How to Draw a Book

Алхам алхмаар

1. Алхам 1

   Draw the spine as a short line down the middle.

   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.

   Ажиллах Starting with a page and adding the spine afterwards.

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

2. Алхам 2

   Хуудасны дээд захыг хоорондоо бага зэрэг нийлсэн байдлаар зурна.

   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.

   Ажиллах Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   шалгах Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. Алхам 3

   Бүх хуудасуудыг гадна талын булан нь таны зүг рүү эргэж байгаагаар нь хаа.

   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.

   Ажиллах Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   шалгах Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. Алхам 4

   Гадна талын зангилаануудаа доод тал руу нь холбоно уу.

   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.

   Ажиллах Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   шалгах Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. Алхам 5

   Draw the thickness: short lines down from each outer corner.

   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.

   Ажиллах Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   шалгах All three verticals should measure the same.

6. Алхам 6

   Доод хэсгийг хаахын тулд энэ шугамыг доош нь холбо.

   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.

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

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

7. Алхам 7

   Хуудасны сандлыг хоёр эсвэл гурван богино мөрөөр нэмнэ.

   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.

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

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

8. Алхам 8

   Хуудасны эргэн тойронд бага зэргийн өргөсөлт хий.

   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.

   Ажиллах Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

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

9. Алхам 9

   Хуудасны өнцгийг дагаж үсгийн мөрүүдийг нэмнэ.

   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.

   Ажиллах Drawing the text lines horizontally.

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

10. Алхам 10

    Номны талбайг гэрэлээс хол байлга.

    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.

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

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

11. Алхам 11

    Доод талд нь өнгө нэмнэ.

    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.

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

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

12. Алхам 12

    Хуваах хүссэн мөрүүдийг давж, зааварлагчийг алдах.

    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.

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

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