Exercise B2: Repetition and Contrast for Drawing Trees

Hi guys! Last lesson we learned how to draw backgrounds using 3d forms and contrast. The 3d forms helped the background look solid, and the contrast helped the background “sit” behind the character.

This week, we’ll learn how to draw trees and leaves, to add a natural feel to the background. Let’s start with this row of trees on a sidewalk, drawn in pencil.

The first thing to look at is the individual leaves on the trees in front. The repetition of the same leaf shape helps confirm that all the leaves come from the same tree. Don’t worry about making each leaf exactly the same, or even look exactly like a real leaf. Think about the simplest shapes that can look like a leaf, and just draw it many times.

In this case, each “leaf” is like a small 
three leaf clover. When I draw leaves like this, it makes me feel really relaxed ^_^

The next thing to notice is using contrast to develop the layers! The front row of trees uses leaf and bark detail. The back row of trees is drawn as a single mass of hatched lines. The back layer has less detail and is less dark than those in front. (A)

Also, look how each tree in the row uses contrast to establish the order of the trees. The leaves where the tree is in front of another are drawn darker (B). The leaves which are about to hide behind another tree are drawn lighter (C).

Let’s review these two lessons for drawing backgrounds on another drawing, this time inked with Sakura Microns.

Lesson 1: Repetition of leaves! Simple Leaves!

I think the front trees were maple — Do you know what maple tree leaves look like? They have pointy edges, and can be really fun to draw. But for this drawing, I stuck with something more like a 5 leaf clover. I only want to get the impression of the leaf, and keep it simple enough to repeat.

The back trees are pine — They’re just a pair of lines in a rough upside down V shape.

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—- Maple —-  vs.  —- Pine —-

Lesson 2: Contrast!

The character in closeup has more detail than the character in full body.
The chairs in front of the table are darker than the chairs behind the table.
The chairs are darker than the maple trees.
The maple trees have thicker lines than the pine trees.
The barbeque pit is a simple cube with details.
The seats and table are simple cylinders!

Just kidding, the last two are other lessons

I hope this helps guys! Next week we have a request for a “foreshortening” lesson. See you then!