Artwork Rationale: 

When I saw the theme it instantly resonated with me to illustrate a busy market or street in the city. I first did some character research to put together the type of 'personalities' that I wanted to portray. My ideas consisted of young entrepreneurs, moms, up-and-coming artists and ambitious individuals. Inclusivity was very important as well and to show people from all walks of life.

Once I had all my ideas formalised; I then sketched out the first draft by hand. I scanned in my basic concept and imported it in to photoshop. The illustration style was a bit tricky to figure out at first but I soon settled on a crowded scene but wanted elegant and minimal lines to 'tame the chaos'. It was important for

me to use all the colours in the colour palette provided and particularly
the brighter colours to draw the viewers eyes across the page and to each
individual character in the scene. I wanted each character to have a strong
personality and presence by hinting at subtleties of the type of person they
are but illustrated as minimal and as clean as possible.

I wanted to tie in the elegant lines and the figures by dispersing the different colour tones evenly across the illustration to create a sense of flow and energy between the crowd that makes the scene appear at ease and as 'one body' in a sense.

I wanted to bring the idea across that our dreamers and entrepreneurs in Africa are the fabric of our society and the ones that keep things vibrant and alive.

Without hope and dreams during the difficult times we have faced on a global scale; as well as the challenges we experience as South Africans day to day - we would be lost otherwise. This artwork is an ode to the force that our dreamers are and the vibrancy and warmth they create and emanate when the daily grind gets tough.