The Illuminated Manuscript Project: Genesis, Chapters Seven and Eight (NIV)

Hello, and welcome back to my illuminated manuscript of the NIV Bible, Book of Genesis. As discussed in earlier posts, this is a project that I made for myself to experiment with illuminated manuscript whilst making my way through the Bible, a traditional manuscript for illumination. I try to bring some creativity and fun into the lettering and illustrations. It's all done in a hardbound sketchbook, colored with magic marker, gel pens and colored pencil, so it's a fun little practice project. 

Being a casual and experimental project, I'm learning as I go what works and what doesn't. There are messy bits, awkward bits, and many places where my materials have simply betrayed me! For example, the black pen I was using for lettering seemed fine at first, but eventually reacted with the paper to leach out into a weird mess, creating bluish blobs on the page and reducing legibility. It took a while for it to do that, so I was already on Chapter 7 before I realized there was an issue and switched pens. I'm sure it's easy to see where that happened, but just to verify, it's on the page with the Noah's Ark illustration. Good news - the lettering will now be much clearer and easier to read, barring any further unforeseen reactions. 

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

As always, you can click the first picture to enlarge it and then scroll through the pages from there. 

Here is the first post, if you'd like to start at the beginning (everything else links forward from there). 

Here is the most recent post (everything links backward, too. Hooray for completism!)

For regular posts and artwork, please follow me on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart

The Illuminated Manuscript Project: Genesis, Chapters Five and Six (NIV)

Chapter Five of Genesis is also known as the "begats" section, tracing the family line from Adam to Noah and giving truly wild lifespans to a lot of the line. Chapter Six recounts the great flood, and if you look at the title illumination for "The Flood", you will see that it contains a teeny little flood (as always, just click on the pictures to see them larger). 

Chapter Five:

Chapter Six:

This is the last page of Chapter 6 and a BIG head start on Chapter 7. Stay tuned! 

Here are links to the previous chapters: 

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-illuminated-manuscript-project.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-illuminated-manuscript-project_10.html

I'll publish another installment later and be sure to link it here https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-illuminated-manuscript-project_25.html

In the meantime, please check out my Facebook page, if you haven't already: https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart

The Illuminated Manuscript Project: Genesis, Chapters Three and Four (NIV)

In my first post, I explained that I am trying my hand at producing an illuminated manuscript. I am going by the NIV version of the Bible so that I can understand the text more easily in order to make accurate illustrations, and I think it's also easier for other people to read and enjoy. I am not using very expensive materials because this is kind of  a practice for me. I am using the opportunity to work out what works and what doesn't. 

I am producing this manuscript in a hardbound sketchbook, so the paper is not very expensive or heavy. This has caused bleedthrough on some of the pages, so I hope you will take this in the spirit of endeavour and be forgiving. 

Chapter Three

The last line of this page ends with "...you will strike his heel."

Chapter Four

To see any picture enlarged, just click! You can also click on the first picture and scroll through them, which is probably the best way to do this. I'll publish another installment later and be sure to link it here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-illuminated-manuscript-project_16.html

In the meantime, please check out my Facebook page, if you haven't already: https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart

The Illuminated Manuscript Project: Genesis, Chapters One and Two (NIV)

I have always been interested in illuminated manuscripts, and so I thought I would try my hand at it. Since I have never read the Bible cover to cover and it's a traditional illuminated book, it was my first project.

It's kind of an experiment in what works and what doesn't. For example, the ink I used for lettering on the earlier pages both faded but also discolored the paper, but it is still legible and doesn't seem to have affected the illustrations. As I post further pages, however, you'll notice that sometimes the way I colored the illustrations didn't do them any favors.

I'm just practicing and trying to move forward, so I'll consider this my "comp sketch" in case I want to do a more finished version.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Just like the monks who copied old manuscripts by hand, I tried to inject a bit of light-heartedness into the illustrations. To see any picture enlarged, just click! You can also click on the first picture and scroll through them, which is probably the best way to do this. I'll publish another installment later and be sure to link it here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-illuminated-manuscript-project_10.html

In the meantime, please check out my Facebook page, if you haven't already: https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart