In this post I discuss drawing outline of trees. We looked at some of the compositions with trees here. Next step is to learn to draw outline of landscapes based on these compositions. In a tutorial here, we learned how to draw trunk outlines. Pl. look at this tutorial if you haven’t done so already as considerations that apply to drawing trunks also apply when drawing trees. In the following, we first look at how to draw individual tree outline and then look at drawing outline of simple landscapes with trees based on compositions discussed here. Drawing tree itself is discussed in depth in this tutorial.
Drawing a Tree Outline:
The outline of a tree should always be drawn with open airy ‘loops’ as shown below. Never use a hard line. Also try to give layers to the outline as shown below. Trees come in many shapes and sizes. Study the following outlines and try drawing some of your own.
Once you can draw outline of a tree in a convincing manner, it can be used to draw outline of following compositions easily. Remember to draw the trees in front (foreground) first and make them smaller as they go out in the distance. Practice extensively drawing the outline of trees in a convincing manner as shown above.
Outline Drawing of Composition 1 (Scattered Trees receding to Horizon):
Here we first draw the horizon very faintly and draw few scattered trees receding to the horizon. By using less density of trees, horizon is visible and a sense of distance is conveyed. Study the examples below.
Outline Drawing of Composition 2 (Wooded Feel with higher density of Trees):
In this composition, higher density of trees are used to created a wooded feel. Draw the trees in the front first and partially hide the foliage of trees in the back to create relative order. Study the examples below.
Outline Drawing of Composition 3 (Trees at a distance):
Here the trees are drawn at a distance and hence much smaller. This fun simple composition can be done quickly and is always enjoyable to do.
This should get you started. Practice drawing trees and landscape outlines as shown above extensively.
Have fun,
Rahul
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