How to Draw a Book

Paso a paso

1. Paso 1

   Dibuja la columna vertebral como una línea corta hacia el centro.

   Everything hangs off this. The spine is the hinge, and both page halves are measured from it - which is why drawing it first stops the book coming out bent.

   Cuidado. Starting with a page and adding the spine afterwards.

   Comprobar It should be vertical and near the middle of your page.

2. Paso 2

   Dibuja el borde superior de cada página, inclinándose ligeramente uno hacia el otro.

   These are the edges going away from you, so they converge. Not dramatically - a few degrees is enough. This single detail is what separates a box from a folded rectangle.

   Cuidado. Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   Comprobar Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. Paso 3

   Cierre cada página con un borde exterior que regrese hacia usted.

   These are the short edges of the covers. Keep them roughly the same length as each other - the two halves of an open book are the same size, and any difference reads as a mistake rather than as perspective.

   Cuidado. Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   Comprobar Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. Paso 4

   Une los bordes exteriores de nuevo a la parte inferior de la columna vertebral.

   This closes the two page shapes. Corners must actually meet - overshoot slightly and let the lines cross rather than aiming to stop exactly on the point, because a crossed corner reads as closed and a gap does not.

   Cuidado. Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   Comprobar Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. Paso 5

   Dibuja el espesor: líneas cortas hacia abajo desde cada esquina exterior.

   A book is a solid, not a sheet. These three short verticals turn the flat shape into a box, and they must all be the same length - unequal ones make the book look warped.

   Cuidado. Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   Comprobar All three verticals should measure the same.

6. Paso 6

   Une los fondos de esas líneas para cerrar la parte inferior.

   Now the box is complete. These lines run parallel to the edges directly above them - if they do not, the thickness of the book changes along its length, which is the classic wobbly-box look.

   Cuidado. Drawing these at a different angle from the edges above.

   Comprobar Each bottom edge should run parallel to the one above it.

7. Paso 7

   Añadir la pila de página como dos o tres líneas cortas en cada borde.

   Pages read as a stack, not a slab. Two or three lines following the cover edge is enough for the eye to fill in hundreds - drawing more just makes it look hatched.

   Cuidado. Drawing one hard line, which reads as solid wood.

   Comprobar You should see distinct layers, not a filled band.

8. Paso 8

   Dibuje una ligera curva en cada página cerca de la columna vertebral.

   Open pages are not flat - they dip toward the spine. Adding that curve is the difference between an open book and two flat cards taped together, and it takes one stroke each side.

   Cuidado. Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

   Comprobar Each page should dip slightly as it approaches the spine.

9. Paso 9

   Añadir líneas de texto, siguiendo el ángulo de página.

   Text lines run parallel to the top edge of the page they sit on, which means they are NOT horizontal - they lean with the perspective. Drawing them level is the fastest way to flatten a book you have just built.

   Cuidado. Drawing the text lines horizontally.

   Comprobar The text lines should lean the same way as the page's top edge.

10. Paso 10

    Alejar el lado del libro de la luz.

    Work in one direction rather than scrubbing back and forth. Scrubbing gives an even grey, which is exactly the thing that makes a drawing look flat, so lay the strokes the same way and build the darkness in passes.

    Cuidado. Being too timid. Beginners routinely stop two or three steps short of dark enough.

    Comprobar The dark side should be clearly darker than the mid tone, not slightly.

11. Paso 11

    Añadir la sombra en la superficie debajo.

    The cast shadow is darkest where it touches the book and softens as it moves away. It also anchors the object to a surface - without it the book floats, however well you have shaded it.

    Cuidado. Drawing it as an even grey blob detached from the object.

    Comprobar It should touch the object and be darkest at that contact point.

12. Paso 12

    Repasa las líneas que quieres mantener, y pierde los guías.

    This is the step that turns a construction drawing into a finished one, and it is the one most people skip. Press harder on the outline and the features; leave the small stuff light. That difference in weight is what makes a drawing look deliberate rather than traced, and it costs thirty seconds.

    Cuidado. Going over everything at the same weight, which flattens the drawing back out.

    Comprobar The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.