I’d like to introduce you to another fantastic artist who has inspired me to learn hand-lettering and doodling techniques. Karlie Winchell is a graphic designer by day, creative journaler by night. I wanted to know how she got started, what she likes about Bible journaling, what tools she uses, and if she has any go-to designs or tricks. You can see some of her work in this blog post, but she has even more amazing examples of illustrated faith over on her blog page here: Creative Journaling. (And authors, check out her portfolio at Karlie Winchell Creative Design; she does “identity design” aka logos!)

Here is Karlie:

By day, I’m a Graphic Designer, so I am lucky enough to get to draw for a living. After taking several calligraphy classes and trying my hand at different creative outlets, I was struggling at finding out how to use my talents in the way that God intended me to. No matter what I dabbled in, I didn’t feel like I was doing what I was MEANT to be doing. Once I stumbled across the Journaling Bible Community and put my lettering, illustration, and design skills to use in way that would honor God, I felt that I found what I was meant to be doing. Not only was I creating art, but I was doing it in a way that made me more passionate about my nightly devotional time. I was finding excuses to procrastinate my work and spend more time each night reading through my Bible and trying to find new ways to express what I was reading.

After practicing for a few months, I had to share what I was doing with other creative women of faith in my area; I was so excited about it! I started a Creative Journalling Bible Study group in Charlotte, NC in February and have weekly fellowship each week, sharing techniques, supplies, and our creative work, no matter the skill level, over our Saturday morning coffee. I like to use this example for those who are nervous to get started: Think about when you were little; you used to create paintings and macaroni art for your mom and no matter how it looked, she loved it because you made it for her. That’s the way I imagine God feels about what we’re doing. No matter if it doesn’t look perfect, He’s proud that we’re spending time to make something in His honor.

It is easy for creative folks to get carried away with buying expensive paints, stamps and inks, but I’m a firm believer in using the basics. I have simple colored pencils, watercolors, and paper that aren’t too expensive, but they still do the job! I think it get’s intimidating when you have too many choices! The few staple supplies that I don’t mind splurging on are: good drafting pencils, white erasers, and thick Micron pens (I typically use the 0.5). I always start in pencil, trace with micron, then erase the lines away and add color. Being a designer, you’d think I would be anxious to dive right into color, but it’s actually the scariest part for me!

No matter the skill level, each of us has something we strive to improve on. Color and Illustration style are mine. Being a part of communities like these helps each of us learn from another’s strengths, while gaining encouragement as we work through our own creative challenges.