Sycamore Lane

A good sketch will go a long way toward capturing the mood of a scene. In this drawing, the tree is obviously old and majestic. The trunk leans dramatically from its base to the middle of the drawing at the top. The winding road serves two purposes—it leads the eye into the drawing and creates contrast, which balances out the nearly straight line of the trunk.

To begin this scene, place the basic shapes, refine them, and then add values. Apply light and middle values to establish a backdrop for more intense shading.

Image

Use an HB pencil to block in the mass shapes.

Refine the shapes of the trees and road.

Use light vertical strokes ...

Get Drawing: Trees with William F. Powell now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.