Tree Drawings

Trees come in all shapes and sizes and you can produce your tree drawings to demonstrate their individual characteristics.

This is a cypress tree which is a needleleaf evergreen. This particular tree has been blown so constantly by the wind that it has grown with the way of the wind.

I knew as soon as I saw the picture of this tree that I had to draw it. It's like a compulsion that an artist has to follow. Again, this was a drawing that I completed in about my first year of drawing so it's not one that you would study and learn from. However, it is a simple tree drawing and one that you can easily copy and get a good image appearing on your paper!

I love observing trees, they just have so much character. Actually, trees can teach us a lesson about weathering a storm, we only need to bend a little to accept change of any description.

Trees are the largest of all plants and they are the oldest known living things.

There are two main types of trees - Evergreen and Deciduous. Evergreens don't lose their leaves in autumn whereas the deciduous do.

Evergreen Trees

An evergreen tree retains some or all of its leaves throughout the year.

This is a balsam fir, also a needleleaf evergreen. The ground under these firs is just littered with pine needles.

Most conifers are evergreens.

Conifers are needleleaf trees such as pines, firs, hemlocks, redwood and spruces.

Evergreen trees are also known as softwood.

Needleleaf forests grow mainly in regions that have long cold winters.

Deciduous Trees

Deciduous means temporary.

It is the word used to describe a tree that loses all its leaves at some time during the year. These leaves are flat.

Broadleaf trees like elms, ashes, oaks, maples, willow, to name a few, are deciduous.

They are known as hardwood.

This drawing is a common oak in the fall.

Broadleaf forests grow in regions that have plentiful rainfall.

About Trees

The crown of the tree, which is above the ground, consists of the trunk, branches, twigs and leaves.

The roots are below the ground. The roots are the fastest growing part of a tree.

They support the tree and act like an anchor.

The roots draw in water and the water then travels up to the trunk and to the leaves.

When a tree is cut, you see a series of rings in the wood.

Each ring represents one year of growth. You can count the rings to determine the age of the tree. So, for as long as a tree grows, it becomes thicker each year.

Drawing Trees

I felt that these tree drawings were fairly easy.

If you want to, you can spend a lot of time being particular with the leaves. Master artists will tell you not to individually draw the leaves when you are wanting to draw a whole tree. In the case of a tree some distance away, you only need to give the perception of leaves.

If you want to draw a tree quickly, do the leaves with the side of the pencil like I did in the drawing above.

Doing drawings of trees is simple yet the finished outcome looks as though they are complicated.

Decide what type of tree you wish to draw and figure out the basic shape of that tree along with the shape of the foliage. Then you would decide what sort of strokes you would use to portray those leaves. To give you an example, Needleleaf trees would have spikey strokes for the leaves.

The more you practice tree drawings, the easier it becomes. For extra practice, draw trees as you doodle while listening to someone, waiting around and so on. Grab every opportunity that you can to draw!

For more information, visit Ivan's website to see an easy step by step process for drawing different kinds of trees.

A series of scribbled lines would make a good grove of trees.

I did this shady tree drawing here on my lap to show you a sketch done in no time. (That was done in my first year of learning to draw.)

No thought has gone into it but you do recognize it's a tree. (I hope!)

If you consistently draw, a subject like trees will flow from your pencil quite easily. It's amazing how much you learn as you continue to draw.

I can see by looking at these old tree drawings that I know a lot more now than I did when I first started drawing. I can spot lots of errors but that's not the game I'm playing here. I just want to show you that anything is possible if you only try.

If you want to teach yourself to draw then it is up to you to make it happen -- it is very attainable.

Remember, your art can't be criticized, it comes from within. If you like it, well, that's the main thing!