How to learn to draw trees and nature?

March 31, 2009 11:19 AM

Recommend the best way to self-learn to draw trees and nature.

I've a recent fascination with the details of trees, plants, water, terrain, and landscapes.

I'm not interested in people or animals, but rather capturing nature via drawing. Part of my desire to learn to draw comes from a desire to learn more about local trees and plants. I want to create my own catalog of nature, to help me be still, and to take in the details.

I've ordered a few books on regional trees and plant life to help me identify and understand the trees and plants better.

BUT, what would be some good resources to help me get started with this small hobby? I don't have the time to take a class right now, but I might in the coming years. Books? Websites? I appreciate all help, and if my question is unclear please let me know.

posted by peripatew to media & arts (15 answers total)

Looking at how other people draw helps, but more than anything, practice.
posted by glider at 11:24 AM on March 31, 2009

What a great way to get into drawing!

There are lot's of books out there but I think an important kernel that they share is the concept that we need to let go of our preconceptions in order to really observe. Usually what we think something should look like gets in the way of our drawing. That is, we draw the symbol of it rather than it's actual appearance (eyes and faces suffer most).

One excercise for getting past it this is to copy from a photograph of a face but turn the photo (and your drawing pad) upside down. It'll force you to draw what you actually see rather than what you think you see.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain might be a good start.
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:34 AM on March 31, 2009

Learning to draw is skill development and in the early stages, subject independent. Try "drawing from the Right Side of the Brain". If you haven't done much drawing before, it will get you through your preconceptions and help you train the link between your eyes and hands. Life drawing is a great way to start, because you have to work through a lot just to see another human body. Once you can draw people, plants are easy. Avoid proscriptive techniques; "This is how you draw water" will not get you to the kind of seeing you're talking about.
Also, draw regularly. Every day is good.
Lastly, don't worry about ugly drawings. They will be for awhile.
Drawing is awesome. Good luck.
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 11:39 AM on March 31, 2009

oops. Posted without preview. Still...
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 11:40 AM on March 31, 2009

Agree with glider. You're overthinking it. Apply the pencil to the paper. Repeat.
posted by bricoleur at 11:41 AM on March 31, 2009

I'm in a drawing class as we speak, so I know what I'm talking about. :)

@bonobothegreat is right, the greatest challenge is to learn to draw what you see. Most people when they start drawing draw what they /think/ they see, or what they think an object /should/ look like. The hardest part is unlearning that.

Drawing something upside down is a great way to draw what you see. Another great way is to draw without looking at your paper. Either put some object between your paper and your eyeballs (a slat of cardboard, etc.) or set up an easel, and stand to the side of the easel when you draw.

Other than that, I 3rd the advice of not over thinking it, just draw.
posted by baxter_ilion at 11:57 AM on March 31, 2009

Don't try and draw one part of the scene in detail and then move on to the next part, you'll find the image looks disjointed at the close. Instead roughly sketch the positions of everything, then go over with a layer of added detail and build the image up. The end result will be far better.

Finish everything you start, even if it's gone wrong. You will learn that way, although it will be painful.

Don't be afraid to erase things when you have to.

Don't call something finished until you have had a sleep and come back to it. You'll often spot any problems with a fresh eye.

If an image looks wrong but you can't put your finger on why, look at it in a mirror. The problem often jumps out at you.

Keep trying. It will be a while before you like the results but the day will come.
posted by mogcat at 11:59 AM on March 31, 2009 [1 favorite]

Nature's proportion
posted by hortense at 12:02 PM on March 31, 2009

This book might help; I haven't used it, but the reviews look like they may address some of the issues being raised above (i.e. drawing what you can see). That said, I think the best advice, just like with any technical skill, has already been said: draw. How you practice may need guidance, and that's what outside resources are for.
posted by Picklegnome at 12:06 PM on March 31, 2009

Pick up any of Cathy Johnson's books I especially like her book "Sketching in Nature" great place to start. Also if you haven't already pick up a note book you can carry around with you and sketch when ever you can.

you might also check out flickr for botanical illustration groups.
posted by ljesse at 1:41 PM on March 31, 2009

First, there are some conventions that are really easy to learn. Try books by Chip Sullivan, Grant Reid, and Thomas Wang. (You can generally ignore the bits about drawing in plan view, but even that will give you some ideas about shadows and shading and texture.)

Second, here are some things to think about when drawing trees:
* Outline: wide and sheltering? triangular? tall and skinny?
* Branching and massing: how do the branches come off? what shapes do they make with and without leaves on them? opposite branching or alternate branching? do the branches go off horizontally, upward, or even droop downward? (I like looking at images of tree silhouettes to get at this.) A tall single trunk with a clump at the top? A central trunk with horizontal lines coming off around in a circle? a round spray of branches? Blocky clumps? A droopy waterfall? Horizontal layers? Even more distinct horizontal layers?
* Leaf texture: compare the cypress to the pine to the spruce. Compare the tulip tree to this bur oak.

Third, practice drawing quickly. Give yourself 100 tiny sheets of paper to fill up and an hour to draw a hundred versions of a tree. You want to spend thirty seconds getting the gesture of the tree down, not three hours capturing every leaf.
posted by salvia at 1:53 PM on March 31, 2009 [2 favorites]

This book is really great and includes nature drawing. I wish I had more time to spend learning how to sketch.
posted by chiefthe at 4:23 PM on March 31, 2009

You got a lot of great advice in this thread, but I just want to add that you'll benefit more from your practice if you take the time to sit outside and draw a real tree. Don't draw from photographs. You may be able to capture detail, but in the end, you just copied the photograph. I agree that drawing is all about learning how to see. A lot of the books mentioned will help, but it really comes with practice. Drawing is not so much talent as it is learned skill. But it can be incredibly rewarding. Some of my happiest days were spent out on lawns sketching trees!
posted by bristolcat at 5:39 PM on March 31, 2009

Something to keep in mind is that
when you start drawing, your drawings
will be awkward and strange and malformed
and if you're the kind of person who likes
to be good at something right from the start,
it might be very discouraging.
Don't stop, though.
Just accept it.
Know that with practise, you'll get much better.

Also, as you look from the tree to your paper
and back again and try to get down what you see,
spent the majority of your time looking at the tree
itself rather than what your pencil is doing.
That way you'll learn to see better.
Good luck.
posted by Sully at 7:20 PM on March 31, 2009 [1 favorite]

Hi, trees and plants are my favorite thing to draw, along with rocks and landscapes. I'll be checking out the recommendation above! As far as field guides go - that's great, I'd love to learn to identify local species - I think for sketching you want to move away from naming and categorization and towards connecting your eyes and hands (Yes, Drawing on the Right Side mentioned above has great exercises). Do both but be aware they're competing mental processes.

Here are some techniques to try. While of course these aren't "the way" adding them to your vocabulary will help describe a scene.

• Start with a pen instead of a pencil. It helps to keep moving forward and forget "mistakes." A growing tree doesn't have an undo feature - be like that. They are also some of the most forgiving subjects: tip a branch a few degrees or make the trunk too wide and nobody cares. After you've gained confidence & momentum & filled up many pages, try a pencil, you'll like it.
• Try contour drawings of the foliage - start at the ground, draw up the trunk without lifting the pen, move slowly around the whole shape looking carefully at every crinkly turn, letting your fingers get into the rhythm.
• Plants have a lot of gesture. Feel it first: windswept, stately & vertical, puffy, reaching towards light, craggy and gnarled, well-manicured, ragged... show it in the overall shape and the sweep & quickness of your line; slow down for older trees. When each branch or leaf springs new from its predecessor, it has a quality of motion: upward/horizontal? curved? sharp & straight? Each species has its own personality this way, and when you feel it the drawing looks more true.
• Suggest the size & shape of leaf by sprinkling just a few inside, more around the edges (they are most visible here) - are they pointy, round, etc. - since you obviously can't draw each one.
• In bright sun you'll see strong shadows - look for these blobby shapes and block them in early - don't be afraid to push the contrast to convey the 3D form. Do some sketches with solid black + white. Susan Rudat is inspirational.
• In clusters or densely forested area, draw the negative space (between the trunks & branches). ex
• Hatching (read me!!), to both shade and show surface quality. Especially on conifers to show needle direction. Change the direction following the surface of the canopy or trunk.
• These squidoo links have good advice + examples.
• Do close details. Spend an hour on the texture of a patch of bark. Pick a small cluster of leaves -- or one leaf -- and study what makes it unique, the veins, the way the light varies across its surface.
• Also do panoramic landscapes. It pays to plan the composition beforehand: visualize the page's rectangle across the world and decide where key points will fall, mentally measure proportions, mark them with dots, then rough in the scene
• Lose detail on farther away scenery ("atmospheric perspective" opens up the space a lot) - these hills and trees can fade to outlines, where the nearest have full tonal range and detail, bolder lines.
• I'm a huge fan of Danny Gregory's blog & books, they always get me motivated and excited.
• The most important part is to actually get out and do it, experiment, draw from life rather than photos wherever possible.

Good luck! It's a great way to get out and connect with nature.
posted by Xelf at 11:59 AM on April 1, 2009 [3 favorites]