How to Draw a Book

Gawo ndi Gawo

1. Gawo 1

   Draw spine monga mzere wafupi pansi pa pakati.

   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.

   Onani Starting with a page and adding the spine afterwards.

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

2. Gawo 2

   Draw pamwamba malire a patsamba lililonse, kukana pang'ono kumbuyo wina ndi mzake.

   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.

   Onani Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   Chezani Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. Gawo 3

   Sungani patsamba lililonse ndi kunja malire kuchoka kumbuyo kudzera inu.

   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.

   Onani Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   Chezani Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. Gawo 4

   Kugwirizana ndi kunja mapiko kumbuyo ku pansi pa 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.

   Onani Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   Chezani Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. Gawo 5

   Draw thickening: mfupi liwiro pansi kuchokera pamodzi ndi mbali iliyonse yakunja.

   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.

   Onani Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   Chezani All three verticals should measure the same.

6. Gawo 6

   Kugwirizana pansi pa iwo mafano kuti atsegule pansi.

   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.

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

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

7. Gawo 7

   Kuwonjezera patsamba stack monga awiri kapena atatu fupi liwiro pa mtunda uliwonse.

   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.

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

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

8. Gawo 8

   Draw m'mbali pang'ono m'mbali mwa tsamba lililonse pafupi ndi 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.

   Onani Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

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

9. Gawo 9

   Kuwonjezera masamba a malemba, kutsatira zenera.

   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.

   Onani Drawing the text lines horizontally.

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

10. Gawo 10

    Kuwala kwa mpweya wotentha kumatha kuwononga khungu la munthu.

    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.

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

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

11. Gawo 11

    Ikani chithunzi pamalo pansipa.

    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.

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

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

12. Gawo 12

    Pitani pa zigawo zimene mukufuna kuti muzisunga, ndipo mudzataya ma guidelines.

    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.

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

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