Convincing Conifers: How to Draw Trees
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Author and artist Claudia Nice (www.brightwoodstudio.com) has published numerous instructional art books. The following excerpt appeared in The Artist’s Magazine (September 2011), and comes from Drawing and Painting Trees in the Landscape. Scroll down to learn her tips for drawing conifers, as well as to get the scoop on her three new DVDs for artists (including Texture Drawing Basics). ~Cherie
Convincing Conifers: How to Draw Trees by Claudia Nice
Since most pencil and pen drawings are finished in tones of gray and black, the most important factors in creating a good representation are line and tonal contrast. The mark or line made by the drawing tool is responsible for defining the edge and overall shape of the tree, its roughness or smoothness, and its stance or movement. How dark the mark is and how close the lines are drawn together are responsible for creating contrast in value–the relative gray and black tones in the drawing. It’s the value contrast that lends the drawing a three-dimensional appearance, by describing the tree’s modeling shadows, cast shadows, and surface texture.
Sometimes referred to as softwoods or evergreens, conifers are trees with needles or scale-like leaves. Although most of them retain their leaves year-round, a few, such as the larch and tamarack, turn golden and drop their needles in late fall. The foliage-bearing part (the crown) of the conifer is usually somewhat cone-shaped. However, the angle and spread of the limbs and the shape of the trunk can vary greatly from species to species. Scribble lines work well to suggest the texture of trees at a distance in the background.
Before putting pencil to paper, begin by studying your tree. How tall is it? What is the shape of its outer perimeter? Do the branches reach skyward, stretch horizontally, or do they droop toward the ground? Is the trunk straight or curved? Study the young California red fir in the photograph (below). Then use the following steps to draw a simple conifer.
1. Pencil in the trunk. Start by lightly penciling in the height and shape of the trunk. This sapling bows slightly to the right.
2. Sketch the crown. Lightly pencil in the general shape of the tree’s crown. Note how far it extends down the trunk. Use pencil lines to mark where the main branches are. Notice that not all of the branches extend to the outer edge of the crown. The branches that extend to the front are indicated as a line (A) that straddles across the trunk.
3. Fill in the foliage. Drape the branches with scribbly patches of foliage, marking the shadow areas a little more heavily. Erase the trunk and branch guidelines as you work, except where they cross open areas. For a softer look, use a paper stump or tortillion to blend the foliage areas. ~CN
And here’s some great news–Claudia Nice has just come out with three new DVDs! Click the following links to see which is right for you.
- Texture Drawing Basics
- Landscape Drawing Basics
- Drawing Basics: How to See, How to Draw
Best regards,
Cherie
Drawing: Trees
In this book, William F. Powell invites you into his artistic world as he shows you how to render a variety of beautiful trees in pencil. The author explains a number of basic drawing techniques before exploring basic tree shapes and leaf types. As you learn how to draw branches, bark, and ground foliage, step by step, you’ll also discover important tips about shading, creating textures, setting up compositions, and applying perspective, helping you develop your own tree drawings to their fullest potential. Helpful examples and essential information make this comprehensive guide a valuable addition to any artist’s drawing library!
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Genres ArtDrawingNonfiction
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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About the author
William F. Powell
68 books 7 followers
William F. Powell is an internationally recognized artist recognized as one of America’s foremost colorists. He has written and illustrated more than 30 instructional art books.
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Author
8 books 214 followers
This is an excellent guide for drawing trees of all types, with quite detailed instructions and lots of helpful tips. The author also includes illustrations of some leaves and talks about topics like shadows, shading, foliage, root patterns and more. Some basic drawing skills will be helpful but this gives you a great idea on how to draw all kinds of trees, from oaks to palm trees, and the other elements that may be in the picture with them.
My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost
I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.
3 likes
887 reviews 9 followers
Intermediate level how to book. Appropriately topic specific (pretty clear from the title that you’ll be learning to draw trees). I love how this entire line of books has an in-depth explanation of materials, etc., making them all great reference guides for beginners with any interests. Basically, it gives someone a chance to grow their skill set nicely.
Powell is great at the breakdown of nature drawings, which is not always easy to do (many of us struggle when we try to recreate living yet relatively inanimate objects like trees, flowers, etc). Definitely would buy for someone interested in starting drawing or for someone still at an intermediate level.
2 likes
Author
7 books 10 followers
“Drawing: Trees” by William F. Powell is an informative, educational step-by-step guide to drawing all kinds of trees of every type and size. Starting at the basics with the tools and basic drawing techniques like shading, Powell takes the artist from the simplest, most basic concepts of drawing, like creating the surface and texture to value, which is the relative lightness or darkness.
Powell also covers nuances such as perspective and composition and the basic shape of the trees you are sketching. He then moves on to tree trunks, branches and foliage. As you go further, it is somewhat surprising all the unique features of drawing a tree there are that you may not have seen or realized before attempting to sketch one.
With all the unique shapes and features of the varied species of trees, Powell does a wonderful job of breaking down each part of the tree and each type of tree to simpler bits that can be tackled little by little. There is so much content here, you could spend a good deal of time working through the many examples and growing steadily in your mastery of drawing trees.
Powell is a master artist with decades of experience drawing and coloring in a host of different formats. He lends his exquisite talents to the beginning artist in a way that is accessible and beneficial for any student of art no matter their former training. It is a great volume to have in your art library to refer to over and over. I loved this book!
I received this eBook free of charge from Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
