GATES OF IFE

This illustration depicts an idealized version of the city of Ile Ife, Nigeria in all its ancient glory. Ife is one of the oldest African civilizations and the cradle of the Yoruba tribe, founded around 500 BC. I was inspired to create this image after I saw an Ife bronze head in a museum. I used lots of reference as I created this image. First I did lots of sketches on paper, exploring various ways to stage the scene to look epic and awe-inspiring, when I finally got the scene I wanted I moved it to photoshop for digital painting.