How to Draw a Book

Nzọụkwụ site n'ụdị

1. Nhazi 1

   Depụta spine dịka ọ̀sọ̀là n'okpuru n'etiti.

   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.

   Nlekọta Starting with a page and adding the spine afterwards.

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

2. Nhazi 2

   Depụta elu-elu nke ihuakwụkwọ ọbụla, na-akpụga n'otu n'otu.

   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.

   Nlekọta Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   Chekwaa Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. Nhazi 3

   Mechie ihuakwụkwọ ọbụla na n'ime etiti na-abịa n'ihu gị.

   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.

   Nlekọta Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   Chekwaa Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. Nhazi 4

   Join the outer edges back to the bottom of the spine.

   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.

   Nlekọta Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   Chekwaa Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. Nhazi 5

   Debata ụghasị: kpụga n'okpuru n'ime ngwe n'ime.

   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.

   Nlekọta Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   Chekwaa All three verticals should measure the same.

6. Nhazi 6

   Kpọnye ala nke ụkpụrụkpụ ndị ahụ ka mechie ala ala ahụ.

   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.

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

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

7. Nhazi 7

   Tinye ihuakwụkwọ stack dịka ụzọ njikọ abụọ mọọbụ atọ n'okporo ụzọ ọbụla.

   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.

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

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

8. Nhazi 8

   Depụta n'ime ihuakwụkwọ ọbụla n'ebe dị nso na spine.

   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.

   Nlekọta Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

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

9. Nhazi 9

   Tinye ngwe nke ngwe, na-eso ihuakwụkwọ aịkọn.

   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.

   Nlekọta Drawing the text lines horizontally.

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

10. Nhazi 10

    Kpọchie n'akụkụ akwụkwọ ahụ n'ebe dị anya site n'okporo ọkụ.

    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.

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

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

11. Nhazi 11

    Tinye inyogo na mpaghara ebe n'okpuru.

    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.

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

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

12. Nhazi 12

    Gaa n'elu ụzọ njikọ ịchọrọ ichekwa, na hapụ ndị nzọụkwụ.

    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.

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

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