Official Virtuous Con 2024 Art Piece

I was given the honor to create the official banner artwork for Virtuous Con 2024 and here is the final piece along with the sketch process and progress. The theme was hope and the only directive was to center afro-futurism and a black woman. My initial thought was to illustrate a woman lighting the way in a dark space and that her expression would look determined and confident. I went through several iterations of our main lady having magical prowess and lighting the way with a luminated compass of her own making, but it wasn't quite nailing the composition. What I ended up on is our leading lady charging forward, lighting bolt in hand towards the first sign of light through this darkened, lost cave with afro-futurist-implied carvings on the wall. It was definitely heartening and fun to keep the energy of hope and determination as the north star of this piece.