.INTRO

Drawing Trees and forest can be often tricky since they drive us to draw what we know rather than what we see. This often led to a tree similar to this image👇

A trunk, branches and leaves and we're done right? though I doubt many artists will be proud to call this a tree.

 

So, in this tutorial we will go through a step-by-step process to draw trees from scratch

1. Drawing the TRUNK

I. LINES

• First you start with the simplest structure for the tree using the "the real G-pen".

-next trace out the main trunk and Braches on a new vector layer using a real G-pen (straight lines aren’t a necessity since it might instead make the tree look unnatural)

-Make the main branches line thicker by going to “correct line (1)” (or ‘Y’ for default shortcut) then selecting “adjust line width(2)” and use “thicken(3)” then draw over the line you wish to increase the width.

-the next step Is to add more branches and adjust their widths as above, to give the trees a more uniform or natural shape.

Use the cloud from the sketch to stay in range of your desired leave spread and keep the tree balance.

 

NOTE *To reduce the width for minor branches, follow the step used to increase a line, but then select “narrow” instead of “thicken” from tool property.

 

II. Shades and texture

To add the shades, use the pencil "crayon" from 'pastel' sub tool.

*It can also be used as a toning tool for the tree

You can already take note of the light direction since the tone and shade will be less or not pronounce at all from that direction.

 

Although texture can be added manually, using and image will be much faster and easier (especially with colored work).

          The first thing to do is to acquire the texture image which can be done through clip studio assets sore or from external sources. Just searching “texture bark” or “tree texture” or "tree bark" will certainly give you some results.

*Using texture image from external sources

To use texture image from external sources, one first need to include them in clip studio material catalogue. To do that...

 

-first open the image in clip studio paint

-Next go to "Edit" then "register material" then "image"

-next, select the folder in which you wish to store the texture image and click ok.

*it checking "use for paper texture" or "use for brush tip shape" is not relevant. as for "tiling", it can always be edited when trying to use the image.

with that you can now use the external image as texture for your works.

Now... to make use of this texture, we need to first fill the tree main branches area on a new layer and make a selection of the fill (CTRL+ click of the layer image).

Then drag and drag & drop the selected texture.

You'll most often get something like this 👇

you’ll then need to readjust the size then spread it over the tree by modifying the image tile from the tool property window.

Use the tool “operation” then “object” and check the tool property window for "tiling".

rearranging the image👆 then spreading over the tree trunk.👇

using repeated tiling👆

or using reverse tiling 👆. Use what fits best the tree and the image.

-Next, we modify the blending mode (I frequently use soft light) and the opacity (65% in my case) of the layer then add some color.

 

*You can either try to change the color of the layer by modifying the 'texture layer’ color or by changing color of the base fill layer (I recommend using the base fill layer because it easily keeps the texture layer property).

III. Some additional tips to fine tune the tree trunk.

-Use the "crayon" earlier to further increase the shadow or add some toning to the tree and merge the shading layer with the texture layer

 

This reduces the sharp difference that might appear between the two and makes the tree more uniform in color.

-Use the motion blur to get rid of some faint line that appear caused by tiling the texture image.

without motion blur 👆

 

with motion blur👇

-use the Liquify sub tool, found in the "blend" tool to create areas of spread like a node (1) or convergence on branches (2) due to immature bark.

And blend and blur (3) any sharp difference that arise between the base fill and texture because of using "liquify" on the texture layer.

Add a Brown-Green gradient going up the tree to simulate life. (For fresh trees)

And with that we have a beautiful tree trunk.

2. Drawing the Leaves

To draw the leaves is mainly understanding which tool will fit best in your design. For me I use a well design custom brush which I believe can be used in many situations.

 

*link to the brush👇

 

https://assets.clip-studio.com/en-us/detail?id=1545296

-With this magic tool in hand using medium pressure, spread the leaves around the tree respecting the branch cluster you created.

From here focus the branch tips and create a concentrate area of leaves in those areas.

Using a dark green color and smaller brush size, fill the space that represent the other side other tree.

Then complete the front part

To shade the leaves, create two layers for shadow (1) and light (2), then clip it to the base leaves layer.

Adjust their blending mode appropriately; mine is multiply (1) and soft light (2).

Use the leave brush to display light with respect to the light source.

 

*de-active color mixing before to avoid irregular light display

 

Now, add some finishing stuffs like BG and lighting to get a beautiful and simple tree.