Rooted in the Protestant conviction that the Word of God is central to faith and life, this project combines a portrait sketch of a biblical figure with hand-lettered Scripture woven into the composition itself. The lettering is not a caption added afterward — it is a visual element of equal weight to the figure. Look at illustrators like He Qi or Daniel Bonnell for inspiration before beginning.
Smooth drawing paper or watercolor paper (9×12"), HB pencil, Micron pens (varied sizes), ruler, vinyl eraser, colored pencils OR watercolor set with brushes and water, white paint pen for corrections (optional). Choose verse and figure before gathering.
Choose your verse and figure so they connect: Mary with the Magnificat, David with Psalm 23, Isaiah 40:31 with an eagle, John 10:11 with the Good Shepherd. Write out the verse and count its words to plan spacing.
Sketch at least three different compositions on scratch paper before committing. Try text above the figure, text flowing around it, text in the background. The text and figure should feel like they share one space.
Lightly pencil both figure and text placement on your final paper. Use simple, consistent hand lettering — not elaborate calligraphy. Evenness of size and spacing matters more than decoration.
Ink the figure first with a Micron pen — illustrative rather than realistic. Suggest a face, robes, and hands. The text will complete the picture.
Ink the lettering carefully, working slowly and letting each line dry before your hand crosses it. A white paint pen can correct most ink errors if you work quickly.
Add a unifying wash across both text and figure in colored pencil or diluted watercolor — a single warm or cool color family makes the whole piece feel like one unified image.
The hardest challenge is making the text feel integral, not pasted on. Think of the lettering as texture — sometimes small and dense where the figure is active, sometimes large and open where the figure breathes. Let text and image respond to each other across the full composition.