If you have seen a few of my Bible journaling videos, I often mention how I added a “shadow” to the lettering on my page. Today I wanted to quickly share exactly what I mean by that, and how to add a shadow in the easiest way possible.
Adding a shadow to your lettering is one of those little details that can make a BIG difference. It helps your lettering stand out without distracting from the hand-lettering or the overall page. It is so simple to do, but can really make your lettering POP.
Now there are a TON of ways you can add shadows to lettering, but today I am just going to show you the simple way that I like to do it. (Let me know in the comments below if you would be interested in a post on all the different ways to add shadows.)
I would encourage you to grab some scrap paper, practice your lettering, and then go through and try adding shadows in as many ways that you can think of! I tend to add the shadow to the right side of my letters, but you can add a shadow to the left, the top, the bottom, etc. You can also try things like leaving a gap between the letter and your shadow, or make a really thick or thin shadow. Try jumping out of the box!
Check out the video below to see exactly how I add shadows and see an example of how it helped add a finishing touch to my Bible journaling page!
All in all, there are two ways that I will typically add shadows:
-The first, easiest and quickest way is by just drawing a line on the right side of all the downstrokes of my letters.
-The second is drawing a line on the right side of both the upstrokes and the downstrokes.
To learn more about upstrokes, downstrokes, and all things hand-lettering, you can find all my hand lettering tutorials HERE.
The four most popular lettering posts are the Faux Calligraphy Tutorial, Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial, and 10 Easy Hand-Lettering Styles Tutorial, and Bounce Calligraphy Tutorial. *Bonus- all of these posts have free-printables as well!
My Favorite Supplies For Hand-Lettering In My Bible
I have never had bleed-through with these supplies in a Journaling Bible– I do not prep my pages.
*This article contains affiliate links. CLICK HERE for my full disclosure*
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens– This pack of the three types is my favorite
Uni Posca Paint Pens (only for use over acrylics-these do bleed-through otherwise)
