How to Draw a Book

ជំហាន​ដោយ​ជំហាន

1. ជំហាន 1

   គូរ​ឆ្អឹង​កង​ជា​បន្ទាត់​ខ្លី​ចុះ​ក្រោម​នៅ​កណ្ដាល ។

   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.

   ប្រយ័ត្ន Starting with a page and adding the spine afterwards.

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល It should be vertical and near the middle of your page.

2. ជំហាន 2

   គូរ​ជ្រុង​កំពូល​នៃ​ទំព័រ​នីមួយៗ បង្វិល​បន្តិច​ទៅ​កាន់​គ្នា ។

   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.

   ប្រយ័ត្ន Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. ជំហាន 3

   បិទ​ទំព័រ​នីមួយៗ​ដោយ​មាន​គែម​ខាងក្រៅ​ត្រឡប់​មក​រក​អ្នក ។

   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.

   ប្រយ័ត្ន Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. ជំហាន 4

   ចូលរួម​ច្រក​ខាងក្រៅ​ត្រឡប់​ទៅ​បាត​នៃ​ឆ្អឹង​ខ្នង ។

   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.

   ប្រយ័ត្ន Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. ជំហាន 5

   គូរ​ទទឹង ៖ បន្ទាត់​ខ្លី​ចុះ​ពី​ជ្រុង​ខាងក្រៅ​នីមួយៗ ។

   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.

   ប្រយ័ត្ន Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល All three verticals should measure the same.

6. ជំហាន 6

   ចូល​រួម​បាត​នៃ​បន្ទាត់​ទាំងនោះ​ដើម្បី​បិទ​ផ្នែក​ខាងក្រោម ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល Each bottom edge should run parallel to the one above it.

7. ជំហាន 7

   បន្ថែម​ជង់​ទំព័រ​ជា​បន្ទាត់​ខ្លី​ពីរ ឬ​បី​នៅ​លើ​ជ្រុង​នីមួយៗ ។

   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.

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

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល You should see distinct layers, not a filled band.

8. ជំហាន 8

   គូរ​ខ្សែកោង​តូច​មួយ​ចូល​ទៅ​ក្នុង​ទំព័រ​នីមួយៗ​នៅ​ជិត​ឆ្អឹង​កង ។

   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.

   ប្រយ័ត្ន Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល Each page should dip slightly as it approaches the spine.

9. ជំហាន 9

   បន្ថែម​បន្ទាត់​អត្ថបទ​តាម​មុំ​ទំព័រ ។

   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.

   ប្រយ័ត្ន Drawing the text lines horizontally.

   ពិនិត្យ​មើល The text lines should lean the same way as the page's top edge.

10. ជំហាន 10

    ដាក់​ស្រមោល​ផ្នែក​ខាង​សៀវភៅ​ឆ្ងាយ​ពី​ពន្លឺ ។

    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.

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

    ពិនិត្យ​មើល The dark side should be clearly darker than the mid tone, not slightly.

11. ជំហាន 11

    បន្ថែម​ស្រមោល​នៅ​លើ​ផ្ទៃ​ខាង​ក្រោម ។

    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.

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

    ពិនិត្យ​មើល It should touch the object and be darkest at that contact point.

12. ជំហាន 12

    ដើរ​កាត់​បន្ទាត់​ដែល​អ្នក​ចង់​រក្សា​ទុក ហើយ​បាត់បង់​មគ្គុទ្ទេសក៍ ។

    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.

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

    ពិនិត្យ​មើល The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.