How To Draw A Realistic Bush

Example of bush drawing

Drawing trees or shrubs really has to brainstorm with ascertainment. I'thousand forever looking at trees and trying to work out in my mind how I would draw them.

You really demand that information in your mind – the layers of foliage and how they stack one over the other; the side and front elevations of blocks of foliage; the holes through which you can see sky; the relative sizes and appearances of the internal structure, and then on.

With a good three-dimensional idea of structure in your mind yous tin now begin cartoon trees with confidence. I tend to "talk" to myself as I draw, as if explaining it to someone else. So I'll be cartoon a layer of leafage whilst telling myself that information technology will incorporate the cast shadow of the layer of leaves to a higher place; that this is at the edge of the tree and will testify more than sky; that I need more depth here so the advent of a section of trunk would assist understanding.

Or of form you lot can take Diane Wright's method – which is to draw intuitively and brilliantly and capture the absolute essence… 🙂
world wide web.DianeWrightFineArt.com/drawing-copse

When drawing far-away copse or trees in mist I try to draw correctly offset time. But if that doesn't work, I volition oft draw stronger than I need to, which gives me more control over relative contrasts – and then I gradually fade the area with Blu-Tack until I accomplish the desired overall tonal structure. Sometimes I then redraw and fade over again – repeatedly at times – each time bringing the drawing a little more towards the reality I'thou trying to depict.

Background trees in Weimaraner study 'Vanished!'
Background copse in Weimaraner study "Vanished!" © Mike Sibley 2004

When drawing midground or background shrubs and trees conduct these points in heed:

Be enlightened that it has a real sense of roundness. Information technology is a iii-dimensional rounded grade and should arrange to the lighting present.
Is it peradventure a little also tidy? Even if it is a shrub clipped into a shape you tin can adapt it to conform your own requirements. Imagine looking at the bush-league in real life and asking yourself what, at that altitude, are the major features that make it what it is.
One characteristic might exist the dumbo shadow it casts beneath itself on the ground. If your reference bush is too depression, elevator information technology a fleck. That shadow will properly footing the bush.
If you testify dark areas within your bush that are assumed to be the shadows in the depths between leaf layers, be enlightened that at that place should be two singled-out tones – a dense tone to represent the inner depths of the shrub, and a lighter shadow cast on that layer by the one in a higher place.
Another of import feature to consider is the appearance of the leaves at the extremities (effectually the outside of the tree or bush-league). You can make excellent employ of these by using them every bit visual clues to signal to the viewer'due south middle the presence of an overall leafy advent, and an indication of leaf size and mayhap even the species.

Sketch on coarse paper with a blunt 6B Progresso pencil
Simply it all begins with observation. As an exercise, try sketching a tree in real life but really small – no bigger than 2″ x 3″ (or larger but using with a very soft, blunt pencil). This volition force yous to abandon detail and concentrate only on what is of import.

You will find more than data on cartoon trees in my website'south Drawing Copse tutorial and a complete affiliate in my "Drawing from Line to Life" book.

Drawing a Tree example from 'Drawing from Line to Life'
Drawing a Tree instance from 'Drawing from Line to Life'