Step-by-Step

Demonstration: Tree in Color

Basic Colors: indigo blue, dark green, Tuscan red or black cherry, dark
brown, apple green, true blue, Spanish orange, lemon yellow and jade green.
 Step 1: With light pressure of a 2HB pencil, sketch the outline of the trunk
and foliage. Avoid erasing that puts unnecessary grease onto paper.
 Step 2: Block in the darks in the background and the tree trunk. Leave the
highlights uncolored, allowing white paper to show through. Try adding a few
golden colors in the contour to prevent accidentally coloring over your outline
while drawing the sky.
 Step 3: Finish up the sky with different shades of blue. Draw the grassy area
around the tree with its shadow. There is an option here to either smooth out the
surface with a solvent or leave it sketch-like.
 Step 4: Layer more yellows and reds with a touch of green and brown into
the foliage. Draw over a few branches with reds and browns to create an illusion
of hidden branches.
 Golden Tree · 5 x 7" (13 x 18 cm) · 2007
Step 5: Reevaluate the values by stepping back from the picture. I darkened
my background and added a few crisp lines in the branches. Burnish the
background if needed.
Basic Tree Shapes
It is important to see basic tree shapes to filter through overwhelming amount
of information.

Oval Dome

Triangle Circle