Why Your Tree Drawings Look Like Blobs, and How to Fix Them

By Carol Leather

If you've ever tried to draw a tree and ended up with something that looked more like broccoli on a stick, you're not alone.

Four essentials to bear in mind:

• light and shadow are crucial when drawing trees in leaf
• tree foliage will have many colours, not just green
• winter trees will usually show only timber
• tree branches get thinner the further they are from the trunk, and the ground

You'll start by nailing the overall silhouette and trunk structure, then build convincing foliage, bark texture, and shadows. By the end, you'll have a reliable process you can repeat for any tree you want to sketch from life or from photos.

Structure First, Colour Second

You might have noticed the sketch above is in graphite (a regular pencil), even though this guide mentions coloured pencils. This is intentional.

All great drawings, whether in monochrome or full colour, are built on a solid foundation of shape and form. This tutorial focuses on mastering that foundation. The steps we will follow work perfectly for both graphite and coloured pencils.

We will first focus on getting the structure right. Once you are confident with that, applying colour becomes a much simpler and more enjoyable final layer.

Whether you're using a single pencil for the first time, or coming back with a full set of colours, we'll take it step by step.

Step 1: Start with Shape by Sketching the Tree's Silhouette

Your very first mark on the paper should not be a trunk or a leaf. It should be a faint, light outline of the tree's entire silhouette. This single step is the key to creating a tree that doesn't look like "broccoli on a stick."

If you'd rather transfer a silhouette from a reference photo than draw it freehand, here's how to use tracing paper to transfer your outline.

What to do:

• Look at your tree and simplify its overall shape into a basic form, like an oval, circle, or a cone. We'll make it more realistic shortly.
• Using a pencil with light pressure, sketch this basic shape onto your paper. This is just a guide for you to build on, so don't worry about making it perfect.

Now, let's focus on what you should be seeing. As you observe, remember that every tree has its own character defined by its overall form.

Before you get caught up in texture or tiny details, take a step back. Start with the shape. Some trees shoot straight up with narrow angles, like pines or poplars. Others spread wide and low, like oaks. Some have a loose, airy shape, while others are dense and compact.

The trees here in the UK come in all shapes and sizes. Upright forms like pines, firs and poplars tend to have fairly recognisable shapes. More rounded forms like birch have a very light, open structure and a light leaf cover, so you can see a lot of sky through them. The oak tends to have a more solid appearance, with a strong wide trunk and dense leaf cover. Trees like the sycamore and sweet chestnut have a similar round form to the oak, but a more open appearance with many 'sky holes'.

If you intend to do a lot of landscapes in coloured pencil, it might be worth investing in a tree identification book to get the shapes right. If your trees are in the distance, you don't have to worry too much about the exact variety, but it does help to be aware of the different shapes.

Look at the image below. See how each tree can be simplified into a basic shape? That is your goal for this step. You are not drawing details yet; you are just getting a feel for how the tree is built and how much space it occupies.

Quick variations: Adjust the method for different trees

This five-step process stays the same, you just change what you look for.

• Conifers (pine, fir): Start with a tall triangle or column silhouette. Foliage masses stack in layers, with fewer sky holes.
• Deciduous (oak, beech in summer): Start with an uneven cloud silhouette. Break the canopy into clumps, and leave clear "sky holes" between them.
• Winter trees (bare branches): Your silhouette becomes the branch network. Step 3 isn't leaf clouds, it's clusters of twigs and branching patterns grouped into simple shapes.

Same steps. Different observations.

Step 2: Build the 'Skeleton' with the Trunk and Main Branches

Now that you have your faint silhouette, it's time to build the framework inside it. This is the underlying structure that gives the tree its strength and character.

What to do:

• Draw the Trunk: Inside your silhouette, draw two lines for the trunk. Make sure they are wider at the bottom where they meet the ground and get slightly narrower as they go up.
• Add the Main Branches: Start drawing the largest branches growing out from the trunk. Pay attention to the joints; branches should grow out from the trunk smoothly, often forming a "Y" shape, rather than looking like they are "stuck on" the side.
• Remember to Taper: Just like the trunk, each branch should be thickest where it starts and get progressively thinner as it stretches outwards.
• Remember: some branches point towards you. Those will look shorter and more compressed (foreshortened), and that's what makes the tree feel real.

This structure is the most important part of a believable tree. Think of it as the tree's backbone, which is exactly what you should be trying to capture.

The trunk is your anchor. It's the backbone of the tree, thicker at the base, slowly tapering as it rises towards the sky. From there, the branches stretch and shift. Some reach straight up. Others bend low or curve gently outward, shaped by wind, light, and time.

Did you know that the amount of timber per cubic foot in a tree is the same all the way out to the outer limbs? The tree carries the wood as solid material in the lower trunk, and as each branch leaves the main stem, the trunk loses the same amount of timber as the branch takes away. To accommodate this loss, the main limb narrows slightly.

I must admit that I have yet to see a branch that gets wider and heavier as it extends out from the tree. The trees in the wood behind my house all seem to obey the 'rule', so until someone proves it to the contrary, I will go with it. This was the first 'rule' I was taught when learning how to draw trees, so I always ensure that the branches get narrower as they move further away from the trunk.

I find the way the branches grow fascinating, from the wriggling branches of an old oak to the straight limbs of a poplar.

Peter Weatherill draws winter trees by lightly pencilling in the basic trunks and marking the outline of the outer branches as a dotted line, which establishes the shape. When drawing the branches, he turns the paper upside down, then sketches them in starting at the trunk and winding their way out, getting thinner as they go. The dotted line on the outer limits merges to become the fuzz of tiny twigs.

Notice in these photo examples how the main branches are thick and strong at the trunk, and they split into smaller, thinner branches as they reach for the sky.

Step 3: Block In the Leaves as 'Foliage Masses'

This is where your tree truly comes to life. The biggest mistake most beginners make is trying to draw hundreds of individual leaves. The secret is to suggest them by drawing masses of foliage, or "leaf clouds."

What to do:

• Look at your tree and squint your eyes. Notice how the leaves clump together into larger shapes.
• Using a soft, looping, or scribbling pencil stroke, lightly block in these main "cloud" shapes. Let them follow the structure of the branches you drew in Step 2.
• Don't fill everything in! The gaps you leave are just as important as the marks you make.

You are not just drawing green blobs; you are capturing the personality of the foliage. As you draw these masses, ask yourself: is the canopy dense or is it airy?

Look at the difference in the photos below. The oak tree's canopy is a solid, heavy mass, while the other tree has a much lighter, more open feel. You can show this difference by how you draw your foliage clumps, either tightly packed together or with more space and sky showing through.

If those open areas of foliage leave you wondering what to do with the sky behind them, this guide on how to draw clouds will help you keep those spaces soft and believable.

The most valuable piece of advice for this entire step is this: you don't need to draw every leaf. Group the leaves into clusters, shapes of tone and colour rather than individual outlines. Suggest volume through contrast. Let your eye, and your viewer's, do some of the work.

Always try to work from a reference. It doesn't have to be sharply focused: seeing the leaves as dark or light areas will help you more than seeing every leaf as a separate entity. The foliage will usually form blocks of leaves, with light on the tops and shadows underneath each section, and that is what gives form to your summer trees. Checking whether you can see the sky through the leaves and branches is also worthwhile.

Choosing your colours

As you block in your foliage, think about the season you want to portray.

The colours you choose will instantly set the mood of your drawing. While some leaves are smooth and glossy, others are jagged or curled, you can hint at these textures by varying your pencil marks.

Each season brings its own palette to the foliage. Spring and summer bring deep greens and fresh yellows. Autumn shifts into fiery reds, soft golds, rich browns. Even winter, when trees are bare, has colour: silvery branches, pale light, cool shadows.

Even in a single season, it will rarely be possible to use just one coloured pencil for each tree or bush. The back of some leaves will be a different hue to the front. Some will be bleached by the sunlight, while others are in shadow and look much darker.

Step 4: Add Realism with Texture and Detail

You've built the shape, the skeleton, and the foliage masses. Now it's time to add the personality. This step is about transforming your flat shapes into 3D forms by suggesting texture and shadow.

Creating Believable Bark

The key to drawing bark is to suggest its texture, not copy every single line.

What to do:

• Decide on the texture: Look at your tree. Is the bark rough with deep grooves, or is it relatively smooth?
• Use contour lines: Instead of just drawing straight vertical lines, use short, curved lines (hatching) that wrap around the trunk and branches. This simple trick instantly makes them look round and three-dimensional.
• Vary your marks: For rough bark, use darker, more varied lines. For smoother bark, use softer shading and fewer distinct lines. Add darker pressure to one side of the trunk to create a shadow, which gives the tree weight.

The goal is not perfection, but believability. You want to capture how the bark feels. Learn more about the different coloured pencil strokes you can use here.

What matters is how the bark feels. Rugged. Ancient. Peeling. Patterned. Your pencils can echo that feeling through the rhythm of your marks. You don't need to draw every groove.

Adding Colour and Character

Tree trunks generally have grey or greenish grey bark. Brown is usually only found among conifers and exotic trees in the UK. Study tree trunks when you next go for a walk, and notice how the surface texture varies along with the colour: they can be ribbed, scaly or totally smooth. You can learn more about using colour on my colour basics page.

The amount of natural moss and algae growth will differ depending on the prevailing wind direction, and this will help determine the overall colour. Look closely and you'll find more than grey: silvers, ochres, rusty reds, even hints of violet in the shadows.

Finally, look for the unique details that tell the tree's story.

Does it have scars from fallen branches? Knots? Hollows where creatures might live? Adding just one or two of these features makes your drawing feel like a portrait of a specific, individual tree.

Step 5: Ground Your Tree in an Environment

Why This Step Matters More Than You Think

A tree can be beautifully rendered and still feel flat and disconnected. Usually that's because it has no home. A tree without context is a study. A tree in a place, even a suggested place, becomes a scene. The viewer's eye has somewhere to travel, something to understand.

And if that scene includes water, this tutorial on drawing reflections shows how trees and other landscape elements change once they appear on the surface.

You don't need much. A shadow. A hint of grass. A distant shape. Just enough to answer the question: where does this tree live?

Trees are one of the most important elements in any landscape composition. Our landscape drawing guide shows how trees work alongside skies, water, stone and grass to build a complete scene.

What to do:

• Establish the Ground: At the very least, draw a simple line or some soft shading at the base of the trunk to show the ground it's growing from. Add a few blades of grass or some texture for dirt.
• Add Foreground or Background Elements: Place one or two simple objects nearby. This could be a few rocks, a small patch of wildflowers in front of the tree, or a distant hill or another, smaller tree in the background.
• Create a Shadow: Think about where your light is coming from (the opposite of your highlights in Step 4) and draw a simple shadow on the ground, stretching away from the base of the tree. This instantly anchors it to the spot.

The purpose of this step is to give your tree context and tell a bigger story.

Trees don't live in a vacuum. They're part of a bigger story. A few small hints can give your tree a sense of place, helping the viewer feel the scale, the mood, the season.

Adding these small surrounding details is what makes the difference between a study of a tree and a picture of a world.

A Quick Note on Perspective:

If you add other trees or hills in the background, remember this simple rule: objects that are further away should appear smaller and less detailed. This is a fundamental principle of basic perspective that will add a great sense of depth to your drawing.

Bringing It All Together: From Steps to Skill

There you have it. A complete, five-step method to take you from a blank page to a believable tree drawing. You now have a reliable process for sketching the shape, building the structure, adding foliage, applying texture, and grounding your tree in its world.

But the goal of these steps was never to teach you a rigid formula. It was to give you a framework to practise what this guide is truly about: learning to see.

Drawing trees isn't about getting it perfect, it's about learning to see. The more you observe, the more you'll notice: the curves, the cracks, the colours. The quiet rhythm of how a tree grows. Draw what you see, not what you know is there. Over time, your drawings will start to feel more confident. More expressive. More real.

And if your first few drawings don't turn out the way you hoped? That's okay. That's part of it. Each sketch is a step forward.

Your First Assignment: A Sketching Prompt

The best way to make these five steps feel natural is to put them into practice immediately. Find a tree you can sit with for a little while, something close to home. It doesn't need to be grand or unusual. Just present.

• Step 1: Start by drawing its overall shape. The silhouette.
• Step 2: Look closer. Notice how the trunk meets the ground. How the branches split. Add a few hints of bark texture.
• Step 3: Where does the light hit, and where do the shadows gather on the leaf masses?
• Step 4: Add one or two hints of its surroundings, a patch of grass, a fence, a passing bird.

Take your time. This isn't about finishing a perfect drawing. It's about learning to see and letting your pencil follow.

Ready to Put These Observation Skills to Work?

If you'd like to keep going, the tutorials below will give you more chances to practise drawing trees in context, one scene at a time. They are the perfect next step to translate your new observation skills into expressive artwork.

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