How to Draw Trees
Learn to Sketch and Draw Any Tree with a Few Simple Ideas
From oaks to pines and birch to cedar, this article will show you how to draw them all with a simple system anyone can use.
Ah, trees, the backdrop of any landscape. The star of the outdoors. No matter how much you try not to, trees will need to be drawn at one point in your artistic life. It’s a good thing they are easy to draw... once you get some basic ideas down.
First, trees all grow from a firm foundation, so always start with the tree’s trunk. Notice whether it is fat, skinny, twisted, or smooth. Does it have noticeable roots running on top of the ground?
Notice how far up it goes before branches start poking out of it. You can measure the length of the trunk by holding your thumb out in front of you, taking note how long it is in relation to your thumb, then transferring that measurement to your paper. It may be useful to use your drawing instrument instead of your thumb; different artists prefer different tools.
Next, take a good look at the tree’s branches. Do they curve upward, or grow horizontal from the trunk? What kind of foliage is on the tree? Dead leaves? Clumps of green? Needles? None at all?
An important thing to know about drawing branches is that they get progressively smaller towards the tops and outsides of the tree. Take a look at Demo Picture One, below, to get the basic idea. See how the branches closest to the trunk are big and thick, but they get narrower as the spoke outward? This is because all of the outer branches are new growth.
Also, branches of deciduous trees kind-of split into smaller, newer branches. Take a look at Demo Picture Two to get a feel for this. The larger branch splits into two (or three, or more), creating two (or more) new branches, then that one splits, so on and so on.
The branches of an evergreen tree usually grow horizontally to the trunk with boughs growing horizontally off of those.
Last in your drawing is the leaves. These can be very easily laid in by using fast, broad strokes of your pencil over the outer edges of the tree as seen in Demo Picture Three. Make sure to make the strokes for the closer leaves darker, and the ones farther away lighter. Also, make sure to leave holes in your clump of leaves to allow for sky to show through. No tree is 100% covered with leaves. For more on how to draw leaves see: How to Draw Leaves.
By using these simple concepts you can, with practice, quickly render trees of any type.
