Don't Be Afraid to Draw

One of the things I wish I had done differently as I started Bible journaling is to have been less afraid of drawing pictures in my Bible.  Because I have never thought of myself as artistic, I almost completely avoided drawing anything beyond the most basic shapes in my Bible.  While this allowed me to focus on my hand lettering, I was missing out on adding those visual elements to my pages that have now become a big part of my "style."

I am still not very good at thinking of an idea and drawing it off the top of my head but I have now become adept at using Instagram and Pinterest to find images I like, practice them on paper, figure out how to make them my own and transfer them to my Bible.  The cacti above were based on an image I found on Pinterest that I am really happy with.

When I started in this Bible, I made a commitment that my pages would be my own and that I would not exactly replicate anyone else's work in my Bible.  I have held true to this and never use pages and lettering with the pictures that go along with it.  I struggled a bit with the fact that I am using the drawings of others on IG and Pinterest to learn how to draw the same thinngs but have decided that I am learning (and now teaching others) how to draw things that I never would have figured out on my own.

So...go for it.  Give it a shot.  Find a sketch or doodle that you like and pay attention to the details.  What makes a picture look 3D?  What sort of coloring and shading gives you the effect that you like?  How do scale and perspective affect what you're looking at?

Happy journaling, friends.

Making the Leap

I think I've mentioned before (definitely on IG if not here) that I am afraid of watercolors.  I see the bold, rich colors in others' work but just couldn't make the leap.  You know, in case I hated it.  In case I wasn't good at it.  All of those insecurities that plague us when we want to try something new.  Encouraging all of my new Bible journaling friends to be bold and go ahead and jump into their new Bibles has rubbed off a bit on me because I finally bought a set of watercolors AND used them.  More than once.  And liked them.

This is my most detailed entry to date and one I practiced on paper, sketched in pencil and took forever working out the colors for.  I absolutely love it.  Isn't that the way it usually works when we put something off, dread it, and then finally do it?  Since the flowers (also something i tend to avoid because I feel like a phony who couldn't name five flowers in real life) were fairly detailed, I used several different pictures on Pinterest for ideas.

This is my first color-soaked page.  I was pleasanty surprised at how smoothly it dried and how well I can read the text under the paint.  I've decided that this journaling Bible (already thinking about my next one...) will be wholly readable when I'm finished.  I love the idea of my children reading from it and asking me questions about the entries as they encounter them.

So far, I have used a Pentel aqua brush for all of the watercolor entries I have put in my Bible.  I love that it is self-watering and doesn't require that gross cup of water that turns brown.

I have also used watercolor to go back and add some pizzazz to pages that I had previously lettered but not added any sort of color or doodling to.  I turned one page I didn't care for to a bright, happy butterfly page.

I've also been working with Illustrated Faith pigment liners.  I have to say, I'm disappointed by how much they shadow and bleed.  They are definitely worse than my trusty Microns.  I like how they write, especially touching up over the watercolors but will not be switching.