How to Draw a Tree

שריט־פֿאַר־שריט

1. שריט 1

   Draw the trunk as two lines that spread apart at the base.

   A trunk is not a rectangle. It flares where it meets the ground, and that flare is one of the cheapest things you can do to stop the tree looking like a post someone hammered in.

   װײַז אױס Parallel-sided trunk with a flat bottom.

   באַשטעטיק The trunk should be clearly wider at the ground than at the top.

2. שריט 2

   Fork the trunk into two or three main branches.

   Every fork loses thickness: the two branches leaving a fork together should add up to about the width of the branch they came from. Get that wrong and the tree looks inflated at the top.

   װײַז אױס Branches as thick as the trunk they come from.

   באַשטעטיק Each branch should be thinner than the trunk below it.

3. שריט 3

   Fork each branch again, thinner each time.

   Two more levels is plenty - most of these will be hidden by foliage anyway. What matters is that the structure exists under the leaves, because the canopy shape follows the branches and looks arbitrary without them.

   װײַז אױס Branches that stay the same width all the way out.

   באַשטעטיק The outermost twigs should be thin lines.

4. שריט 4

   Sketch the overall canopy shape, lightly.

   One big irregular mass - never a circle. Real canopies are wider than they are tall and lopsided, usually leaning toward wherever the light comes from. This is a guide you will break, not an outline you will keep.

   װײַז אױס A neat symmetrical dome.

   באַשטעטיק The canopy should be wider than it is tall, and asymmetrical.

5. שריט 5

   Break the canopy into five or six overlapping clumps.

   This is the step that decides whether you get a tree or a lollipop. Each clump has a bumpy top edge and a flatter shadowed underside, and they overlap - some in front, some behind. Vary their sizes deliberately.

   װײַז אױס Clumps of equal size arranged evenly.

   באַשטעטיק You should count at least five distinct clumps of different sizes.

6. שריט 6

   Leave two or three gaps where sky shows through.

   A solid canopy reads as a cutout. Sky holes - especially near the middle where you can see through to the branches behind - are what tell the viewer this is a three-dimensional thing with air in it.

   װײַז אױס Filling the canopy completely.

   באַשטעטיק You should be able to see branch through at least one gap.

7. שריט 7

   Add leaf-shaped marks around the outer silhouette only.

   A dozen small scalloped marks on the outside edge is enough for the eye to read the whole canopy as leaves. Adding them across the interior destroys the mass you just built and turns the tree into wallpaper.

   װײַז אױס Drawing leaf marks all over the inside of the canopy.

   באַשטעטיק The interior should have no individual leaf marks in it.

8. שריט 8

   Pick a light direction and shade the underside of each clump.

   Every clump is a rough sphere, so it is light on top and dark underneath. Shade the undersides all from the same direction. This single step is what turns a flat green shape into a volume.

   װײַז אױס Shading the outside edge of the canopy instead of the underside of each clump.

   באַשטעטיק Each clump should have its own shadow, on the same side.

9. שריט 9

   Push the clumps at the back darker than the ones in front.

   Sort the canopy into a front group and a back group and pull their tones apart. Depth in a landscape comes from grouping values by distance far more than from shading each object individually.

   װײַז אױס Every clump the same tone, which flattens the canopy into a single shape.

   באַשטעטיק You should be able to say which clumps are nearer.

10. שריט 10

    Shade the trunk, leaving a light strip down one side.

    A trunk is a cylinder, so it takes the same treatment as the mug: dark on the shadow side, with a slightly lighter strip right at the edge where light bounces back. Keep the strokes vertical, following the bark.

    װײַז אױס Shading the trunk evenly, which makes it a flat plank.

    באַשטעטיק The trunk should have a clear light side and dark side.

11. שריט 11

    Add the canopy's shadow onto the trunk.

    The foliage above blocks light from the top of the trunk, so the trunk is darkest where it enters the canopy and lightens toward the ground. Missing this is why drawn trunks often look like they belong to a different picture.

    װײַז אױס A uniformly lit trunk under a heavily shaded canopy.

    באַשטעטיק The trunk should be darkest at the top.

12. שריט 12

    Draw the ground line and the cast shadow.

    A short line through the base of the trunk, and a shadow stretching away from the light. Both are one stroke, and without them the tree hovers - which is the single most common thing wrong with beginner landscapes.

    װײַז אױס A shadow that does not touch the base of the trunk.

    באַשטעטיק The shadow should start exactly where the trunk meets the ground.

13. שריט 13

    Go over the lines you want to keep, and lose the guides.

    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.

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

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