You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less by Mark Kistler
Authors: Mark Kistler
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of the tree tapering out at the bottom.
2. Curve the bottom with a contour line. This will serve as the guide line for the tree’s root system.
3. Using the bottom of the contour curve, draw guide lines in drawing directions NE, SE, NW, and SW as I have illustrated.
4. Is this fascinating or what? Draw your tree’s root system with long extending tapering tubes out from the trunk, following your drawing direction compass lines. Have you noticed that we use drawing direction lines for just about every object we draw in 3-D?
5. Erase your extra guide lines. Draw the branches tapering smaller and splitting off into smaller branches as I have illustrated here. Notice that I’ve drawn overlapping wrinkles where the branches split off to identify the overlapping edge more clearly.
6. Sketch a circle to designate where the first cluster of leaves will go.
7. Sketch two more circles behind your first circle: the power of grouping. Essentially, a group of three clumps will look visually more appealing than a single clump.
Most of the time, an odd number of objects in a group will look more pleasing to the eye than an even number. I’m looking out the window right now, and here are some examples of grouping I see from my point of view. The store across the street has a group of three windows to the right of the door and a group of three windows to the left of the door. There is a group of three tree tubs on either side of the store’s entrance. Take a look online at famous historical Roman architecture, noticing how many columns are on either side of the entrances or windows. Look at the grouping of windows, arches, and sculptures in historical Renaissance architecture. Grouping is an important art concept that I will discuss in greater detail in our upcoming lessons.
8. As we did in the koala lesson, we are going to draw the surface feel of these leaf clusters. Start by drawing small rows of scribbles as I have illustrated. As you build up more rows and layers of these scribbles, you will create the illusion that these spheres are leaf clusters. Now, draw the textured wood grain with repeated flowing lines running down the trunk. Darken underneath the branches with nook and cranny shadows.
9. Continue to build up the visual effect of leaves, filling in each of your large leaf clump circles with small scribbles. Complete the tree by adding textured shading. Draw long vertical lines to shade the tree trunk and branches. Great work! Nice-looking tree!
Lesson 21: Bonus Challenge
In this bonus challenge, I will teach you how to capture nature’s beauty—using a clear clipboard.
Here is what you will need:
• A clear clipboard or any piece of clear solid plastic (I’ve even used a clear plastic plate to show this technique to friends).
• Two black fine-point Sharpie markers and two black ultrafine-point Sharpies.
• A box of clear overhead “Write-On” transparencies (make sure that the box says, “Write-On,” not the ones that are made to be run through a copier).
• One roll of any kind of tape (I prefer white ¾-inch or 1-inch correction whiteout tape, but low adhesive blue painter’s tape works fine, too).
• A lightweight portable easel or two cardboard boxes (any kind of cardboard box will do; I have had good success with the white file storage boxes that fold together with a lid).
Using the whiteout tape, secure one sheet of clear plastic Write-On Film to your clear clipboard. One small piece of tape on either side of the transparency will do just fine.
Grab your black Sharpie pens and step outside.
Once outside, find an interesting tree. Stand still, close one eye, and look at the tree through your plastic clipboard. Move around the borders of your clipboard to frame the entire tree. Place your easel or stack several of the white empty storage boxes at this spot. Hold your plastic frame comfortably while you look through the frame with one eye closed, and trace what you see with your
2. Curve the bottom with a contour line. This will serve as the guide line for the tree’s root system.
3. Using the bottom of the contour curve, draw guide lines in drawing directions NE, SE, NW, and SW as I have illustrated.
4. Is this fascinating or what? Draw your tree’s root system with long extending tapering tubes out from the trunk, following your drawing direction compass lines. Have you noticed that we use drawing direction lines for just about every object we draw in 3-D?
5. Erase your extra guide lines. Draw the branches tapering smaller and splitting off into smaller branches as I have illustrated here. Notice that I’ve drawn overlapping wrinkles where the branches split off to identify the overlapping edge more clearly.
6. Sketch a circle to designate where the first cluster of leaves will go.
7. Sketch two more circles behind your first circle: the power of grouping. Essentially, a group of three clumps will look visually more appealing than a single clump.
Most of the time, an odd number of objects in a group will look more pleasing to the eye than an even number. I’m looking out the window right now, and here are some examples of grouping I see from my point of view. The store across the street has a group of three windows to the right of the door and a group of three windows to the left of the door. There is a group of three tree tubs on either side of the store’s entrance. Take a look online at famous historical Roman architecture, noticing how many columns are on either side of the entrances or windows. Look at the grouping of windows, arches, and sculptures in historical Renaissance architecture. Grouping is an important art concept that I will discuss in greater detail in our upcoming lessons.
8. As we did in the koala lesson, we are going to draw the surface feel of these leaf clusters. Start by drawing small rows of scribbles as I have illustrated. As you build up more rows and layers of these scribbles, you will create the illusion that these spheres are leaf clusters. Now, draw the textured wood grain with repeated flowing lines running down the trunk. Darken underneath the branches with nook and cranny shadows.
9. Continue to build up the visual effect of leaves, filling in each of your large leaf clump circles with small scribbles. Complete the tree by adding textured shading. Draw long vertical lines to shade the tree trunk and branches. Great work! Nice-looking tree!
Lesson 21: Bonus Challenge
In this bonus challenge, I will teach you how to capture nature’s beauty—using a clear clipboard.
Here is what you will need:
• A clear clipboard or any piece of clear solid plastic (I’ve even used a clear plastic plate to show this technique to friends).
• Two black fine-point Sharpie markers and two black ultrafine-point Sharpies.
• A box of clear overhead “Write-On” transparencies (make sure that the box says, “Write-On,” not the ones that are made to be run through a copier).
• One roll of any kind of tape (I prefer white ¾-inch or 1-inch correction whiteout tape, but low adhesive blue painter’s tape works fine, too).
• A lightweight portable easel or two cardboard boxes (any kind of cardboard box will do; I have had good success with the white file storage boxes that fold together with a lid).
Using the whiteout tape, secure one sheet of clear plastic Write-On Film to your clear clipboard. One small piece of tape on either side of the transparency will do just fine.
Grab your black Sharpie pens and step outside.
Once outside, find an interesting tree. Stand still, close one eye, and look at the tree through your plastic clipboard. Move around the borders of your clipboard to frame the entire tree. Place your easel or stack several of the white empty storage boxes at this spot. Hold your plastic frame comfortably while you look through the frame with one eye closed, and trace what you see with your
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