If you’ve ever looked closely at a self help program, you can see that they’ve figured out how to best help people to set and reach the goals they desire. When you start something like Bible Art Journaling, some of the same things apply.
Easy Ramp Up
In the previous post in this series, Quick Start Guide to Bible Art Journaling, I shared a video and a template that gave you the opportunity to take just 3 Super Simple Steps to create a page with supplies you probably have now. In that post, I showed you how to create with the Bible you have now, without working in the Bible. That way you’re not actually altering your Bible. It’s a good way to try Bible Art Journaling and just see if you enjoy it. The next technique to try is creating directly on the page of your Bible.
Make it as Simple as Possible
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZWJVRaqajk[/embedyt]
Quick Success!
This is where the templates come in. Templates make it so easy to get some really cool results, without having to know all the skills and techniques. These give you a hand up and the feeling of success. When I started, I would find pages others had done that I liked, and then I would try to mimic those pages. Sometimes they had links to the templates they’d used or created. It was a way to start, and I felt AWESOME that not only was I loving my devotional time, but I had a beautiful Bible page to show for it.
Small Steps to Move Forward
Next, try goal setting. Hopefully, you’ve decided now that Bible Art Journaling is something you can actually do, and want to do. Maybe you’ve realized that this is a way you can grow closer to God in an act of creative worship you really enjoy. Yesterday someone told me that her daughter totally lit up when she watched my previous post in this series, and I can’t tell you how awesome that made me feel!!!
Ideas for goals going forward may be time oriented, so maybe do one page once a week. They may be content oriented, so work your way through a list of verses that you found or that you created. They may be technique oriented, so you want to learn how to do cool stuff so you can make cool pages.
I tend to combine all of these. Figure out what your goals are, and what would make you feel like you’ve succeeded.
Rewards for Reaching Your Goals
The next step forward is motivation to achieve those goals. My son’s video games all have “badges” that you can collect when you accomplish things in the game. The badges frequently come with in-game reward points so that you can go purchase a power up in the game’s store.
So don’t judge me, but full disclosure; when I feel like I’ve accomplished one goal in my art, I’ll treat myself to some supplies that I’ll use for my next challenge.
Getting art supplies TOTALLY motivates me. A new roll of wire, the biggest set of crayons that Crayola sells, or the set of watercolors I really wanted; AND usually they tie in to what I want to do next. For example, I have the watercolors- now I can learn to create the cool watercolor backgrounds.
For you, using all the templates I have in the Creative Resource Library might be a goal. Doing a page for your life verse. Committing to a page a week. Or throwing caution to the wind and getting a set of the markers, pencils, or paints you’d like to try.
The Support You Need
Finally, finding support to reach those goals. I want to help you succeed at this, so I have posts and videos in a special Bible Art Journaling Category here on Well Crafted Studio. These will give you a list of tools, links for supplies, video tutorials, and step-outs so that you are SURE to experience success.
How to use templates to trace and create on the page in your Bible.
Tools and Supplies
- Bible with wide margins
- Jonah Template (FREE download in my Creative Resource Library)
- Pencil and eraser
- Watercolor pencils
- Watercolor brush with dish of water
- Pitt Artists Pen
Directions
Step One: Download and print the template
Download and print out the template from the Creative Resource Library. You’ll get the code immediately after you sign up for access. You’ll also be signing up for email tips, exclusive free files, and updates, but you can easily unsubscribe if that’s not for you.
Step Two: Fold and insert
Fold under the left side margin and insert it under your Bible page. Tip: if your Bible doesn’t have the first page of Jonah on the right side of your Bible, you can either flip the pdf before you print or you can just go ahead and trace it onto the second page of the book of Jonah. No big deal.
Step Three: Use a pencil to trace
Use a pencil to lightly trace the design onto your Bible page. Make sure you have adequate lighting so you can see the image. If you are having trouble, you can either a) flip the page up and check the design, or b) use a sharpie to thicken/darken the lines on the template.
Step Four: Add color
Add color by using your choice of color-making art supplies. Colored pencils and markers all work, but I chose to use the Intense watercolor pencils again because… well… I LOVE THEM.
Step Five: Get the painterly effect
If you are using the watercolor pencils, or watercolor markers, you can use a small brush and some water to add water to the design. This activates the pigment in the pencils/markers and creates a painterly effect. See tips below for more info. Set aside to dry.
Step Six: Use a pen to outline
After the page has dried, use a pen to outline the text of the image, as well as any other part of the image you want to define.
Step Seven: Use an eraser
Use an eraser to gently go over any pencil lines you still see. This step isn’t necessary, but it gives you a cleaner final image.
Tips for Success
- Be careful not to get your page too wet; you can avoid this by dabbing your wet brush on a paper towel after you load it with water.
- If the paper does get too wet, take some breaks and let the saturated areas dry before you work into them again.
- Be careful not to tear the page when you go back in with pencils.
- If you DO tear the page you can tape it from the back, after the page has dried.
- Paper wants to curl or ripple when wet. One way to minimize this is to work all over a page. If you only do a small area, that area is going to want to pull at the rest. If it’s all consistently wet then it will actually dry more consistently. It’s weird, I know. You can also press the page flat, or I’ve tried using an iron set on low to smoothen my page after the fact. That works pretty well too. Really tho- I just don’t care that much.
For more inspiration…
In my Creative Resource Library I have a growing selection of templates that you can print and play with, and a Quick Start Guide for Bible art journaling. I also have a Pinterest Board that I’ve been pinning to for several years now, so LOTS and Lots of great examples to be inspired by. There is also the first post in this series, Why you should try Bible art journaling. Make sure and check them out if you haven’t yet.
Share the Love…
If you found this post helpful please share it! I super appreciate it! Thanks for reading, and if you try this project please let me know by leaving a comment below. I’d love to encourage you!
