How to Draw a Forest


How to Draw a Forest
How to Draw a Forest

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In this article, we are going to draw one of the most classic settings: the forest.

So obviously there isn't just ONE forest, there are many, especially since the trees that make them up are diverse and varied, whether in their shapes or in their hues.

Today we are going to see how to compose a forest. I will not start with a very detailed and realistic drawing; the goal is to give you the steps and key points to create a dense and believable forest.

 

 

Before starting, ideally, it could be useful for you to keep in mind this tutorial:

 

DRAW A TREE

 

 

 

 

 

SKETCHING OUT THE FOREST DRAWING

 

 

So first, a little overview of the basics. Although there are several plant species in a forest, when it comes to large trees, only one to two varieties will seem to be present. This is obvious in "artificial" forests, for wood exploitation or replanted by humans, but it is also observed in more wild sites.

 

So the idea is that you choose one or two varieties of large trees, no more. In addition to them, there will be a whole lower level of vegetation, shrubs and bushes, and on the ground grass and mosses.

Another point, we will create a set, so there will be a certain "depth" of field. We must not forget that the further away objects/subjects are, the smaller they appear, the less visible details are, and the more indistinct/blurred the outlines become.

Also note that with distance, colors will become less vivid and will gradually fade as you move away from the observation point.

 

We will draw our forest in an elongated frame, to enhance the impression of landscape.

 

frame for the forest drawing

 

I start by drawing the "ground" line of my foreground. The earth is uneven, we avoid straight lines which are unnatural.

I'm starting with the idea that we'll have something like a trail, a natural path in the middle of our setting. So I'm leaving the path "free" in the middle.

 

 Sketch the forest floor layout

 

 

I choose as the dominant species for my forest a tree with a rather wide trunk and thick roots. Therefore, I create 2 trunks on the sides, hinting at the first branch delineations at the top and extending one or two roots at ground level.

 

draw the sketch of the trees in forest 1

 

 

Now I create the first level of depth by drawing 2 other trees right behind. To the left, a new tree, and to the right, I opt for a stump. You will need to be careful to break the arrangement of your trees a bit for a more natural look. Avoid placing them all 2 meters apart, lean one, break one, make one smaller or much larger than the others, etc etc etc...

 

draw the sketch of the trees of forest 2

 

 

Here I am drawing my trees on another plane, also slightly behind. You will note that having kept the middle "empty", we start to see the path in the middle. Between the trees, I draw a "line" for the ground, to anchor the trees and prevent the impression that they are floating. This also helps to establish the depth of the image.

 

draw the sketch of the forest 3 trees

 

 

I finish with a final level of the plan by drawing a tree in the background. Note, I slightly break the alignment by tilting it and anchor it to the ground by drawing the ground line at its level.

 

 Draw the sketch of the trees in forest 4

 

 

I add a mound of grass in the foreground on the left. Near the first trees, I shape some bushes. Note that I do not draw leaf by leaf; I "shape" the bush. Avoid overly straight and abrupt lines; favor curved shapes.

I also placed a bit of vegetation around the tree on the left in the background. I'll stop there. The elements beyond are too "far", I can afford not to detail the scenery behind too much.

 

draw the sketch of the forest bushes

 

 

I'm adding mushrooms on the trunks of the trees in front and some on the ground to the left. I'm not adding any on the right. The "sparse" side helps maintain the naturalness of the scene.

 

Drawing the sketch of the forest mushrooms

 

 

 

 

 

CLEANING UP THE DRAWING

 

Now I am tracing cleanly over my sketch. I add the limits of the foliage at the back (in red). I also "close" my drawing by carrying over the most distant ground line to the edges of the frame (in blue).

 

draw the boundaries of the forest's foliage and ground

 

 

 

On the trees in the first two planes, I detail the trunks a bit by quickly suggesting the pattern of the wood on the bark.

 

draw the details of the trees that make up the forest

 

 

I am cleaning up by keeping only the final trace.

 

clean drawing of the forest

 

 

 

COLORING THE FOREST DRAWING

 

I start by coloring the tree trunks. I go for a very clear and quite deep brown, a bit dark. I lighten this shade gradually as the trees move away from the foreground.

 

color the trees in the drawing

 

 

I'm coloring the bushes and the grass in the front. We keep in mind that with distance, colors "fade". I also color my little mushrooms right in front. I place touches of gray at the base of the first tree on the right and the stump, to suggest rocks.

 

color the bushes and the rock in the drawing

 

 

 

For the ground, I choose a less saturated green that I lighten towards the "back" of the forest.

 

color the forest floor

 

 

 

I tint the foliage of the trees. It is preferable to vary the shades rather than to use a solid color to make it more natural; not all the leaves of all the trees have exactly the same color.

 

color the foliage of the forest trees

 

 

For the "background" I choose a green in line with the ground, to suggest that the vegetation continues beyond.

 

color the background of the drawing

 

 

 

 

APPLYING SHADOWS AND LIGHT TO THE DRAWING

 

I'm placing shadows. The light is coming from the right. You'll notice that I'm adding patches of shadow here and there on the ground to create the dappled light effect from the foliage.

 

apply shadows to the forest drawing

 

 

I am enhancing the lighting with a line of light on the trunks. You can also place some light spots on the ground.

 

apply light to the trees and forest floor

 

 

 

By putting all these steps end to end, we see the forest forming.

 

 

draw a forest step by step

 

 

I'm just cleaning up the drawing that's spilling over the frame a bit and then it's done.

 

 Final drawing of the forest

 

 

As I was telling you at the very beginning, this is a quick sketch. Obviously, you are free to work more on this base, to detail the trees, their branches... You can add some life by adding wildlife, a bird, a squirrel, a passing boar...

It will also be entirely possible and relevant to work more on the light. The light in a forest is "filtered" and cut through the foliage, it is not uniform. You can also detail the ground, the mosses and lichens on the wood and stones.

 

And of course, there are more distinctive forests, depending on the climates. An Amazonian forest, full of ferns and lianas, will be quite different from a forest in northern Europe.

 

 

Before you venture into the forest, I would advise you to at least master how to represent trees. Even if they are not the only ones in the forest, they are its framework and if you are not comfortable with this element, drawing will be laborious.

 

No matter which type of forest you choose, remember to manage perspective and depth of field, avoiding straight lines and overly symmetrical compositions.

 

 

 

Illustrator and Writer: Elo Illus

 


by Liam

Comment(s)

  • Great! Thanks, it's a good start. Question about rocks (like cliffs or sea rocks for instance), do we handle them like any object, meaning breaking down the rock into basic shapes? As seen in the lessons, right? Thanks.
    • Rakjah Prof
      You can, but personally, I think not thinking too much is still the best solution ^^ I find rocks quite difficult to grasp, it requires testing different renderings to see what we like the most :3
    • Hello, I also quite agree with RakJah. Moreover, rocks (well, you have to consider their size) often have truly "chaotic" shapes, they can be very angular, or rounded... The simplest way to start, in my opinion, is to: - choose your style of rock: smooth and rounded or with more "sharp" prominent lines - choose a general shade for the local rocks. There are rarely different types of rocks cropping out in a small area. - properly integrate the rock into its environment: have it surrounded by a few blades of grass, or partly covered with mosses. - To give it volume, apply bold lighting (while respecting in our case the general brightness of the forest).
  • OK perfect! Thanks for the feedback!
  • Thank you for the advice! =)
  • Super😁👍
    • Hello, Glad you like this little article, did you end up drawing some forests then? 😉
  • Hello, I am testing the color: a mix of alcohol markers and dry pastel (because I don't have all the marker colors). I realize that I forgot some elements because I watched the tutorial and then did the drawing later. I hope the main components are there.
    • Hello! First of all, sorry for the late response (due to the lack of alerts on the topics, I missed your post!). It's clearly a good start, the depth of field is well conveyed and the atmosphere is quite successful. The moss effect on your rocks is effective. I would initially just have two comments: 1 - in your drawing, it really feels like there is an open path in front of us. If that wasn't specifically your idea, be careful with that, you might need to place one or two trees towards the center of the image to break up the effect of an open path. But obviously, if that was your intention, you nailed it, nothing to add. 2 - You've placed some elements on the ground, mushrooms, flowers, that's great, it "dresses" the ground, and you've drawn here and there some "tufts" of blades of grass. And actually, there should be more grass on the ground. For example, the roots of your trees in front are too sharply defined; you should have added some moss or grass partly covering them, so that it doesn't look as though the trees are just "placed" on the ground. It's best to avoid too sharp demarcations at the roots in general, as they blend more into the soil and the scenery. I hope above all that you enjoyed watching your forest take shape! It's a very good start! 😉👍😉
  • Hello, Here is the basic drawing. I will try to color it with markers. Any advice? Thank you very much.
  • Hello again, The scanner removes a lot of contrast. The actual result looks even more harlequin-like... I also tried with colored pencils but that isn't contrasted enough.
    • Hello, So obviously the best would be to guide you towards a guild dedicated to felt-tip techniques. Not knowing what types of felt-tips you used, I will limit myself to very generic advice/comments. - avoid creating too abrupt and distinct breaks between the trunks-roots and the ground, there will always be some moss or grasses that will "blur" the base of the trees. - do not hesitate to "speckle" here and there on the tree bark with more green-brown-gray tones; the idea is that the bark is not a clean and neat surface, it is full of imperfections and sometimes covered with vegetation (lichens-mosses) - the areas of light corresponding to the places where the light directly hits the surface should not be too thick. For example, on the tree to the far right, the light area is a bit too wide, which creates a strange effect in the middle of the trunk. Your treatment of the grass is not bad, not too uniform. Coloring with markers is not the simplest, it's a good start!👍 PS: Sorry for the delay in my comment, I do not receive alerts for messages on the articles.

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