How to Draw a Book

Korak po koraku

1. Korak 1

   Potegni hrbtenico kot kratko črto po sredini.

   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.

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

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

2. Korak 2

   Narisati zgornji rob vsake strani, nagniti se rahlo drug proti drugemu.

   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.

   Pazi. Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   Preveri Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. Korak 3

   Zaprite vsako stran z zunanjim robom, ki se vrača proti vam.

   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.

   Pazi. Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   Preveri Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. Korak 4

   Pridružite se zunanjim robom nazaj na dnu hrbtenice.

   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.

   Pazi. Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   Preveri Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. Korak 5

   Narišite debelino: kratke črte dol od vsakega zunanjega kota.

   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.

   Pazi. Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   Preveri All three verticals should measure the same.

6. Korak 6

   Pridružite se spodaj, da zaprete spodnjo stran.

   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.

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

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

7. Korak 7

   Dodajte slog strani kot dve ali tri kratke vrstice na vsak rob.

   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.

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

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

8. Korak 8

   V hrbtenici narišite rahlo krivuljico.

   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.

   Pazi. Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

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

9. Korak 9

   Dodaj vrstice besedila, ki sledijo kotu strani.

   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.

   Pazi. Drawing the text lines horizontally.

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

10. Korak 10

    Zaseči stran knjige stran od luči.

    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.

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

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

11. Korak 11

    Dodaj senco na površino spodaj.

    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.

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

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

12. Korak 12

    Pojdi čez črte, ki jih želiš zadržati, in izgubi vodiče.

    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.

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

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