Drawing realistic trees step by step

Do your drawings of trees look a little cartoonish? Trees come in all different shapes and sizes and consist of lines and shapes that change directions abruptly.

In this guide, I will demonstrate how I simplify the drawing process, and I hope that by the end of it you will be able to draw your favorite tree. In order to draw realistic trees with pen and ink, it is important to pay attention to accuracy of the form structure , and to learn how to create the illusion of brightness values and transitions with pens. Once you understand these simple shapes, you can use your artistic license and your knowledge to recreate it. There is no point drawing every single leaf as you see it when using a reference image as a guide. For trees with big leaves, like a banana tree, first draw a study of the leaves from different angles.

Drawing realistic trees step by step

Last Updated: February 15, Fact Checked. Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,, times. Just about everyone has experience doodling a tree, but all it takes is a little observation and detail to draw a more realistic one.

Keep in mind: White pens are designed for covering.

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When you add trees to your drawings or paintings, it helps make your scenes more interesting and adds more realism. These lines may not look like much right now, but when we draw a bunch of them, they will look like a real Pine tree. It is perfectly fine to draw the short lines over the previous ones you drew, as long as the lines go in an opposing direction. Repeat drawing more short lines in the same way as the previous steps but on the branch on the left. Keep drawing more short lines and continue to keep in mind that each set of lines should be drawn in an opposing direction. If we want to darken some areas of the pines on a branch, we can draw more short lines over the lines we drew before. The combination of our shadow from the previous step and lightening the right side helps give our pine tree a realistic effect and make it look 3D. To help make your tree branches look more organic, draw one side of the branch with a curved line and the other side with a zigzag line. If you look at our branch on the left side, you can see the furthest left line as a curve and the right side of the left branch as a zigzag line.

Drawing realistic trees step by step

In this guide, I will demonstrate how I simplify the drawing process, and I hope that by the end of it you will be able to draw your favorite tree. In order to draw realistic trees with pen and ink, it is important to pay attention to accuracy of the form structure , and to learn how to create the illusion of brightness values and transitions with pens. Once you understand these simple shapes, you can use your artistic license and your knowledge to recreate it. There is no point drawing every single leaf as you see it when using a reference image as a guide. For trees with big leaves, like a banana tree, first draw a study of the leaves from different angles. Focus mainly on brightness values , while drawing marks with shape and direction like the reference image. The higher the horizon is, the more rounded less foreshortened the base of the trunk is, and vice versa.

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For big leaves, sketch big marks, and vice versa:. Yes No. Things You'll Need. If you want to draw a house in front of a tree, draw the house first:. You'll also need to draw at least 1 large branch that tapers from the top of the trunk. I always add abstraction to the shapes, making sure they are NOT uniform. It is small enough to create fine details. Pay attention to where the light and shadows are so you can accurately recreate them. Good to know: Transitions are not limited to brightness values. You should use the rules of atmospheric perspective when drawing backgrounds landscape. Step 6 — It may take a while to develop the texture necessary to create the illusion of leaves, but take your time and work slowly. Because you cannot erase pen marks, it is best to draw foreground objects first!

Imagine this: you're sitting in the park, the sun shining and birds chirping overhead, as the trees sway gently in the breeze.

To create that illusion, scribble more lines for darker values, and fewer lines for brighter values :. When you see an object that overlaps another object, you assume that this object is in front of the object it covers. In addition, pay attention to leaves size, depending on the tree type, and how distant it is from the observer. More success stories Hide success stories. First, draw the branch that overlaps a tree, then the tree trunk. I prefer artist-grade technical pens also fineliners. Instead, pay attention to height in relation to the horizon line. Stippling is a drawing technique that uses dots. Ficus tree. Colored technical pens. This creates the illusion of depth.