I’ve selected five verses on the theme of ‘peace and refuge’ from the huge number of possible choices from scripture. I tried out a few new tricks I have learnt on Adobe Illustrator whilst creating these, such as warping the shield with the dove on it to gain perspective and the ‘lean’. On the Psalm 91 verse, I also read ahead and incorporated elements from later in the verse in the illustration (the rampart and shield combo). As ever, the templates are available as a free download – scroll to the end of the post. And while you are there, check out what’s happening next month!
Design choices and colour palettes
I continue to use colour palettes by pulling out cards from the Color Cube sets. Though I sometimes select cards based on particular colours I want to include, other times I go with the flow. For the verse from Matthew, I wanted the ‘rest’ element to show a picturesque, peaceful landscape. The card provided a predominantly yellow-red palette and thus the switch to a sunset happened.
For highlights, I revisited a quick technique: swipe across with an eraser after you have finished colouring. You can always go back in and touch up, but it’s a great way to blend edges to white as well. It’s visible on the Celtic knot heart and around the castle/wings combo. I’ve used it for the highlights on the shield and the light rays in the landscape scene.
And, though I do say so myself, the contrast between the greys of being tired and weary on an uphill struggle juxtaposed with the colours of the end of day rest work really effectively.
Materials Used for Bible Journaling Peace and Refuge
- NIV Art Bible
- Faber-Castell Polychromos colouring pencils
- Posca pens: Gold / Red Wine
- Unipin black pigment fineliners
- Tombow Fudenosuke black pigment pen: hard tip brush
Download the templates and illustrate your Bible
Please note that I provide these templates for free, but I still pay to host the site. If you find the resource useful, or wish to help keep it free for others to use, consider making a donation using the Ko-fi button in the sidebar. Thanks!
Next month
I started Bible journaling almost ten years ago. Over the next year or so, I moved from freehand journaling to a format that I could share online for others to use. Next month will see the 200th illustration I have shared in this way and my total illustrations to around 250.
In honour of this milestone, I will be offering a framed original illustration of your favourite verse to one reader pulled at random from the comments on next month’s post. All you will have to do is comment with your verse choice and why it is important to you, with a closing date at the end of the month. I’ll pluck a name at random and be in touch (you should get asked for your email to leave a comment, don’t put it in the comment itself!).