you're vaccinated or not, the best way to help protect yourself and others (after being vaccinated) wearing a mask when having to be near others. Being vaccinated and wearing a mask are the best ways to stop the spread of this virus. I wish this piece was obsolete so that life could get back to the way things were before the pandemic happened.
Prints of this piece are available directly from me. Fill out the "Contact Me" form at the left of this page to contact me regarding a print and inquire about pricing.
Pictured Left to Right starting at the bottom, Row 1: Black Canary, Huntress, Barda, Isis, Donna Troy, Nubia, Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, Artemis, Vixen, Katana, Batgirl, Zatanna, Mera
Row 2: Ice, Omen, Power Girl, Flamebird, Hawkgirl, Dove, Bumblebee
Row 3: Fire, Dr. Light, Starfire, Catwoman, Batwoman, Raven, Supergirl, Green Lantern
Row 4: Red Tornado
Right-click on the thumbnail below and open it in a new tab to see a larger image size. Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece and this series. I hope it inspires you to wear a mask.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
All characters ©DC Comics
Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Catwoman
This is the 17th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.
Catwoman is a character that revels in her independence. And while she does enjoy a liberal amount of independence from other people, she still needs others and lives in a society that affects her. Catwoman was created in the 1940's to be a villain, but the character really hasn't been portrayed consistently as a villain in around thirty years. Currently, she's practically Mrs. Batman. And while she's known for her expertise at breaking and entering, she's also a formidable hand-to-hand combat opponent. She's always exhibited admiral qualities worth emulating. I should know. In high school, I wrote a thirteen page research paper on why Catwoman was a positive role model. And yes, I did get an A grade on it.
For my take, I took influences from several different looks Catwoman has had throughout the years. For many years, starting in the 1940's, her costume consisted of a purple dress with slits in the skirt and a green cape. In the 1960's, the Batman TV show happened, and she went through a couple different looks before circling back to the purple dress and green cape look in the 1970's, just with a longer skirt and cape, higher boots, and a deeper cut in the decolletage. The purple dress with splits here defeinitely pays homage to that look. Instead of a green cape, I utilized green jewelry to introduce that color into the design. The purple I used was a warmer purple, closer to the color used in her 1990's costume. The corset is a take on the corset worn by Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in the movie Batman Returns. The lace-up sandal boots also nod to that costume. The cat ears on her head are a nod to the Catwoman costume from the 1966 Batman TV series, embellished with black diamonds here. The haircut and makeup are inspired by early designs by Joelle Jones during her run on the Catwoman comic book.
Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Catwoman" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Catwoman ©DC Comics
Purrrr-Fect Eartha by Kevenn T. Smith
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 at my RedBubble.com store.
Eartha Kitt as Catwoman by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, ink, Photoshop
©Kevenn T. Smith 2012
Catwoman ©DC Entertainment 2012
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 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
Earth-2 Huntress: Helena Wayne
This is a commission that I did for my friend and writer, J.H. Moffat who runs the online urban fiction magazine, Drops of Crimson. This piece is of the Earth-2 Huntress, Helena Wayne. Earth-2 was a parallel earth where Batman and Catwoman had their career in the 1940's and ended up marrying and having a daughter, Helena. Catwoman was eventually killed, and Batman died, and Helena carried on their legacy as the Huntress.
The newer version of this illustration is available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.
Pencils, Ink, Prismacolor Color Pencils, Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator.
©Kevenn T. Smith 2011
Earth-2 Huntress ©DC Comics 2011
DC Comics Villainesses 2007
After completing the DC Comics Heroines 2007 piece, my goal was to create a companion piece for it that would contrast it with a showcase of DC Comics' various villainesses.
Once again, my goal was to depict iconic representations of the characters that would give an idea of who these characters were, just from looking at them, as well as rendering them in the styles of my favorite artists who have depicted them. Some of those artists include Terry Dodson, Jim Balent, Nicola Scott, Matthew Clark, Lee Moder, Dustin Nguyen, George Perez, Joe Bennet, J.G. Jones, Dale Eaglesham, Jesus Saiz, Patrick Olliffe, H.G. Peter, Mark Buckingham, Ed Benes, Adam Kubert, Drew Johnson, Ethan Van Sciver, Joe Benitez, Phil Jimenez, Gary Frank, Tom Raney, Graham Nolan, John Byrne, and Don Kramer. Some of the characters have only appeared in animated DC projects, but I did not feel that the animated style would work well with the others styles present in this piece, so I rendered them in my own style instead.
What follows is a numbered version of the piece, and below that is the key to the names of the numbered characters, as well as the superhero/heroine or group they are the most common adversary to or affiliated with:
01. Silver Banshee (Superman/Supergirl); 02. Ursa (Superman);
03. Phobia (Teen Titans/Manhunter); 04. Mercy Graves (Superman);
05. Livewire (Superman); 06. Rampage (Superman/Supergirl);
07. Magenta (Flash); 08. Terra (Teen Titans);
09. Shimmer (Teen Titans/Outsiders);
10. The New Ventriloquist & Scarface (Batman);
11. Siren (Titans/Tempest); 12. Knockout (Secret Six);
13. Jinx (Teen Titans/Wonder Woman); 14. Scandal Savage (Secret Six);
15. Gundra the Valkyrie (Wonder Woman); 16. Silver Swan (Wonder Woman);
17. Medusa (Wonder Woman); 18. Dr. Veronica Cale (Wonder Woman/52);
19. Giganta (Wonder Woman); 20. Dark Angel (Donna Troy/Wonder Woman);
21. Queen Clea (Wonder Woman); 22. Dr. Poison (Wonder Woman);
23. Osira (Wonder Woman); 24. Dr. Cyber (Wonder Woman);
25. Devastation (Wonder Girl/Wonder Woman); 26. Circe (Wonder Woman);
27. Cheshire Jade (Titans; Secret Six); 28. Superwoman (JLA);
29. Catwoman (Batman); 30. Blue Lama (Sargon the Sorcerer);
31. Volcana (Superman); 32. Scorch (Martian Manhunter);
33. Blackfire (Starfire/Titans); 34. Morella (Catwoman);
35. Golden Age Catwoman (Batman); 36. Cyber Cat (Catwoman);
37. Golden Age Cheetah, Priscilla Rich (Wonder Woman);
38. Baroness Paula Von Gunther (Wonder Woman);
39. Cheetah, Dr. Barbara Minerva (Wonder Woman);
40. Granny Goodness (Female Furies); 41. Tala (Phantom Stranger);
42. Lashina (Female Furies); 43. Morgana LeFay (Demon Etrigan);
44. Bernadeath (Female Furies); 45. Fatality (Green Lantern);
46. Star Sapphire (Green Lantern); 47. Lady Styx (Capt. Comet);
48. Roulette (JSA); 49. Chain Lightning (Mary Marvel);
50. Eclipso, Jean Loring (Mary Marvel, JLA); 51. Shiv (Stargirl/JSA);
52. Hummingbird (Hawkman/Hawkgirl); 53. Mad Harriet (Female Furies);
54. Satanna (Hawkman/Hawkgirl); 55. Killer Frost (Firestorm);
56. Stompa (Female Furies); 57. Plastique (Suicide Squad);
58. Queen Bee (JLA); 59. Tigress (JSA/Hawkgirl); 60. New Wave (Outsiders);
61. Lady Lunar (Superman); 62. Jewelee (Suicide Squad); 63. Linx (Robin);
64. Amanda Waller (Suicide Squad); 65. Lady Vic (Nightwing);
66. Alley Cat (Catwoman); 67. Sickle (Teen Titans/Catwoman);
68. Harley Quinn (Batman); 69. Lady Shiva (Batman);
70. Roxy Rocket (Batman); 71. Poison Ivy (Batman);
72. Spy Smasher (Birds of Prey); 73. Velvet Tiger (Batgirl); 74. Orca (Batman);
75. Spellbinder III (Batman); 76. Talia al Ghul (Batman)
©DC Comics 2011
DC Villainesses 2007 ©Kevenn T. Smith 201116" x 20"
Pencil, Ink, Prismacolor Pencil, Photoshop
This illustration is available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.
DC Comics Heroines 2007
I thought the best way to get the ball rolling here on my portfolio was to write about one of my favorite pieces I did.
The goal of this piece was to portray my favorite versions of my favorite DC Comics Heroines, including the costume details and artist depictions of them. I also wanted to try to depict as many characters as I could in a way that was iconic to the character; to try to communicate something about who that character was.
Some of the artist whose styles I worked to emulate for these characters were: Terry Dodson, Amanda Conner, Nicola Scott, Adam Hughes, Ed Benes, Joe Bennet, Joe Staton, Dale Eaglesham, Brian Bolland, Tony Daniel, Pete Woods, Mike McKone, Michael Turner, Jamal Igle, George Perez, Kevin Maguire, Chris Batista, Phil Jimenez, J.G. Jones, Al Barrionuevo, Daniel Acuna, Matthew Clark, Todd Nauck, Tom Grummet, Bill Willingham, Adriana Melo, and Jesus Saiz.
What follows is a numbered version of the piece, and below that is the key to the names of the numbered characters:
01. Jade; 02. Raven; 03. Isis; 04. Supergirl (Kara Zor-El);
05. Supergirl (Linda Danvers); 06. Aquagirl; 07. Ravager;
08. Batgirl (Barbara Gordon); 09. Speedy; 10. Misfit; 11. Black Canary;
12. Oracle; 13. Huntress; 14. Big Barda; 15. Lady Blackhawk; 16. Thorn;
17. Manhunter; 18. Gypsy; 19. The Question (Renee Montoya);
20. Batwoman; 21. Batgirl (Cassandra Caine); 22. Queen Hippolyta;
23. Flamebird; 24. Starfire; 25. Power Girl; 26. Sasha Bourdeaux;
27. Catwoman (Holly Robinson); 28. Catwoman (Selina Kyle); 29. Spoiler;
30. Bumblebee; 31. Ice; 32. Miss Martian; 33. Wonder Girl;
34. Earth-2 Wonder Woman; 35. Wonder Woman; 36. Miss America;
37. Donna Troy; 38. Fury I; 39. Artemis; 40. Vixen; 41. Firehawk;
42. Hawkgirl; 43. Cyclone; 44. Stargirl; 45. Liberty Belle;
46. Earth-2 Huntress (Helena Wayne); 47. Phantom Lady; 48. Red Bee;
49. Empress; 50. Dr. Light II; 51. Skyrocket; 52. Mera; 53. Katana;
54. Mary Marvel; 55. Crimson Fox; 56. Nightshade; 57. Thunder;
58. Fire; 59. Natasha Irons; 60. Madame Xanadu; 61. Zatanna;
62. Enchantress; 63. Grace
©DC Comics 2011
DC Heroines 2007 ©Kevenn T. Smith 2011
16" x 20"
Pencil, Ink, Prismacolor Pencil, Tempera, Photoshop
This illustration is available as prints. Please use the "Contact Me" form at the top-left of this page to request one and inquire further about pricing and sizes.