The Elements

Book Cover & Layout Design

Digital watercolor painting and interior layout for "The Elements" by Sarah Amoyaw. This work is a series of poems that revisit Ms. Amoyaw's childhood in Ghana. The illustration depicts a hand holding a cocoa pod—an important symbol in the story. The work centers around the cocoa plant and it's relation to Ms. Amoyaw's coming of age. Which is represented by the ripening of the cocoa from dark purple to yellow. The cocoa pod embodies everything the work stands for including Ms. Amoyaw's love for chocolate, and for her culture.

The Process – Sketches, revisions, references, mood board

Started with a concept of a tree illustration to represent growth and strength. Then revised to depict a hand holding a cocoa pod which is a more symbolic element in the work. Color palette is inspired by the Kente Cloth, "a type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips and is native to the Akan ethnic group of West Ghana."

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