How to Draw a Book

Крок за кроком

1. Крок 1

   Намалюйте хребет як коротку лінію посередині.

   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.

   Обережно Starting with a page and adding the spine afterwards.

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

2. Крок 2

   Намалюйте верхню частину кожної сторінки, трохи нахиляючись одна до одної.

   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.

   Обережно Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   Перевірити Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. Крок 3

   Закривай кожну сторінку зовнішнім краєм, що прямує до 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.

   Обережно Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   Перевірити Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. Крок 4

   З'єднайте зовнішні краї до дна хребта.

   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.

   Обережно Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   Перевірити Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. Крок 5

   Малювати товщину: короткі рядки з кожного зовнішнього кута.

   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.

   Обережно Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   Перевірити All three verticals should measure the same.

6. Крок 6

   Закривай нижню частину лінії, щоб закрити нижню частину.

   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.

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

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

7. Крок 7

   Додайте стек сторінок до кожного краю двома або трьома короткими рядками.

   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.

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

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

8. Крок 8

   Намалюйте маленьку криву на кожну сторінку біля хребта.

   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.

   Обережно Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

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

9. Крок 9

   Додати рядки тексту, які слідують куту сторінки.

   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.

   Обережно Drawing the text lines horizontally.

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

10. Крок 10

    Затініть бік книги від світла.

    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.

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

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

11. Крок 11

    Додайте тінь на поверхні під землею.

    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.

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

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

12. Крок 12

    Пройдіть по лінії, які ви хочете зберегти, і загубіть провідники.

    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.

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

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