iBIBLE Production Part 10: Turning iBIBLE Into a Book
Over past weeks, we have explored the various steps that go into each episode of iBIBLE. Today, we will look at what happens after we have a completed episode in English. As we seek to bring God’s Word to the whole world, we do so by using a number of different methods, the newest of which is the iBIBLE Storybook series.
We want to put the complete visual narrative of the Bible into as many hands as possible. There are three main ways that people can engage with the animated videos of iBIBLE: video streaming websites like YouTube, RightNow Media, Redeem TV, and YouVersion; the forthcoming iBIBLE app; and finally, Micro SD cards.
While these are the main ways that iBIBLE will be shared, there is another exciting way that people will be able to engage with the story: through the iBIBLE Storybook series. The iBIBLE Storybook series combines the script from our animated iBIBLE videos and still images from the animation to create a beautiful book that can be shared with people of all ages.
Why a Storybook?
Our mission at RevelationMedia is to create, translate, and distribute the one Divine narrative of Scripture to as many people as possible. We strive to bring God’s Word to America and the nations beyond in the various languages of the world.
Missionaries have communicated with us the need and desire for our vibrant artwork and our Bible-based script to help them share the faith with people all over the globe. Christian schools, families, and churches here in America have also requested that they have a physical book to share with the next generation. When we heard of this need, we decided to pursue the storybook format alongside the animated videos.
Because iBIBLE presents the narrative of Scripture without skipping over key stories or adding additional interpretation, it allows those teaching to use it as a tool, rather than something that interprets the Bible for them.
From Video Animation to Book Illustration
Once the iBIBLE chapter is complete, we take the finished animation and turn it into a storybook. First, we look over the text of iBIBLE and choose the illustrations that best capture the specific scene. There are times when an image will look great when it is animated, but when the animation elements are removed, the image feels flat. It may not have the same energy as the animated image, or perhaps it doesn’t communicate exactly the same message without those elements of animation informing the image. So, we have to take these things into consideration as we move from an animated story to a series of still images.
For example, on the third day of creation, the dry land appears. In a video sequence, this image is very powerful. We see the waves crashing, the land emerging, and a volcano erupting.
The still image, however, lacks the same impact.
For the book version, we needed to rework the art to capture the drama and the energy of the water and the land separating in one single image. By reworking this page and adding more intensity to the artwork, the reader of the storybook will better absorb this element of the narrative. Here is the book version of the same image.
Another great example is day five when the fish of the sea are created. The video begins with an empty sea, and then fish enter the picture, swimming by and showing the prolific sea life.
That concept doesn’t work as well for a single image.
For the storybook format, we chose to make a new spread entirely. Here, we see beautiful, colorful aquatic animals. The coral reef is teeming with life.
How Big Will Each Book Be?
Each book will contain 40 to 50 scenes (that’s 80 to 100 pages) and will cover 2–4 chapters each. Each book will be hardcover and 10” square (the same size and shape as The Pilgrim’s Progress Storybook). Large IBIBLE art is featured throughout the book, and the story is the Divine narrative that carries through each iBIBLE episode, bringing the one story of Scripture to the hands of children and families all over the world.
Volume 1 of the iBIBLE Storybook series will include the stories of Creation, the Fall, and Cain and Abel. The English version is already being printed. Preorders will begin in October, with delivery to donors before Christmas of this year. We look forward to translating the iBIBLE Storybooks into many world languages for missionaries, missions organizations, and families from all around the globe.
Thank you for joining with us as we bring God’s story to the nations with iBIBLE, both in animated form and storybook form. With your donations, your prayers, and your support, we will be able to bring the incredible Divine Narrative to America and beyond for FREE. Partner with us today by clicking the link below.
