Drawing Winter Trees - Capturing the Effect of the Tree
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- Опубликовано: 24 сен 2022
- Do your winter trees have lumpy, snake-like branches? Do all your trees look the same regardless of species. This video gives you techniques to draw realistic bare trees which capture the characteristics of different tree species.
Oh! Almost forgot! Thanks for the intro with the Birds Eye view! It made me reconsider how I drew the shadow of the tree!
You’re welcome ☺️
Amazing drawing, great teaching video. Thank you!
Thanks Adriana. Kind of you to say 😀
Thank you for helping me see the tree through the forest!
Haha. Excellent. I’ve just posted a video to celebrate my first million views on RUclips with my considered top three tips from all the advice/ teaching that I’ve given in over 470 videos. Have a look if you’re interested. 😀
Trees are either branched in an opposite, alternate, or (very very rarely) a whorled manner, and this is characteristic to species. Branches (and leaves) arise from nodes. If there is one branch at a node, the branches are alternate. If there are two branches at a node, they are opposite (whorled =three branches or more at a node; more common in forbs). In an opposite arrangement it looks as if they are coming out of the same spot in the trunk. You will often see a bit of a thickening at the base of each branch - and leaf nodes too. Understanding a bit of anatomy of trees, shrubs, and bushes (or any plant for that matter) will help your renderings be much more truthful. Also, tree leaves are simple or compound. Simple leaves mean there is one leaf coming out of a node, often attached to the branch by a slender petiole; there is always a dormant bud at the leaf axil. Compound leaves have a petiole off of which there are several leaflets (as in Ash, Walnut, or Hickory trees); the dormant bud is in the axil of the petiole, not at the base of any of the leaflets. I hope this 'deep dive' into botany might be helpful for folks looking closely at trees.
Worth pointing out as well... Broad leaf trees, TEND to be more like an umbrella of leaves, as the leaves are meant to function like Solar Cells, and once you capture sunlight, you get diminishing returns below or behind it, until adding leaves is simply wasting energy... AND Maw Nature PUNISHES wasted energy.
The exact thickness of this "umbrella" (meaning the numbers of layers a tree will fill-in with leaves) also differs quite a bit from species to species...
With Conifers (Pines and others with needles) the concept is similar, but with the nature of needles, a considerably thicker and more layered leaf (or needle) umbrella TENDS to be the answer to the needles' diminutive individual size as opposed to broad leaf species, again avoiding wasted energy/resources, and still managing to maximize the "Solar Cell" returns.
In either case, as you get to the recognizably thicker branches, the buds and growth points and leaves or needles dwindle to none...
AND certain species, like the Tulip Poplar, more famously even drop whole lower branches to avoid further investment in them when they are shaded enough as to diminish their collective Solar Cell returns from the leaves... This leaves a Tall, Straight, rather skinny trunk with a series of scars up the sides to disrupt the otherwise regular bark, and a diminutive but widely spread "umbrella shape" canopy at the upper portion to compete with other trees and foliage for sunlight.
There's a LOT to be said for studying tree anatomy. I know some (and I'm working on it) but there are "old guys" in the Wood-work and Sawyer business who can spot a tree by species more than a mile away and be CORRECT 95% or more of the time!!! They frequently call it the "Character" of the tree. ;o)
Your videos in general are a delight, but this one in particular, for some reason, warms my soul. So inspirational, and makes me want to sit down with a pen and paper myself.
I should have already, but now I've subscribed.
I don’t know why this one either, but I’m glad you found inspiration through it. Time to pick up your pen and paper. 😀
This was very helpful. I can already see an improvement in my branches! Thank you.
You're very welcome!😀
Totally awesome.... Cityscapes with bare trees would be elegant to draw😍🤩
Thank you.
Thanks Aniket. The branches can look both great in contrast to the architecture, but also against the sky. 😀
Great tips! Thank you
Really appreciate hearing this. Thanks. 😀
Yeah, I would’ve thought it took hours
Not at all. It’s a speedy technique 😀
Mr.Travers,
Thank you, this was very helpful. I am looking for any video you have on drawing bricks with shadows.
Glad it was helpful! Do you mean shadows ON a brick wall?😀
Yes sir, shadows on a brick wall. I live in a small town in Virginia. Downtown is a mix of buildings from early 1700’s to classic 1920 Victorian homes. LOTS of brick walls. I’ve been using hatch/cross hatch to create my shadows but when I try that on brick…it doesn’t come out the way I prefer. I just saw your lesson on art markers and I am going to try using those to draw shadows on brick walls.
Soo helpful and beautiful ❤ thank you very much . 😊
Great to hear Asli. Thanks. 😀
thank you, your video is very helpful😍
I always love to hear this Jon. Thank you. 😀
Spectacular!!! Stephen you have been a true gift! 🙏🏽
Such kind words Samiyra. You’ve made me smile. 😀
This was really good. Could you do a video or two on drawing conifers?
Good idea Sheldon. They are not so common in Australia, but we have some. Stay tuned. 😀
Very helpful and amazing drawing, looking forward to practice it 😍
Thank you. Make sure you have a go at it 😀
Very enlightening. You have shown me a different way to express the finer branches on bare trees. I think I can make it work on trees with leaves as well. The one area I continue have trouble with, as you quickly covered at the start of this video, is how to ‘correctly’ draw limbs that come directly at you? I would think it involves foreshortening, but I have a difficult time expressing that. How do you go about this? -OkieSketcher1949
Great to hear. A lot depends of the shape of the branch. Any thinning in width will be exaggerated but if it bends in shape this affects it too. You might draw the bark details in greater detail as it comes closer - or a harder edge. Every tree is different. 😀