INTRODUCTION | Drawing Trees for Backgrounds

Hi there! I’m Pattyton, an artist and a woodworker. I’ll be teaching you some basics to drawing trees and other details for your next forest background or scene! I’ll start by covering topics like different trees shapes, colouring bark, and adding leaves. Then, we will move onto the mood development by using lighting and weather effects.

Conifers vs Deciduous

There are two main types of trees, Coniferous trees and Deciduous trees.

 

Conifers are fast growing trees that keep their leaves in the winter. Deciduous trees are trees with broad leaves that shed their leaves in the winter.

 

When it comes to drawing the two, the main difference is the shape. Since Conifers grow fast, they tend to be a lot straighter when growing, with a thin trunk and lots of branches. These are great for a quick and simple forest background!

 

When drawing deciduous trees, since they grow slowly, they have a much thicker trunk in a variety of different shapes. They can have a lot more personality and are great for a focal point in an illustration.

Tree Anatomy - Trunk

Both types of trees are still made up of the same parts. All trees starts with roots, the trunk, branches, and leaves! Let’s break it down and start with sketching out some trunks!

 

Trunks are essentially a long cylinder, so let’s start with two parallel lines to create a basic straight trunk.

To create some irregularity, here are a couple samples to start you off.

 

A V-shape trunk is very common, where the main trunk splits into two.

A thick trunk is just a wider version of the basic trunk. This is the best trunk for adding other details, such as texture, hollows, or knots.

Crooked trees are what ever you want it to be. Draw a random squiggly line and a parallel line next two it. Just make sure when drawing a crooked trunk that the tree still grows upwards!*

 

Don't forget to add a taper to the bottom of the trunk to start off your roots!

Tree Anatomy - Bark Texture

Let's start with a straight bark texture! By drawing 3 or 4 vertical lines from one edge of the trunk to the other, we define the shape of the trunk!

 

 

 

Alternatively, we can stylize the shape by giving the tree a twist. Using the same method, we will draw 3 or 4 lines, but following the twisted texture.

 

Combine the two techniques, but first, draw a couple dots on the trunk. We will use the dots as branches or hollows in the tree. When drawing the vertical lines, we will avoid crossing over the dot, and weave around it.

Tree Anatomy - Branch Direction

Now we've got the shape of our tree, let's talk about the branches, and how to draw them. Trees grow tall to reach more sun. Their trunk, branches, and leaves always reach upwards.

 

Take a look at the side by side comparison of branches reaching upwards vs. downwards. Now you might be thinking, doesn't a willow tree drape downwards? A willow tree looks pretty droopy, but in fact, the branches still reach upwards, and what we see, is are the long leaves that drape down.

 

 

 

Here's an exception...

Although top branches always reach skyward, for larger trees, lower branches tend to grow horizontally. Think about a Christmas tree/Pine tree!

 

 

 

With all that in mind, let's go back and take a look at our knot filled tree from earlier, and add branches! I'm adding branches growing out of the dots we drew. To expand on these branches, we need to figure out how they split.

 

 

 

Branches are typically asymmetrical. don't let branches on either side of the main branch start at the same point

 

 

 

When expanding the branches, keep the alternating the branches, and make sure they point upwards!

Colouring - Tree Bark

Let's take the first tree trunk and branches, and shade it! My colour palette is below. We need 3-5 colours and use your favourite brush with 90% opacity.

 

Create a new layer, on top of your tree sketch, and follow the vertical direction of the bark with a couple of long strokes using your darkest colour. Make sure some of the overlap!

 

 

 

Use the second darkest colour to add some light on either the left or right side of the tree. We will still use full length strokes, from the top to the bottom. I've also shaded some branches, but most of these will get covered by leaves!

 

 

 

Finally, add some highlights by using your lightest colours with short and small strokes.

Colouring - Birch Bark

Let's try a shading a birch tree texture! In addition to vertical strokes, we'll also add some horizontal strokes for detailing! Start with your basic silhouette of the tree and branches! I'm using the Y-Tree trunk sketch.

 

 

 

Next, add some highlights to the middle of the trunk and branches. This will help to define the 3D shape of the bark.

 

 

 

Finally, use the lightest colour to further enhance the shape. I'm still focusing my shading to the middle area of each branch and the trunk

 

 

 

Now, let's add the "eyes" of the tree! I'm using a darker colour to refine the edges of the trunk. To draw an "eye", start with the middle, and taper off to one side. Repeat with the other side!

 

 

 

Now refine the "eye" by adding a little darker spot in the middle!

 

 

 

One thing to keep in mind as you define your edge is knowing what's in front, and what's behind. You don't want your tree to look completely flat, with no dimension!

Colouring - Leaves

Follow along with my drawing below, or use your own!

 

 

 

Depending on how we draw our trees, this will determine where the leaves go. Leaves only grow where the branches grow. Let's put down our base!

 

1 - I'm using the G-pen with a pen pressure "Minimum Value" of 0. All my strokes start at the tree or a branch and move outwards. This is a very tedious method to draw leaves, so I don't recommend it.

 

2 - I'm using a beautiful leaf brush made by Ginmaart. Content ID: 1753487. It is really nice and dynamic, and you can also use the leaf blend brush to add highlights. Content ID: 1753488 (I only used the leaf brush here). My tree has two tiers, a top one, and a lower one, so I focused my leaves in those two areas.

 

3 - Just for fun, I'm also drawing a willow tree! The trunk base is the same as the tree in the middle, but by changing up the leaves, the tree can look completely different! The lines are my guidelines for where to draw my draping leaves

 

 

 

 

Moving on to midtones!

 

1 - I'm using the G-pen with a lighter colour to add the next layer of leaves! Still as tedious as ever, so I blocked out a large area with a larger brush, and added leaf details around it.

 

2 - Using the same leaf brush by Ginmaart, I've added the next layer of leaves. As you can notice, for both 1 and 2, my midtones are focused near the top right side. The sun shines from above, so the top of the tree is where the lights hits.

 

3 - I'm building out the willow tree shape with the G-pen at a small size, drawing long, thin leaves.

 

 

 

Finally, the highlights!

 

Follow the same process, with a lighter colour, and now we have some trees!

Hope these little tips are helpful for your next tree illustration!