How to Draw a Book

Шаг за шагом

1. Шаг 1

   Потяни позвоночник как короткую линию вниз по центру.

   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.

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

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

2. Шаг 2

   Нарисуйте верхний край каждой страницы, слегка наклонившись друг к другу.

   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.

   Осторожно. Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   Проверить Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. Шаг 3

   Закрыть каждую страницу с внешним краем, возвращающимся к тебе.

   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.

   Осторожно. Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   Проверить Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. Шаг 4

   Присоединиться к внешним краям спины к нижней части позвоночника.

   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.

   Осторожно. Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   Проверить Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. Шаг 5

   Нарисовать толщину: короткие линии вниз от каждого внешнего угла.

   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.

   Осторожно. Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   Проверить All three verticals should measure the same.

6. Шаг 6

   Присоединяйтесь к нижним этажам, чтобы закрыть нижний этаж.

   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.

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

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

7. Шаг 7

   Добавить стопку страницы в виде двух или трех коротких строк на каждом краю.

   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.

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

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

8. Шаг 8

   Нарисуйте небольшую кривую на каждой странице рядом с позвоночником.

   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.

   Осторожно. Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

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

9. Шаг 9

   Добавить строки текста, следующие за углом страницы.

   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.

   Осторожно. Drawing the text lines horizontally.

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

10. Шаг 10

    Отбрось сторону книги от света.

    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.

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

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

11. Шаг 11

    Добавить тень на поверхности под землей.

    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.

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

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

12. Шаг 12

    Перейти по линиям, которые вы хотите сохранить, и потерять проводников.

    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.

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

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