Illustrated night sky spread, God's hand releasing stars toward the earth and moon, with hand lettered text reading 'God spoke and set the sun and moon in place'

Let There Be Light

Client: Hillsong City & Vine
Services: Illustration

Illustrate a childrens book written by Kathryn Joy MacDowall, based on a famous and popular Hillsong worship song.

The Story, Illustrated

Illustrated spread of a family in a rowing boat and children swimming among sea creatures, with the hand lettered text "God made You and Me — His best creation for the world to see!" — "God made You and Me — His best creation for the world to see!"

Illustrated spread of a wide grid of land animals — zebras, elephants, a giraffe, bears and more — with the hand lettered text "He made them with stripes, spots, furry, with trunks, hooves, and scales" — "He made them with stripes, spots, furry, with trunks, hooves, and scales."

Illustrated spread split between a flock of birds in the sky and an octopus and fish in the deep ocean, with the hand lettered text "From high where birds soar... to creatures deep on the ocean floor" — "From high where birds soar, to creatures deep on the ocean floor."

Illustrated spread of a figure among sky and sea creatures beside a large whale, with the hand lettered text "God made each creature in the sky and sea... from the biggest whale to the smallest flea" — "God made each creature in the sky and sea — from the biggest whale to the smallest flea."

Illustrated spread of a garden full of brightly coloured flowers with faces, with the hand lettered text "With great beauty He dressed every flower, and the whole earth sang of His mighty power" — "With great beauty He dressed every flower, and the whole earth sang of His mighty power."

Illustrated spread of a swirling night sky with a sleeping figure curled inside the swirl, with the hand lettered text "God spoke and stretched out the sky, the heavens above and the clouds up high" — "God spoke and stretched out the sky, the heavens above and the clouds up high."

The Brief

Cumi was brought on to illustrate one of a series of three children's books, each based on a famous Hillsong song. Mid way through the project Cumi was given creative control of the other two books, working with their illustrators to give the series a strong cohesion. Cumi worked with author Kathryn Joy MacDowall to discuss the story, then drew rough sketches planning out the book before drawing and colouring the final art, bringing on calligrapher Shamila Joy to hand draw the text throughout.

What Cumi Created

A full set of illustrated spreads retelling the days of creation in rhyme, the animals of the land, sky and sea, the flowers and gardens, the sun, moon and stars, the oceans, and the making of people, each spread carrying Shamila Joy's hand lettered text.

Credits

Illustration: Cumi
Illustrator: Mark Kessler
Author: Kathryn Joy MacDowall
Hand-lettering: Shamila Joy