How to Draw a Closed Book
Quickly whipping up a sketch of anything can instantly provide a conversation piece. The simpler the sketch appears, the more effortless you can make it seem and the more admiration you will garner. A relatively simple picture to the human eye is a closed book.
Sketching a closed book may sound easy, but if you've ever tried it, you may have found it quite challenging. Your proportions may have been wrong, and the book appeared lifeless and flat. However, once the lines laid out correctly, the challenge is gone and all that is left is practice.
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Instructions
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1
Draw a faint, straight line two-thirds of the way down your paper (use your ruler if necessary). This line will be the axis on which you will base the spine of the book. You will erase this line, so draw as lightly as possible. (Later, with more practice, you will be able to omit this step.)
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2
Draw the spine of the book sloping up and to the right from the line by roughly 45 degrees. Note how long your spine is.
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3
Draw a line sloping down from the top of the spine toward the right side of the and somewhere between one-half and three-quarters of the length of the spine. This line is the top of your book.
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4
Draw the third line of your book at a 90 degree angle to the top line of your book. This line should slope down toward the bottom side of your paper and should be as long as the spine to maintain the correct proportions.
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5
Connect the two open ends of the book (use a ruler if necessary to maintain straightness in the line). This line is the front cover of the book.
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6
Draw a slightly curved line from the bottom left corner of the cover. This line is the binding. Changing the length of the arc will change the thickness of the book (smaller arc = thinner book). You can make your book as thick or thin as you like.
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7
From the bottom of the binding, draw a line parallel to the bottom line of the book and roughly the same length in inches. Because of the arc of the binding, this bottom line should extend very slightly beyond the top line. If it extends too far, the book will be out of proportion with itself, so try to match the lines as closely as possible.
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8
From the end of the bottom parallel line, draw another line running up toward the right-hand side of the paper, parallel to the long edge of the book. This line should be approximately a 90-degree angle to the first parallel line.
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9
Connect the second parallel line with the cover by another arc, similar to the binding, at the top of the second parallel line and along the flat edge of the cover. Use an arc that is nearly identical to the binding to connect the bottom line of the book cover to the bottom parallel line.
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10
Erase the beginning line. Embellish the lines of the pages and the title as desired.
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Tips & Warnings
The measurements given are all approximations and can be adjusted as desired for thicker and thinner books. Set a book out at a 45 degree angle to use as a visual aid while drawing the book. You can thicken the lines of the cover and the back of the book (the two parallel lines) to increase the depth perception of your book.
