The Bible App for Kids

From 2013-2016 I worked collaboratively and virtually with a team to develop the art for The Bible App for Kids. I created production-ready color character and background art based on the lead artist’s line art sketches. I also oversaw style consistency and asset management for the small team. Over the past 10 years, the children’s app has been downloaded over 100,000,000 times around the world.

Lead illustrator Rob McClurkan designed characters and most environments, and provided black and white storyboards for each scene. Next up in the pipeline, my role was to create animation-ready colored illustrations based on Rob’s storyboards and designs.

While working from the sketches, I often made creative adjustments to promote style consistency and biblical accuracy, to flesh out rougher areas, and to address client revisions. I also ensured each illustration would be suitable for 2D animation and would fit the app’s technical requirements.

Taking art direction into account, I was free to make decisions about how best to use color to establish the mood and direct the eye in each scene. The ability to apply lighting to characters was limited, but the color and atmosphere of each overall scene was a key opportunity to enhance the story.

Color Key

I also built style guides for the team, and managed a growing library of assets that could be easily be referenced, reused, and adapted to speed up subsequent stories.

The app tells the major stories of the Old Testament and New Testament using colorful illustrations with touch-activated animations. The art from the app has also been used to produce printed books and animated videos as companion resources.

The Bible App for Kids
http://www.bibleappforkids.com

Produced by YouVersion & OneHope
App development and animation by OvenBits

Project Manager, OneHope: Andrea Dragotas
Lead Illustrator: Rob McClurkan
Illustrators: Ian Dale, Melanie Matthews, Jake Page