The forest is different: rare or deaf, light deciduous or dark pine, bright summer or bare winter. Each state carries a certain mood and, drawing a picture, we must understand what kind of sensation we want to convey. In order to start, a lot is not needed, and in this article we will discuss how to draw a forest in stages with a pencil. Pencil drawing can be used as a preparatory stage when drawing with paints or to make an independent elaborate work.
Materials
What is needed for this?
- Paper. You can take printed paper or more dense - medium grain.
- Sharpened pencils, preferably of different hardness: 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B (the entire range of pencils: from 6H to 8B).
- Eraser.
What do you need to know?
Before drawing a forest, we must imagine it. If you are a beginner, it is best to keep in front of your eyes a photograph, picture or real landscape.
One of the traditional options: to draw a forest, in the middle of which there is a straight or winding path or river. Here the same technique is used as with the railroad tracks going beyond the horizon. Thanks to him, a sense of depth is immediately created.
A forest can be drawn both “outside” - without going into it, or “inside”. In our example, we will consider the second option.
Make a sketch
First you need to select the "piece" of the forest that we want to depict, and place it so that it fits into the sheet. To do this, you can make markings by drawing vertical and horizontal lines in the center of the sides. At the very beginning, when composing a composition, problems may arise, so it is easier to use ready-made options from photographs or paintings.
It’s easy to draw a horizon — usually the earth and sky are 1 to 3, but sometimes the horizon can be higher or lower. In the center or to the side with straight or winding lines we denote the future path, the two lines of which converge at a point on the horizon. When drawing, it is important to take into account the principle of perspective reduction - the closer the path is to us, the wider it is, the farther to the horizon, the narrower it becomes.
Then proceed to the trees. We note their location by straight or curved lines, and also take into account the law of perspective reduction: the farther the trees are from us, the thinner their trunks become, and the outlines are more blurred. Also, when the trees are removed from the foreground, their foundations will be slightly higher than the previous ones; they are not recommended to be placed on the same level. Some trees must overlap, as in nature.
Trunks of trees should not be drawn completely straight, each tree has natural bends. In order to convey them, you need to outline “break points” with a thin line, connect them, try to recreate the general silhouette of the trunk along them. It's okay if at first it doesn’t work out, then you need to “fill” your hand a little. Background trees can be worked out in less detail.
We outline the main, most noticeable and thick branches, as well as the general outline of the crown. All small branches do not need to be worked out in detail, just like the leaves, it is enough to outline a few in the foreground and some other places to convey the texture.
Create volume
First of all, we need to understand where the light comes from (front or back, right or left), outline shadows on trunks and on the ground. For example, if the light source is on the right and back, then the shadows will lie on the left front parts of the tree trunks, that is, on the other side. Then we work out the land and foliage.
When working with volume, consider three factors:
- Chiaroscuro. It is built from light, partial shade, shadow, reflex and shadow falling to the ground. That is, on the example of a specific tree trunk, we can see that there is the darkest place (shadow) on it, next to it there is a lighter place (penumbra), and then the lightest part (light). Reflex is a reflection of light.
- Shading. Roughnesses on watercolor paper help a lot to convey the texture. In principle, you can hatch both vertically and horizontally. The main thing is to remember where to leave unshaded plots (or lighten them with an eraser), where to put lighter and darker shadows.
- The degree of detail. The trees next to us will be more detailed, also their shadows will be darker and the glare brighter.
It is better to start shading trees from behind if the light falls from there. If on the contrary, then in front. We are going from light to dark. For dark shades, it is most convenient to use soft pencils, for light shades, either hard or soft with little pressure. Gradually, we work through the whole picture.
These tips are good for a start, but if you want to go to the next level, you will need to work with the details: draw different types of trees, work with chiaroscuro, write from nature in order to better feel the shape and find new plans. As inspiration, you can watch (and take) photographs, observe how professional masters solve compositional problems, watch lessons, and redraw.
We hope that this article gave you the answer to the question of how to draw a forest, and you will enjoy the process!