How to Draw a Book

Bước một bước

1. Bước 1

   Vẽ lưng như một đường thẳng ngắn xuống giữa.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Starting with a page and adding the spine afterwards.

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

2. Bước 2

   Vẽ cạnh trên của mỗi trang, nghiêng một chút về phía nhau.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Drawing them parallel, or worse, diverging.

   Kiểm tra Extended, the two lines should eventually meet.

3. Bước 3

   Đóng mỗi trang lại với một cạnh bên ngoài quay về phía anh.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Making one cover visibly longer than the other.

   Kiểm tra Both outer edges should be about the same length.

4. Bước 4

   Gặp lại các cạnh bên ngoài trở lại phía dưới của xương sống.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Stopping just short, leaving four small gaps.

   Kiểm tra Every corner should be closed or slightly crossed.

5. Bước 5

   Vẽ độ dày: đường thẳng ngắn xuống từ mỗi góc bên ngoài.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Making the three drop lines different lengths.

   Kiểm tra All three verticals should measure the same.

6. Bước 6

   Gặp nhau ở đáy của những đường đó để đóng phần dưới.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Drawing these at a different angle from the edges above.

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

7. Bước 7

   Thêm đống trang như hai hoặc ba đường ngắn trên mỗi cạnh.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Drawing one hard line, which reads as solid wood.

   Kiểm tra You should see distinct layers, not a filled band.

8. Bước 8

   Vẽ một đường cong nhỏ vào mỗi trang gần lưng.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Leaving the pages perfectly flat.

   Kiểm tra Each page should dip slightly as it approaches the spine.

9. Bước 9

   Thêm dòng văn bản, theo góc trang.

   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.

   Cẩn thận! Drawing the text lines horizontally.

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

10. Bước 10

    Để bóng bên cạnh cuốn sách tránh ánh sáng.

    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.

    Cẩn thận! Being too timid. Beginners routinely stop two or three steps short of dark enough.

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

11. Bước 11

    Thêm bóng vào bề mặt bên dưới.

    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.

    Cẩn thận! Drawing it as an even grey blob detached from the object.

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

12. Bước 12

    Đi qua những đường mà anh muốn giữ, và mất đi những người dẫn đường.

    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.

    Cẩn thận! Going over everything at the same weight, which flattens the drawing back out.

    Kiểm tra The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.