Nice - Drawing & Painting Trees in the Landscape

T he texture of deeply grooved bark, the warped grain of weathered branches and the massed thickness of overlapping leaves can be eloquently described with the stroke of a pencil or pen. It can be done simply, using just a few suggestive lines and scribbles or worked in intricate detail, as illustrated by the drawings of the rugged fir tree on the facing page.

Since most pencil and pen drawings are finished in tones of gray and black, the most important factor in creating a good representation of the subject is line and tonal contrast. The mark or line made by the drawing tool is responsible for defining the edge and overall shape of the subject, its roughness or smoothness, and its stance or movement. The darkness of the mark and how close the lines are drawn together is responsible for creating contrast of valuethe relative gray and black tones in the drawing. Its the value contrast that lends the drawing a three-dimensional appearance, by describing the form shadows, cast shadows and the surface texture.

Consider the drawings of the walnut shown below. Figure 1 is a simple line drawing describing the general shape of the subject. From those few lines we can conclude that its a rounded, centered object divided into sections, with hard, smooth edges. Its identity is still rather vague. Figure 2 has a few additional lines, which tell us that the surface of the object is covered with smooth bumps. Its starting to reveal itself as a drawing of a nut. In figure 3, value contrast has been added. The inner shape of the walnut, the surface shadows and texture, are now fully defined. The cast shadow beneath the nut lets us know that its resting on a smooth surface.

This chapter is designed to get you started with the basics. It will show you how to turn a few pencil lines into the beginnings of a tree and how to add the texture and shadework that will bring it to life. So gather your sketching supplies and lets get started.

The graphite pencil is the primary tool. A common no. 2 writing pencil is fine for preliminary work and light shading. Drawing pencils range from hard leads (H and HB) to soft leads (B). An HB, 2B and the darker 4B will get you started. You may also want a charcoal pencil for quick sketches and heavy lines. A white charcoal pencil is nice for adding highlights when working on gray tone papers.

Drawing surfaces range from illustration and bristol boards to drawing tablets. Look for 100 percent rag papers, which usually have the strength to withstand the repeated rubbing of pencil leads, erasers and blending stumps. For longevity, choose acid-free surfaces.

You will need some kind of sharpener to renew the pencil point. Electric or manual pencil sharpeners provide an easy way of doing this, although pen knives and razor blades also work. A sandpaper block or nail file can be used to shape the lead into a chisel point for creating broad lines.

Other useful tools include paper blending stumps and at least two erasers. Heavy-duty paper stumps, and the more delicate paper tortillions, are used to smear, lighten and blend graphite lines and patches. A block eraser is needed for removing large areas of graphite, while a kneadable eraser can be formed to work in narrow spaces.