Sketchbook Tour Winter/Spring 2022: trees, architecture and spring plants
Welcome to another sketchbook tour, we haven’t had one of these in a while. During this winter, I really focused on pencil drawings, since I was working on my recently released drawing class at the same time. I’ve forgotten what a versatile, expressive medium a single pencil can be. I experimented a bit with inks and colored pencils, too, so there are dashes of color on these pages.
Overall, I’ve mostly used mechanical pencils, one with HB and one with B softness. I love that I don’t have to sharpen them, they have an eraser at the back, and you can get a surprising variety of lines out of the tips, depending on how you hold them.
Mechanical pencils are probably my most used tool these days. I like the thin ones by Faber Castell (TK Fine or Grip), they are slim and light, the plastic doesn’t feel cheap and the mechanism is sturdy. I had two mechanical pencils from Tombow that were nice to draw with, but I found them a bit bulky and the mechanism simply stopped working one day. So I went back to the Faber Castell models. I keep losing the caps, but I guess that simply means the eraser is more accessible!
Here’s a video version of this post:
I reached for my paints after an encounter with a great crested grebe and some badger tracks. I think I already shared this page when I was deep in class-creation mode. For the house and mill wheel on the right, I used colored pencils, I really like the soft line quality they have. Somehow, this spread has a very wintery feel due to the colors.
Another page with small studies of landscape elements and architectural details. We visited a lot of these small villages and I remember being really interested in the patterns that the roofs create.
A slightly weird page that I would usually leave out, but I want to show you that not every sketchbook page has to look nice or make visual sense. On the right side, I spilled something, so I covered that spot with a tree study, and the rest, bird, plant and landscape don’t really hang together in any meaningful way. This is one of the pages that could probably be salvaged with a few text elements.
The following pages are material from the Sketching Fundamentals class. It was really fun to put together a spread with different types of small landscapes. I have to say over the course of this class I’ve come to really enjoy pencil-only drawings. On the right, I’ve shown different ways to render rocks.
More small landscape demos, this time showing how to render different water situations and snow.
On the left side a first version for different kinds of clouds, I ended up redoing it. On the right side I did the first random sketching for myself in weeks, these were the first spring days with the vegetation finally waking up, as well as a few of my tomato and pepper seedlings.
The second version of my cloud lesson, and a colored study sheet of Corydalis cava, a plant that grows in spring in the forest everywhere, and then retreats into the ground until the next year.
This kingfisher study page was for a demo for my sketching class, I really enjoyed showing the hunting process of the bird. And it’s one of the rare occasions in the class which adds color – I didn’t want to overcomplicate those basic drawing lessons with yet another big topic that wants to be studied for itself.
And finally, a classic nature sketchbook page. I put together different species that are typical for the beginning of spring (although I haven’t seen the orange tip yet this year). After my long months of mainly using pencils, it was nice to reintroduce color, but I also notice that I like to focus more on the drawing aspect of the sketches now. I messed up the hind wing of the orange tip, so I covered it with a matching piece of paper – it gives a nice 3d effect I think.
Two more study pages for the broad-bordered bee hawk-moth (what a long name!) and the blackcap. These kind of study pages are for me to get more familiar with a species, and to get comfortable with drawing its features. I enjoyed studying the intricate details of the moth wing (the middle parts are transparent) and the caterpillar. The blackcap is just an adorable small bird that I love to watch, and quite the gifted singer, too. I’ve never seen their eggs, but they seem to be so small (around 2,5cm/1 inch).
A page with two common lizards that I liked better before I added color to them. I consider this an unfinished page as I might go back to add in some elements. Note to myself: don’t add more layers of paint, however much they might granulate. It just won’t be visible on this smooth paper. (I had the idea to bring out a bit more interesting texture by doing this, but failed). On the right side, just a relaxing hour that I spent with studying a dandelion. After that, my collected plant parts had dried and shriveled, and I just had a tiny bit of time to add watercolor to two sketches.
All in all, I’ve noticed slight changes in my sketchbook practice in recent months. As I’ve said, I now enjoy the drawing stage more – maybe I’ve become a better draughtsperson because I focused on teaching it, or maybe I’ve just done more of it. In any case, I’ve discovered that pencil is actually a medium that I enjoy very much. I used to not care about my own pencil drawings at all, and just saw them as the necessary stage for adding watercolor on top. I can only urge you to explore drawing tools like pencils, colored pencils, or ink.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this sketchbook tour, and maybe you’ve went through a similar process of discovery with a technique or tool. I’d love to hear about it.
Thank you for reading this blog! It’ll always stay free. To keep it going, you can support my work directly through Patreon or through my nature sketching classes.
Join my free newsletter and never miss a blog post! You’ll get new blog post notifications directly to your inbox. Receive 5 great sketching resources as a welcome gift for joining my newsletter! Here’s what’s inside:
- How to draw anything (PDF guide)
- Getting started with watercolor (free ebook)
- My favorite tips for creating great sketchbook pages
- My 5-step guide for drawing birds (PDF guide)
- My current watercolor palette layout (PDF guide)
By subscribing, you agree that I may process your information in accordance with my privacy policy
How to Draw a Tree
Hello and welcome to our ten-step drawing tutorial on how to draw a tree! Just like all of our tutorials, we have images to follow along with each step, so it is a simple yet fun process.
Trees are amazing organisms. From fruit trees to amazingly tall oak trees, trees encompass so many varieties that it’s hard to believe they are all related! However, all trees are made up of the same basic parks: roots, trunk, leaves, and branches.
Additionally, trees can live for a very long time. The oldest tree that we know of is 5,000 years old! There are many more awesome and fascinating facts about trees, which we will learn about as we do this ten-step tutorial!
Get some of your favorite art materials and let’s go. Happy drawing!
How to Draw a Tree — Let’s get started!
- a piece of paper
- a pencil for the guiding lines and sketching
- an eraser
- a black sharpie or a pen for the outlines
- markers or colored pencils for coloring
- our printable drawing guide (Join my Email List below to get this Tutorial)
Get the FREE Printable Drawing Guide
Here are my RECOMMENDED Art Supplies!
- Crayola Coloring Set (140 Pieces – Mega Value!)
- 24 Colored Crayon Set
- A4 Printer Paper
- Crayola Coloring Pencils
- HP Home Printer with Instant Ink!
Time needed:
Step 1 – Draw the tree’s trunk.
We’re going to start off this drawing with a major part of any tree—the trunk!
The trunk is the main organ of the tree that provides robust support to it. It carries the water from the roots to the tree’s top, so of course it is super important for the tree’s survival!
To draw the trunk, simply draw two parallel lines next to each other that slightly slant towards each other. They should be about an inch apart and towards the bottom of the page. Check out the photo!
Step 2 – Complete the tree trunk.
Let’s finish off the shape of the trunk. At the top of the two lines, connect them with a V-shape.
Next, connect the bottom of the lines from Step 1 with a short horizontal line. Good job!
Step 3 – Start drawing the crown of the tree.
Next, we are going to form the crown of the tree, which refers to all of the foliage created by leaves. Our tree in this tutorial is going to have a big crown, as if it is thriving in the middle of summer!
To draw the crown, move a few inches up from the top of the trunk. Then, draw a scalloped line that forms an arc. It should look kind of like the top of a cloud.
Step 4 – Keep adding foliage.
Let’s keep adding to the crown of the tree now. On the left of the line from Step 3, continue the scalloped line. Make each curve of the line a little bit different to make it look realistic, as if all the leaves are different sizes.
Check out the photo for help!
Step 5 – Complete the crown of the tree.
For this step, simply repeat the last step on the right side. This forms the entirety of the crown of the first tree.
Step 6 – Draw the trunk of the second tree.
In this drawing, we are actually going to create two trees. In this step, we’ll start drawing the second tree.
To the right of the first tree, form a trunk by drawing two lines. Make it a little bit shorter than the first tree. Good job!
Step 7 – Finish the second trunk.
This step is very similar to Step 2. Connect the bottom of the trunk with a short horizontal line. Create the same V-shape at the top of the trunk. This V-shape resembles branches.
Step 8 – Start drawing the second crown.
Let’s form the crown of the second tree now. To the right of the trunk you just draw, start drawing a curved scalloped line. Bring it all the way up until it meets the other tree. Check out the photo!
Step 9 – Finish the second tree.
Finally, let’s complete the shape of the second tree. Draw a short scalloped line from the trunk of the second tree to the crown of the first tree. Refer to the reference image.
We are all done with the shapes of the tree! Just one super fun step left.
Step 10 – Color in your trees!
Time to color in your pretty trees! Oftentimes, oak trees can be orange in fall and green in spring and summer. However, trees can be so many colors, so don’t limit yourself—have fun with them. Maybe your trees even have fruits growing on them!
Pin it now, Draw later!
Awesome job! Are you happy with your tree drawing?
We hope you absolutely loved this tutorial. For more plant-themed tutorials, check out our sunflower and cactus ones on our site! We also have animals, food, and people-themed ones too. Of course, be proud of your drawing and share it with your family!
Thanks for following along. Until next time!
